In September 2007, after many years of good intentions but no action, Pat and Douglas visited the Sangro River War Cemetery, in which Douglas's Uncle Stewart is buried.
The Sangro River flows into the Adriatic Sea about 20 miles south of Pescara in the province of Abruzzo in Italy. The Cemetery is located just north of the village of Torino di Sangro on a ridge looking north-west across the Sangro River valley. In 1943, the Allied advance northwards through Italy came to a halt with the advent of winter late in the year. The Allies came to a halt south of Montecassino on the west side and on the southern banks of the Sangro River in the east. In the Spring of 1944, the Allies conducted a major advance in the west and held their position at the Sangro River in the east. Uncle Stewart was one of the casualties of that operation, losing his life on May 3rd, 1944, aged just 21 years.
The Sangro River War Cemetery is situated on land gifted to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by the Italian people. It is kept immaculately, like all War Cemeteries we have ever visited. It was good to hear locally that parents take their children to the cemetery and explain its significance to them. It was also warming to note that, between our two visits, four days apart, there had been a good number of new signatures in the Visitor's Book, which is full of signatures and comments from all round the world.
Around the cemetery, there is fertile farming land and we saw vines, olives, peppers and corn growing well. The people are welcoming and happy and we found good, inexpensive restaurants to eat in as well as an outstanding Bed and Breakfast establishment to stay in. Inland, there are several Provincial and National Parks with outstanding mountain scenery of the Appennine Range. It is easy to see why the fighting in 1943 was confined to the two Italian coastal areas as military action in the mountains would have been extremely dangerous.
Uncle Stewart's death is recorded in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web-site, which can be accessed by clicking on the link above. The site gives details of the whereabouts of the cemetery and the specific grave. It also provides a more detailed description of the historical background to the Sangro River part of the 1943/44 campaign