大象传媒

Introduction

This article about Sergeant Pat McGuinness and his wife Hilda supplements two previous articles submitted on behalf of one of their children, Mrs Frances McAlone (Article Reference Ids: A4117222 and A4117682). During World War Two, Pat served firstly with the 5th Battalion TA of the Border Regiment and then with the 7th Queen鈥檚 Hussars, a tank regiment. Pat was killed in Italy on 17 July 1944, leaving his widow Hilda to bring up five children in their hometown of Whitehaven, Cumberland (now Cumbria).

When Frances told me about her parents, I learnt that although the family knew where Pat was buried in Italy (Ancona War Cemetery), they did not know where he had died, or much about the action Pat鈥檚 unit was involved with at he time. Unfortunately, most of Pat鈥檚 personal letters and letters from his C.O. that my have helped provide clues to this information were accidentally burned some years ago.

Consequently, I contacted some of the World War Two Site Helpers of the 大象传媒 鈥淧eople鈥檚 War鈥� website to see if they could help with where to read about the Italian campaign from the summer of 1944 onwards. With advice from some of these helpers, I have been able to find out a little information that provides some of the answers Pat鈥檚 family have been missing.

7th Queen鈥檚 Own Hussars in June and July 1944

Frances had already shown me two items that placed Pat and the 7th Queen鈥檚 Own Hussars in Egypt and Palestine during the early part of 1944. The first item was a photograph that Pat had sent home to Hilda, and the second item a letter Pat had sent to his nephew Hugh McGuinness. The family knew that Pat had been killed in action in Italy on 17 July 1944, but most of the knowledge of where Pat was at between these dates, or what they had been doing had unfortunately been lost.

After the liberation of Rome on 4 June 1944, according to the maps I鈥檝e looked at, the Front Line ran from the north and west of Rome to the south of Pescara on the Italian Adriatic coast. The 7th Queen鈥檚 Hussars were assigned to the Adriatic sector of the Front, on the eastern side of Italy. On 17 June 1944, the Polish General Wladyslaw Anders was given command of the Allies in this sector, including the 7th Queens Hussars. Much of what happened to the 7th Hussars during the following weeks can at least be partly worked out from General Anders own memoirs, 鈥楢n Army in Exile鈥�, published in 1981.

By 22 June 1944 the 3rd Polish Division had advanced to the Chienti River, just to the south of Macerata. The main immediate objective for the Allies at this point was the capture of Ancona and its harbour as quickly as possible. The Germans were then holding a defensive line on the hills above the Musone River to the south of Ancona. The Allies then took Osino, which overlooks the Musone River, on 6 July.

As written in one of the previous articles about Sergeant Pat McGuinness, after he was killed on 17 July 1944 there is a contemporary newspaper account that refers to information given in the letter sent to Pat鈥檚 family by his Commanding Officer. So, although the original letter is lost, this newspaper article states that Pat 鈥溾�� was doing reconnaissance on foot when he was killed by machine-gun fire from a flank鈥� (鈥楾he Whitehaven News鈥�, Thursday 10 August 1944, page 3). Pat's regiment had taken a hill just before he was doing the reconnaissance on foot. According to Pat鈥檚 letter, written on 17 February 1944, Pat was in 鈥楤 Squadron鈥� of the 7th Hussars, Royal Armoured Corps.

General Anders鈥� Division began its advance on Ancona on 17 July 1944, and captured the port during the afternoon of the following day. Hence, it appears that Pat was unfortunately killed in action some time during the first day of the two-day Battle for Ancona. As previously explained, Pat is buried in Ancona War Cemetery (Plot No. IV.H.19). Therefore, Pat was laid to rest in the town he helped liberate from the Germans. In General Anders account of this period, he refers to the heavy cost of achieving the key objective. However, it was even more costly for the Germans.

Unseen heroic deeds

Pat and Hilda McGuinness had five children: three girls and two boys. Frances, the eldest was 15 years old at the time. A few weeks ago, after I had listened to Frances tell me about what her father, her uncle James McGuinness and her cousin Hugh McGuinness had done during the war, I commented how heroic they had all been.

Frances also told me how heroic her mother Hilda had been in bringing up her five children during and after the war, especially after she had been widowed. Hilda had worked to support the family. There was little, if any assistance for war widows at that time.

In writing about World War Two, it is often easy to concentrate on the many heroic acts of those who served in the Armed Forces. Similarly, it is easy to overlook the many unseen heroic things that Hilda and others bereaved during the war did then and after the war. So, I am pleased to pay a small tribute to Hilda in this article.

Conclusion

Hilda died on 28 November 1976 and is buried in Whitehaven Cemetery. Although Hilda was never able to visit Pat鈥檚 grave in Italy, both their names are commemorated on the headstone in Whitehaven Cemetery. During her lifetime, Hilda ensured that Pat鈥檚 memory was kept alive among his family and friends. Hopefully, this article may contribute in a small way to that end.

I would like to dedicate this article to the memory of both Hilda and Pat McGuinness, and to their family. In addition, I would like to thank all those who have provided me with information enabling me to write this article, including Frances McAlone, 鈥楾he Whitehaven News鈥�, staff at the Cumbria Archives office in Whitehaven and the 鈥榃orld War Two Site Helpers鈥� of the 大象传媒 鈥淧eople鈥檚 War鈥� website ('Trooper Tom Canning', 'Ron Goldstein' and 'Peter WW2 Site Helper').

鈥淭o Hilda and Pat McGuinness:
In everlasting memory鈥�

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