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Message 2 - Unknown RAF Footabll Teams

Posted on: 08 October 2005 by Eyegee

Hello Tom,

Thanks for replying re RAF Football teams.

I have added 2 more Photos in the Messages "Football Italy 1" (A6032684)
and "Football Italy 2" (A6032800).

I am not sure exactly who these teams are, or what competition they are playing.

All I am sure about is that they were
taken in (March?) 1944, and perhaps near (or in) Foggia, Italy.

Was your brother around Foggia at that time?

Regards,
Ian

Message 3 - Unknown RAF Footabll Teams

Posted on: 08 October 2005 by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper

Ian -
I think March '44 would be a bit early for Larry as my brigade did'nt arrive in Italy from North Africa until April '44 to get ready for the last battle of Cassino in May, we started training with the Canadians at Lucera just North of Foggia.
Larry was really stationed in Malta but flew all over the place to play football - I don't think he did much else...he even flew into Vienna to see me for the day, which was a no-no just after the war finished - and had a bit of an arguement with the Russians !
cheers
tomcan

Message 4 - Unknown RAF Football Teams

Posted on: 10 October 2005 by Eyegee

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your mail.

My Dad certainly recalls the air formations of US Flying Fortesses flying overhead, heading to finally bomb the monastery to bits! He was stationed near Foggia at this time. You were prbably at Foggia at the same time!

This must have been about April 1944 -you can probably confirm this. You probably witnessed the same formations.

Not arriving in Italy until April you probably missed the worst of the weather - but the fighting at Cassino must have been awfull - for you and everyone involved. Were you with the 8th Army, under Montgomery's command?

Regards,
Ian

Message 5 - Unknown RAF Football Teams

Posted on: 11 October 2005 by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper

Ian -
yes we were at Lucera after we landed for a short while at Casorio near Naples...we then had to pick up all our tanks and other vehicles from Taranto as they couldn't be landed at naples as it was too full up of wrecks.
We then started training with the Canadian 1st Div and we had to look after 2nd bde of Seaforths: PPCLI; and the Loyal Edmontons.
The Monastery was bombed in february so what we - and your father saw was a large bunch of US Liberators going up to Ploesti Oli fields and the Schwenndemunde ball bearing factories in East Germany.
One day we were standing around looking at them just coming in to land at Foggia, when one of them in the centre of a twenty-sevenplane group suddenly reared up and hit another plane which in turn hit another and all three crashed close to us - we couldn't do anything for the more than 30 men inside - they were gone.
Then it was on to the Hitler/Gistav line in May. That was fun !
All British troops with the exception of 10th Corps were in 8th Army - that was the 46th and 56th Divs.who took a hellof a pasting at Salerno- Minturno - Garigliano - Anzio
so much that they had to be pulled out for a while...finally got back in the late september for the Gothic Line finish. Meanwhile 10h corps was rejuvenated by 6th Armoured Div. - 78th Div - until they went off to Egypt for a rest, 9thArmoured Bde and the 6th Sth African Armed Div to Florence and beyond! All great fun you know ! Don't know that we missed all the bad weather - before cassino we stayed at a place called Presenzaro
where half a mountain slid down on us - naturally in the middle of the night - took us a week to clean up - meanwhile 25th tank bde took over and had a bad time at the Gstav/Hitler line - both the North irsh Horse and 51st RTR lost14 tanks each in less than ten minutes with about 60 oddkilled and the same wounded !That wasn't much fun !
Cheers
tomcan