WHERE FIREFLIES DANCED
A collection of poems by Patricia Rigg about Monte Cassino and the men who fought and died there.
Monte Cassino Society member and poet, Patricia Rigg has given her permission to show this recently released collection of poems on the MCS website. Heartfelt, evocative and beautifully crafted, the collection is dedicated to her late husband, Captain William Brian Rigg, who served throughout the Italian Campaign in the Fourth Indian Division.
PATRICIA RIGG
POEMS OF REMEMBRANCE
Honouring
The Allied Forces
Italy
1943-1945
Monte Cassino
1944
WHERE FIREFLIES DANCED
Written
With love
For my husband
Captain William Brian Rigg
Fourth Indian Division
In the public consciousness, the Italian Campaign has always been overshadowed by the landings in Normandy and yet it lasted longer; there were more troops involved and the number of casualties was higher. It was a grim, hard fought series of battles that ran from September 1943 to May 1945 – twenty months in all. In that time, the soldiers especially, faced unspeakable weather, endless river obstacles and terrain that even the mules found challenging. Every advantage of terrain lay with the Germans and they did a superb job making the most of the advantages that they had been gifted by Italy’s geography.
The German plan centred on two enormously strong defence lines – the Gustav Line which ran from Gaeta to Ortona and, further north, the Gothic Line which ran from Pisa to Rimini. In between, they established an array of delaying lines that were designed to slow and frustrate the Allied advance. Cassino anchored the Gustav Line and blocked the road to Rome.
Modern warfare relies on enormous quantities of ammunition, equipment, food, spares and water. All this had to be transported on vehicles and, in the terrible weather, those vehicles could only really operate on metalled roads. The one metalled road from Naples to Rome – Italy at the time was a poor country whose economy was largely based on agriculture – happened to pass at the foot of Monte Cassino. If the Allies wanted the one metalled road, and they did, they would have to secure Monte Cassino. The biggest challenge however was that the Italian Campaign was not an Allied priority – that honour went to Normandy and the South of France. As a result, the Italian Campaign very much got the sloppy seconds of everything and, at various points in the campaign was plundered for manpower, material and expertise.
In these twelve poems, Patricia Rigg has brilliantly captured the atmosphere at Cassino during the five terrible months of January-May 1944.
Frank de Planta
Remember the Fireflies?
Enigmatic Mountain
Remember Cassino?
The Stones of Cassino
Mountain of Memories
If the Mountain Could Speak
Za Polske!
Once
Old Soldiers
Heroes
Where Fireflies Danced
Cassino Today
REMEMBER THE FIREFLIES?
Did fireflies dance at Cassino?
May, 1944?
Nature’s magic. Savage war.
Fireflies of Cassino,
Pin-pricks of flashing light.
Gun-fire. Mortars. Tracers.
Far-off Cassino night.
Sparkling battalions,
Skimming the paths of war.
Soldiers’ stories.
Legends. Lore.
Fireflies, darting, flying,
Flirting through Cassino’s hell,
Dancing, dying,
Sentinels for those who fell
ENIGMATIC MOUNTAIN
Sacred mountain.
Scarred mountain.
The mountain invades your soul.
You can’t forget it.
Its past inhabits the hours of light,
The hours of darkness.
You see, or think you see, phantom figures,
Images shrouded in time.
You hear, or think you hear, battle-sounds.
Shell-fire.
Staccato fire.
Hell-fire.
Echoes of a past that will never die.
Monte Cassino,
Mountain of memories,
Memories of war,
Today and for ever more.
REMEMBER CASSINO?
Did he leave his memories behind,
In that beautiful land?
Not hard to understand.
He definitely didn’t want to talk about it.
Said he couldn’t remember.
Who would want to know?
It was all so long ago.
Tell his story? No way.
But maybe, inside his head, he said,
You would never believe it,
You just wouldn’t.
I was there and I can hardly believe it.
Winter in the mountains.
Snow. Ice.
Hail. Rain.
Days and days of rain.
Relentless rain.
Treacherous terrain.
And the noise.
Turn it down. Some hope.
Noise, battering your ears,
Compounding your fears.
Fears for today. Fears for tomorrow.
Take the monastery. Break the line.
A letter home. Say you’re fine.
Dear Mam,
I’m fine. Not much to say.
Not much to do. I’m ticketty-boo.
Sunshine and vino. A right old beano.
