Flags From Home at Coriano Ridge War Cemetery Nov 11, 2013

A young Canadian woman living in Italy has embarked on a wonderful project to honour the fallen heroes at Coriano Ridge War Cemetery this Remembrance Day. She has been asking for Canadians to send her small flags for a Remembrance Day ceremony. The story is gaining world wide attention, and families are reaching out across the decades to send messages so their loved ones can be remembered and honoured. Several families are making the journey to Italy themselves, because they are learning for the first time where their loved ones have been laid to rest!

If you have photos or personal recollections of any of the 427 Canadian heroes at Coriano Ridge, please send them to Corrin Fraser at corrinfraser@gmail.com. The Facebook page, which is filling with personal stories and photos, is called Flags From Home.

I am a member of Ancestry.ca, my username is daymondl. My father served in WWII, Signals.

Thank you to you all.

Louise Daymond,
Pinawa, MB R0E 1L0
louise@mypinawa.ca

 

Louise....

an excellent idea as many of my comrades in Cdn 1st Div - especially 2nd Brigade lay whereas we in the British 21st Tank Bde supported - mainly the Seaforths at San Martino and 5th Cdn Armoured tackled Coriano village itself - but to

claim that many families are now learning where their loved ones are buried for the first time is a bit of a stretch..as the first interment took place on Sunday 1st October '44 at the Canadian Cemetery at Riccione under the direction of

BrigadierT.G Gibson..with the Pipes of the Seaforths playing a Lament with the accompaniment by the band of the 2nd New Zealand Division ...later in 1954 this cemetery at Riccione was replaced by the generous Italian people at the Coriano

Ridge as it is to-day.. and is kept in Pristine condition by eight part time gardeners AND each class at the village school annually - who are merciless with weeds......

Along with the 427 Canadians there are 27 from my Regiment and they join 1546 others from British - Indian - New Zealanders - Polish Divisions who fought an almighty battle for three weeks there...

Cheers

 

Louise

As a PS - there on the right as one enters Coriano Ridge Cemetery there is a brick housing which contains a book with ALL the names of the dead and their grave section numbers which makes it very easy to find relatives etc ...

it should also be recalled that there are seven cemeteries in that general area with 14,000 men who were KIA in that month long action - but to day it is hard to find any sign of the ferocious battles there

Cheers

Check the BBc series below for my articles with the Canadians in Italy and especially at San Martino

 

Louise,
A very nice gesture.

I toured the Gothic Line battlefield this past May. And, as Tom states there are very few signs of the month long battle.... except for the cemeteries.