We have received a note from Gary Sherrington about his grandfather, Lance Corporal Joseph Ransley, who served with the Irish Brigade in North Africa and Italy. In his note, Gary told us: “My grandfather served with the 2nd Battalion London Irish Rifles during 1943. Incidentally, like your father Edmund, he was also from Peckham and in…

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Following the capture of Centuripe, the Irish Brigade pressed forward but were hampered by craters in the road down to the Salso river. Due to these delays, plans were made to attack across the river on the afternoon of 4th August and, despite some opposition, a bridgehead was secured by 430pm. The view northwards from…

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Brigadier Nelson Russell provided a succinct overview account of the Sicilian Campaign and how the Irish Brigade affected its outcome: “The British 8th Army was to land on the beaches on the east coast of the island, south of Syracuse, capture Syracuse, and so have a port; then drive the enemy from the Catania Plain,…

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