Posts Tagged ‘Second World War’
How Operation Husky in July 1943 made Overlord possible in June 1944
Allied commanders of Operation Husky in Tunisia in 1943. Commander-in-chief General Dwight Eisenhower (left), Air Commander-in-chief Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder (second left) and General Montgomery (not in the picture) were commanders in Operation Overlord. General Harold Alexander, land forces commander in Husky (second right), remained in Italy. (© IWM CNA 1075) AT a…
Read MoreThe December 1941 Arcadia conference and the Irish Brigade
On 13 December 1941, a Royal Navy convoy comprising the battleship HMS Duke of York and three destroyers set sail for America from the River Clyde. The Duke of York was taking UK prime minister Winston Churchill on a tryst with destiny in Washington and a conference with US president Roosevelt. America had been Britain’s…
Read MoreCatania conference to commemorate Sicily campaign
A two-day conference is to be held in Catania next summer to mark the 80th anniversary of Allied landings in Sicily in July 1943. It will be one of a series of events on the island that will highlight a turning point in the history of Italy and Europe. The Sicily 1943: Peace, Security &…
Read MoreFusilier Edward Graham – From County Durham to Maletto in Sicily.
We are absolutely honoured to confirm that a re-dedication ceremony for Fusilier Edward Graham will take place at Catania CWGC cemetery on Wednesday 4th October 2017. After years of exhaustive research undertaken by Fusilier Graham’s twin sons, Edward and Sydney, they recently learnt that the CWGC and the MoD have confirmed that the “Known Unto…
Read MoreThe Irishmen who fought at Cassino
More than 100,000 men from the island of Ireland served with the Allied Forces during the Second World War. When the 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade was formed in early 1942, a significant number of the men serving within its three constituent infantry battalions were either Irish born or had direct ancestry connections to Ireland. Brigadier…
Read MoreLondon Irishman Charles Ward remembers the events of 1939
On 18 October 1939, three 20-year old men reported to Liverpool Street train station to respond to call up papers for them to join the British Army. They were met on the station concourse that morning by Captain Colin Gibbs, then Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion, London Irish Rifles (2 LIR), who duly witnessed the attestation…
Read MoreHow the Irish Brigade crossed the Salso in 1943
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…
Read MoreSicilian campaign overview
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,…
Read MoreSicily pilgrimage for Irish Brigade website
On the 71st anniversary of their father’s journey through Sicily, the Irish Brigade web site co founders, Edmund and Richard O’Sullivan recent visited the island to trace his war time route from Cassibile to Patti. They were absolutely delighted to have been joined on their trip by Duncan McNally and David Hamilton, whose own fathers, Major…
Read MoreAfter carnage around Etna, the Irish Brigade found heaven on Sicily’s beaches
Following the end of fighting, the Irish Brigade spent two weeks encamped between Randazzo and Maletto in an area which had been dubbed ‘Mortar Corner’, but by the month end, they had been able to travel to the sea front and spent time near Patti on Sicily’s north coast. The next four weeks were mightily…
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