Sicily

Take Post

Sicily, October 11th and 12th, 2017

The first day has been rather exhausting.  A long bus ride to Toronto, a long wait at the airport, a long ride on the plane to Rome, a short wait at the airport, a short flight to Catania and a long stand in line at the Europcar rental site.  They must have felt the need to make it up to me as I’ve been given a Renault station wagon with a turbo charged diesel engine and 6 speeds of transmission to mash through.  It is a peppy little beast and I just may enjoy driving it for 3 weeks.

First stop was the Catania War Cemetery, located not very far from the airport and on the way to Ragusa and Modica. It’s a very quite and rather small place just off the main highway but also under the flight path to the airport so there are lots of overhead visitors every day.  I signed the visitors book and took a few photos of the site in general then I went and found James resting place.  You can’t see Etna in the background as you can in the picture taken with his mother as there are now mature olive trees growing at the back and sides of the cemetery. I did take a shot of me in the same position as his mother but I look rather travel worn so I’ll save that to share with the family only.

You can see Pat’s stone resting on the top of the monument.  I don’t think even the spring rain will move it.

When I left the cemetery I passed over Fosso Buttacetto which is the ditch James and his mates were trying to cross when he was killed.  It’s reasonably wide but not too deep and today the highway takes advantage of a very nice bridge.  On July 18th there was no bridge and it was heavily defended by the Germans as the British tried to gain control of Catania. A few days later, July 21st, Montgomery gave up trying to take Catania by frontal assault and went into a defensive position.  The Canadians were proceeding well against strong positions at Leonforte and Agira on the 8th Armies western flank, so Monty wanted them to take the brunt of the effort and drive east to drive into the right flank of the Germans at Catania.  He even went so far as to relax restrictions on artillery rounds per gun which gave 1st Division the artillery support it would need to complete the task.

I made it to Modica with lots of time to spare before meeting with our friends Dave and Barb.  I did spruce myself up a wee bit as I’m sure I looked as bad as I felt.  Dave met me on the main street and escorted me up the cobbled round and around the cobbled corner to their little bit of heaven on the side of the hill overlooking Modica.  Their friend Lola was there as well and we had a glass of bubbly then headed out on the town…actually only a few hundred meters from their house…to a pizza restaurant that was so hidden down an alley and through some twisty rooms, that I’m not sure I could find it again.  A bit of vino rosso with my pizza and I was ready for my bed at Modica Old Town rooms.  I fell asleep as soon as I lay down but woke again about two hours later.  The good news is there was a cool breeze and no noise and I eventually found myself back in dreamland.

Sciliy, October 13th

I had planned to get up early as the intent was to do the route from Pachino as far as Agira cemetery.  What was it that Burns said about plans?  Well, he was right.  I got up at 07:30 but it took me a while to get organized.  I did meet Dave, my trusty navigator and temperature control officer for the day, at 08:30, grabbed a quick cafe nero and downed a brioche for breakfast and we were on our way.

I immediately revised the plans.  I had hoped to start at Pachino but Barb was skeptical that we would get there, back and up to Agira given that Dave had to be home to cook dinner by 18:00 so we pushed on north from Modica along some of the roads 10 Bty would have travelled.  North through Giarratana and Vizzini, then west through Grammichele, Caltagirone then north again to Piazza Armerina.

It was just outside Piazza Armerina that Gunner Stanley Cobourn from St Catherines was killed.  10 Bty had just set up their gun position (GP) when a mighty explosion shook the ground, wounding several gunners and killing Cobourn.  What they didn’t know was that they had set up shop right beside a hidden German ammunition dump that had been booby-trapped.  The speculation was that a timing device had been used and it was just the luck of the draw that 10 Bty chose that site at the same time that time ran out.

We continued north, the countryside getting higher and rockier at every turn.  This part of the world is quite beautiful but I’m sure none of 1st Division even saw that side of things.  Every turn in the road held an unwelcomed surprise for them, blown bridges, sniping, hidden machine gun positions and anti-tank guns as well as mines that quickly disabled tanks and injured foot sloggers.  As we moved up the SP7A I could see Assoro rising ahead of us. It’s importance in the scheme of things was immediately obvious…as it was to the Hasty P’s who scaled its southeast side at night and rested the ground from the surprised Germans manning it.  The battle for Leonforte and Assoro are the stuff of military legends and are the main reason that Monty looked to the Canadians to save his bacon.  The narrow, winding road into Leonforte was a nightmare back then but for us we only had to contend with occasional tractor towing a manure spreader coming our way.

At Leonforte you are at about the same latitude as Catania so if you turn east there you are heading directly for the right flank of the Germans defending Catania…and thats what 1st Division did.  We passed through Nissoria and on to Agira itself, which is another beautiful Sicilian village atop a mountain.  The Canadian War Cemetery is signed on the eastern outskirts of Agira and with those directions not hard to find.

This is the only all Canadian war grave in Europe.  It is on a lovely high piece of ground with Etna in the backround and the hills of Agira in front.  There are 485 Canadians at rest there.  We met another Canadian couple there from Pembroke who were also following the trail and had travelled up from Pachino that morning.

We found Stanley Cobourn thanks to the War Graves registry that is at every site and I placed my stone of remembrance and thanked him for his sacrifice.  Stanley was one of the “originals” having gone over with 10 Bty in ’39.  He had also participated as a gunner in the Royal Salute to their majesties in Niagara Falls on June 7th 1939.  That day he was a gunner with A gun and my Dad was a gunner with C gun.

In the event that I don’t get to Pachino I’ll share another little story about the landing there.  Jack Gill (my “uncle” Jack) was Battery Sergeant Major (BSM) at the time of the landing.  He was bound and determined to be the first 10 Bty member to land on enemy soil…and sure enough of all the 10 Bty men that disembarked as a unit, he was the first to touch Sicilian soil.  He was quite miffed however when he was greeted by my Dad who had already landed.  Dad was the signaller assigned to the Forward Observation Officer (FOO) who had accompanied the 48th Highlanders ashore.  So Dad and his FOO were actually the first 10 Bty ranks who landed at Pachino and I don’t think Jack (or my Dad) ever forgot that quirk of history.

And…another little Pachino story.  10 Bty consisted of 2 troops, “Easy” and “Foxtrot”  Easy troop never made it to Pachino.  Easy troop was aboard the “City of Venice” heading for Pachino when the ship was torpedoed.  The first 10 Bty casualty of the Italian campaign was a gunner from Roye Giffords gun crew.  No one is exactly sure what happened but they suspect that he was swept overboard following the torpedoing and was lost at sea.  I don’t know his name and I don’t believe there is a burial site except somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea.  Easy troop spent some time in North Africa waiting for new transport but eventually joined 10 Bty in Sicily just in time for the crossing to mainland Italy at Reggio di Calabria.

What could be a better end to the day than a bit of barbequed lamb, roasted veggies and a glass of vino rosso.  Well…add a snifter of limoncello and a slice of pistachio torta…and well…you’ve had a very fine day.

Stand down.

 

 

o