Monte Cassino

essbee · Jun 5, 2014

I was in Monte Cassino last week - Prince Harry had been there ten days
earlier to commemorate events as well as visit the Polish cemetery.

I was looking at the wreaths that had been laid and the Royal Sussex Regiment
(which lost half their number I believe) were prominent. They saw some of the
worst fighting as did Polish, NZ, Canadians and US as well as others.

I wondered if anyone on NSC had relations who fought there. Apparently the
Regiment, which no longer exists, was based in Chichester.

Weststander · Jun 5, 2014

We visited Dover Castle last month. In the main Keep, is an excellent museum, with a lot of great information and more on the Royal Sussex Regiment.

essbee · Jun 5, 2014

Weststander,

I was there a couple of years ago but sadly must have missed that.

gripper stebson · Jun 5, 2014

Though this was another manager thread.

Bladders · Jun 5, 2014

My great uncle was at Monte Casino, a Captain and he got shot up pretty badly.

Survived.

Wifes Grandfather was there too.

Vicious battle that was.

Hillian1 · Jun 5, 2014

The Royal Sussex Regiment has a Museum at The Redoubt on Eastbourne Seafront.

Although the Regiment does not exist as such, it became The Queens Regiment and subsequently The Princess Of Wales Royal Regiment.

Mungo_Jerry · Jun 5, 2014

Yes my wife's grandad was in the royal Sussex and fought at Monte Cassino. He was badly wounded and was awarded the Star of Italy. He grew up in Hannover and there was an article in the local paper about him in 1945 which we've still got a copy of.

Funnily enough we were talking about all this at the weekend as my son had to do a school project on WWII so interviewed him for it. He's 90 in 2 weeks and still going strong.

Not Andy Naylor · Jun 5, 2014

essbee said:
I was in Monte Cassino last week - Prince Harry had been there ten days
earlier to commemorate events as well as visit the Polish cemetery.

I was looking at the wreaths that had been laid and the Royal Sussex Regiment
(which lost half their number I believe) were prominent. They saw some of the
worst fighting as did Polish, NZ, Canadians and US as well as others.

I wondered if anyone on NSC had relations who fought there. Apparently the
Regiment, which no longer exists, was based in Chichester.

My father was in the Polish forces. He was wounded and transferred to the air force, where he became a navigator on bombers.

Blackadder · Jun 5, 2014

Not Andy Naylor said:
My father was in the Polish forces. He was wounded and transferred to the air force, where he became a navigator on bombers.

Same here. Except my father transferred to the Polish Navy based in Plymouth.

The Antikythera Mechanism · Jun 5, 2014

My Dad was at Monte Cassino, with the Polish regiment of the 8th Army. His enduring memory was of having to make a life or death decision whilst under sudden heavy machine gun fire. Stand and face the constant hail of bullets or lie flat in a three layer depth of dead and decomposing bodies. He chose the latter and dreamt about this in technicolor (his words) until his dying day.

Guy Crouchback · Jun 5, 2014

In Polish / In English
Czy widzisz te gruzy na szczycie? / Do you see the rubble at the top?
Tam wróg twój się kryje jak szczur! / There, like a rat, lurks your foe!
Musicie, musicie, musicie! / You musn't stop, you musn't stop
Za kark wziąć i strącić go z chmur! / But from the clouds the enemy throw!
I poszli szaleni, zażarci, / And so, onward and upward they went;
I poszli zabijać i mścić, / They went to avenge and to kill,
I poszli jak zawsze uparci, / On the enemy's destruction, bent;
Jak zawsze za honor się bić. / To their honor they harnessed their will.

http://prokonsul.blogspot.com/2012/05/red-poppies-on-monte-cassino.html

Glory to the fallen heroes, they will never be forgotten!

Hillian1 · Jun 5, 2014

Also, I have had the very great pleasure on many occasions to share a pint with Colonel Buckeridge, Royal Sussex Regiment, Monte Cassino Veteran.

Some of the things he recalls about that time are things I would never want in my head.

edna krabappel · Jun 5, 2014

Not Andy Naylor said:
My father was in the Polish forces. He was wounded and transferred to the air force, where he became a navigator on bombers.

Do you speak any Polish?

Silk · Jun 5, 2014

My grandfather was in the RAMC for the entire campaign in Italy. At various times he was in 8th Army and 5th Army. He was at Sicily, Salerno and Anzio. Not sure if he was at Cassino but he often spoke of Monte Camino.

portlock seagull · Jun 5, 2014

The Royal Sussex other battalions were out in Burma fighting the Japs at the same time. Slim's forgotten army. They literally sang Good Old Sussex by the Sea as they hacked their way through the jungle and fought against an equally tough enemy, I know this.

They're doing a major feature film of Monte Cassino if anyone's interested. Big Hollywood budget apparently.

Silk · Jun 5, 2014

portlock seagull said:
The Royal Sussex other battalions were out in Burma fighting the Japs at the same time. Slim's forgotten army. They literally sang Good Old Sussex by the Sea as they hacked their way through the jungle and fought against an equally tough enemy, I know this.

They're doing a major feature film of Monte Cassino if anyone's interested. Big Hollywood budget apparently.

Call me cynical but does that mean it will "suggest" that only Americans fought there?

Brighton Mod · Jun 5, 2014

My Grandfather was at Monte Cassino with the Royal Sussex, they arrived there after being in North Africa. The scenes at Monte Cassino were the same as we see images of the WW1. he went on a recce patrol with Gurkhas and reached within 100m of the monastery, told me stories of Gemans walking within touching distance of them, being discovered and one of the Gurkhas bayoneting a German. Truly a horrendous place to have fought.

The Royal Sussex were a very distinguished infantry battalion, serving all over the world notably being the troops who went to rescue Gordon of Khartoum, the Boer War, North African campaign, Korea and in WW2.

backson · Jun 5, 2014

My grandfather was there too with the Royal Sussex, was invalided out of the war by a grenade. Apparently the Germans came along and left him thinking he was dead. It was some Gurkha medics who rescued him.

portlock seagull · Jun 5, 2014

Cynic! Of course it'll have a US slant, that's always been the case. History is written by the victors. And filmmakers!

forrest · Jun 5, 2014

My grandfather also at Cassino. He served with the county's other fighting regiment 'Sussex Yeomanry'. Like many he only ever really spoke about the good times and not much about the fighting. Could tell a good story though, which kept us youngsters amused.

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