We’ll get the job done.
Your loving son.
For my mam’s stew, I can’t wait.
Bangers and mash? Apple-pie?
Fish and chips?
Pigs might fly.
Drinks with the lads at the Royal Oak,
A pint, pickled onions, a quiet smoke.
Mountains, mountains,
I’m sick of the sight.
Mountains by day, mountains by night.
War is the devil.
I answered the call.
May God keep me safe. Let me not fall.
Let me live to walk with my girl, by the sea,
And if the worst happens,
Remember Cassino.
Remember me.
THE STONES OF CASSINO
Noon in the valley.
Bells.
Melodious. Persistent. Insistent.
Requiem for sacrifice.
Dirge for the past.
Wraiths of whiteness,
Clouds, shrouds,
Fragile, tissue-thin.
High on the mountain,
The Monastery,
The Monastery of Monte Cassino.
In the valley,
The stones bear witness to the past.
The stones of Cassino.
Gravestones.
Row upon row. Line upon line.
Thousand upon thousand.
Each stone has a story.
Each stone had a life.
Midnight,
Moonlight
High on the mountain,
L’ Abbazia di Montecassino,
High above the town, the valley,
The graves.
So many graves.
Row upon row. Line upon line.
Thousand upon thousand.
So long ago,
The sadness of war,
The madness of war,
And now?
Memories.
Remembrance,
Remembrance,
For the rest of time.
MOUNTAIN OF MEMORIES
Mysterious, mesmerising,
Swathed in mystique, stroked by the stars,
Brushed by the breeze.
High above Cassino,
The Monastery,
Iconic, enigmatic.
Beneath the clouds, above the clouds,
Within the clouds.
All-seeing mountain,
Witness to life, witness to war.
Custodian. Guardian.
Keeper of secrets.
Stories of the past. Tales of years gone by.
Mountain of Cassino,
Waiting, watching,
Watching, waiting,
Until the end of time.
IF THE MOUNTAIN COULD SPEAK
What would it say? Its message today?
Cloud-swathed, battle-bathed,
Would it tell of the horrors of war?
Speak of the thousands who fell?
Share how it witnessed battle-hell?
There was too much to witness, too much to see.
It can never be free.
From a past long gone,
The memories cling on,
And today,
From a time so far away,
The mountain calling, calling,
Crying, sighing,
Its poignant call?
Remember the fallen.
Remember them all.
ZA POLSKE!
Listen!
Can you hear, from years gone by,
Clinging to time, a battle-cry?
Za Polske!
For Poland!
The cry of men, willing to die,
Men, who had lost all they held dear.
Friends, family, homeland, torn apart,
Desire for revenge in each man’s heart.
Thursday, May 18th,
1944,
A day engraved in Polish lore.
The final assault. Pay-back time.
Take the Abbey. Break the line.
Avenge the bitter, brutal past.
Fight with fury. Fight to the last.
Blood on the mountain. So many lives lost.
Objective achieved.
Terrible cost.
Were the poppies covering the mountainside
Honouring the memory of all those who died?
Do-Not-Forget-Me Poppies,
Battle-stained, blood-red,
Red for sacrifice.
Poppies, growing, blowing,
Sighing, dying,
Amongst the losses,
The crosses.
Whispering, whispering,
Remember me,
Whispering, whispering,
For Eternity.
ONCE
Once, they drank beer,
Called loved ones, my dear,
Collected stamps, paddled in the sea,
Listened to stories at their mother’s knee.
Once, the girls tried to catch their eye,
The eye of soldiers marching by.
Once, they had homes, children, wives,
Families, friends.
Once, they had lives.
And then, there was war.
They defended their shore.
A war to be won. Job to be done.
They said farewell, kissed their wives,
And off they went to different lives,
To conflict, assault, attack, to war,
A million miles from their lives before.
They saw what man should never see.
A world of bombardment, brutality.
Horror. Terror. They witnessed it all.
Helpless, they saw their comrades fall.
In every theatre of war, the stories are told,
Of men who never would grow old.
Once, they drank beer,
Called loved ones, my dear.
Once, they had friends, families, wives.
Once, they had lives.
OLD SOLDIERS
You see old soldiers,
Veterans of days gone by,
Standing in the shadow of life.
Upright, As far as they are able.
It’s not easy.
Old age. Arthritis.
Walking-sticks.
