Monte Cassino anniversary 18th May 2014

Beautiful photos Richard.

 

I meant to tell you I'd seen John, Owen. Had a long chat with his daughter who was in your group Richard?

 

The war diaries say the battalion concentration area on the afternoon of 15th May 1944 was 840168 (see Earth attached and what it looked like last week):

1400 Enemy heavy shelling and mortaring of bttn concentration area 840168 during afternoon.
1630 CO’s carrier hit. CO wounded and 3 ORs slightly wounded. CO died of wounds. Major Phillips wounded.

My father recalled:

"I was close to the Advanced Dressing Station and a troop carrier used as an ambulance trundled in.

I went over and found the battalion’s commander, Colonel Goff, seriously wounded and in agony. I helped unload him... Goff had been on reconnaissance and a shell caught him and his O Group. Father Dan Kelleher called me over and asked if I would help him with some burials."

It was particularly moving speaking with Mary, Ion Goff's niece, who was with Paul's group - she already had my Dad's notes. I'm not often lost for words....

 

some of the photos keep going missing...perhaps it's just me. edit it is me...

Yes,John's daughter, Jane, came with us - I drove her back to the seaside area afterwards. She lives in Fondi..

 

Sorry I missed you Frank.

 

Richard.

I think that you have mixed up Goff with Loveday. It was Lt Col Loveday's location that I was after.

Out in Cassino early next week so wasoing to have a look at the spot where Col Loveday was killed.

Regards

Frank

 

Richard.

Ignore my muppetry. I see from an early post that they were killed on the same spot.

Apologies.

Frank

 

You m.... Frank... I meant yes, you're right.

You can access the open "farm" area from either south or north of the auto strada - the San Nicola Road that comes off the auto roundabout is pretty decent. There is an olive grove nearby. We spoke to the owners of one of the farms there but they didn't really enlighten us..if we believe the map ref for the concentration area, that seems about right (it was darkly dubbed "Happy Valley'). About 3/4 mile to the south east of pt 86 (Hotel Edra area) where the Skins had got up to by 1230pm on 15th May and from where Lieut Col Bredin had crawled back to brief Ion Goff

If you walk past this area, you come to decrepit Massa de Vendittis and if you walk beyond that, you go down to the Piopetto, which was probably the line of advance of the LIR on 14th/15th May.

No doubt you'll have it...

best