February sapper mag:Layout 1 21/1/09 16:14 Page 22
LCpl Hart clearly has his audience captivated ....
A
fter a very hectic and eventful 18 months which included
Pre Deployment training, Op Telic 11 and a unit move
from Osnabruck to Ripon, it was decided by the powers that be that a
change of pace was required for the personnel of 7 HQ & Sp Sqn. So
at 0430hrs on Monday 6th October the men and women of 7 Sqn
departed from a quiet and sleepy Claro Barracks. Although everyone
was extremely tired they were also very excited about the week ahead
in Italy. Our first port of call was a quick stop off at 1 RSME Regt in
Chatham for an introduction to the campaigns of North Africa and
Sicily and the main event itself, the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy
and the focus of our Battlefield Study. At the same time we collected
six personalities who would literally bring the whole experience to life:
Maj Powell (AGC) who was to lead the study with his extensive
knowledge, not only of the Cassino campaign, but of the Second World
War itself in general; Mr Derek Flippance, an ex-Sapper and a curator
of the RE museum who was to provide us with all of the history of
the sappers involvement in the battles; and last but certainly not least
the four veterans of the actual campaign - Percy, Fred, George and
Charlie. They would be making a very heartfelt and emotional journey
back to the place they had fought over fifty years ago.
After our visit to the RE Museum we headed for Gatwick. After a
short and comfortable flight we land-
“The sheer
ed in Naples where we were met
enormity of the task by the Advance Party of Sgt Bri
and the courage dis- Shorter and LCpl Gaz Cousins.
played by all those
Day One of study and our
involved was really
first stop was Monte Trochio for
hammered home to us
our first glimpse of the
by Maj Powell and
monastery. It
was at this
Derek Flippance”
point we all
realised just how much it dominated the sur-
rounding area and what a daunting task faced
those with the mission of taking Cassino and
breaking through the Gustav Line.
Then it was off to Sant Angela Bridge where
Ex Cass
we heard accounts of the first attempt to cross
the river Gari and establish a bridgehead. The
result was disastrous, which was quite evident
By: Maj Sean Matten OC 7 HQ & Sp Sqn
by the look on our faces when we heard the casualties figures. Our
next stop was particularly pertinent, as we were standing at the site
where 7 Fd Coy as it then was, crossed the Rapido with the Amazon place of great size and beauty. For most of us this turned out
bridge. The scene is depicted in Terence Cuneo’s famous painting to be the highlight of the day.
which hangs in the HQ Officers Mess. After the monastery we visited the Commonwealth War
The sheer enormity of the task and the courage displayed by all Cemetery for a brief ceremony where a wreath was laid.
those involved was really hammered home to us by Maj Powell and We then had a short time to walk around the cemetery with
Derek Flippance. An amazing story of courage and determination on the veterans who were visiting fallen comrades and reflect
their part and a real honour for us to have visited such an historical on the days events and the real cost of war in this strangely
site and a place of such importance in the history of our Squadron. beautiful and peaceful place.
Day Two started with a brisk walk up to Point 593, where we Day Three and it was time for a change of location. With
found not only an amazing view but also a memorial to the Polish Cassino still deep in our thoughts we headed for Anzio, the
soldiers who had fought and died at Cassino. It surprised us more coastal town where the invasion had begun and the Allies
than somewhat to discover that it was not only the British, Polish had managed to get their first foot hold in mainland Europe.
and Americans who had been here, but also men from India, Tor Calendra was the original front line of the beach
Morocco, France, Nepal, New Zealand and Australia. head before the breakout from Anzio itself. Because Tor
After a morning discussing the tactics used then compared to the Calendra is actually a nature reserve it has remained
tactics and doctrine of today, we headed up to the monastery. From the largely untouched since 1944 and as a result of this most
valley below the building sits on the top of the mountain and looks of the shell scrapes, trenches and gun emplacements can
very impressive; no one was prepared for the truly magnificent still be seen today. So well preserved is the site that you
spectacle that awaited us, however. It was an amazing building, rebuilt can actually see the scars in the walls from the shovels
after the war to the same specifications as the original, and really was a and picks that were used to dig them.
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