They are military-smart,
Medals glinting,
Eyes, suspiciously bright.
They stand amongst the graves,
The graves of the war-dead.
Slowly, silently, sadly,
Tears no longer hidden,
They breathe the air of sacrifice,
Feel, once more,
The blackness of war.
The boys,
The men,
The fallen.
They fill their thoughts.
So many years have passed,
Yet still,
They see their faces,
Feel their pain.
Old soldiers,
Veterans of days gone by,
You salute your friends,
Your mates.
You honour the fallen.
We do, too, but more,
We salute you.
HEROES
Heroes,
He called us.
We’re not heroes.
The heroes are the fallen,
The missing, the dead.
They are our comrades, our mates,
Those for whom Fate decreed a destiny
So different from ours.
Today, they lie far from home,
Names set in stone,
And if those stones could speak,
Would they share their secrets?
Would they ever say,
What really happened one long gone day?
Stories of heroes, stories of old,
Waiting, waiting,
One day, to be told.
WHERE FIREFLIES DANCED
I saw fireflies at Cassino,
One perfect night in May.
Beneath the shadow of the mountain,
They danced the night away.
There were fireflies at Cassino,
May, 1944,
Shining in the darkness,
Caught in deadly war.
Flares in the valley,
Flashes in the night,
The fireflies of Cassino,
Sparkling, tinsel-bright.
As they danced around me,
Time drifted softly by.
Lights ringed the monastery.
Stars caressed the sky.
I saw fireflies at Cassino,
One perfect night in May.
Ghosts of the fallen?
Another time, another day?
Glimmers of light,
Amidst carnage and sorrow.
Hope for our future?
Peace for tomorrow?
CASSINO TODAY
Cassino today,
Its past so very far away.
Its memories?
Mountains of memories,
Here to stay,
Each and every single day.
REMEMBRANCE
LOVE’S
LAST GIFT
The Monte Cassino Society
The Monte Cassino Society was formed in 2005 to support veterans of the ‘forgotten’ Italian Campaign of 1943 – 45. Twenty years on, and with the passage of time and that remarkable generation (cruelly misnamed the “D Day Dodgers”) the Society continues with our aim to further an interest in the Italian Campaign, and to remember the sacrifice and bravery of those of all Allied nations who fought in what is now recognised as one of the hardest, most brutal and gruelling campaigns of World War Two.
Our members include historians and descendants of former veterans, and those from all walks of life who have an interest in our shared history. That interest and knowledge is extended through guided tours to Cassino, the Gothic Line and other significant theatres of the Italian Campaign, led by an expert battlefield guide.
The annual anniversary of the Battle for Monte Cassino is marked by our services at Cassino, the Monte Cassino Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, and Blackhall St Columba’s Church in Edinburgh, home of the Monte Cassino Cross. The Italian Campaign is commemorated by our participation in the annual march-past at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday. In May 2024, a group of 40 MCS members were in Cassino for the ceremony to mark the 80th Anniversary of
the Battle for Monte Cassino, which was attended by HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh.
We welcome new members, and details of membership can be found at
www.montecassinosociety.co.uk
Helen James
Monte Cassino Society
2025
Associazione Linea Gustav
Associazione Linea Gustav (Gustav Line Association) is a centre for historical-military studies and research. Its primary objective is to preserve the historical memory of events from the last world conflict in Italy and abroad. The Association collaborates with a diverse and synergistic group of historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, as well as Italian and foreign researchers and scholars. This team adopts a scientific approach to study battlefields, documenting and recovering existing testimonies, and preserving them – where possible – for new generations. Collaboration with major research institutions and museums also grants access to crucial documentary, narrative, and iconographic sources, essential for an objective reconstruction and understanding of historical events. These activities are frequently documented by international television broadcasters (RAI, BBC, National Geographic, History Channel) and local channels (Teleuniverso Srl), to whom Association members and collaborators have provided
historical and logistical support over the past ten years of operations in Italy and abroad. The Association has conducted numerous documentation activities, interviews, and meetings with veterans from armies that operated in Southern Lazio and Upper Caserta during the Italian Campaign, as remembered by Anglo-American historiography. These efforts were also extended to civilians tragically involved in the conflict. Today, most of them are no longer with us. For this reason, the Association serves as an essential point of reference for their families, scholars, and anyone wishing to learn about the locations
where these terrible wartime events unfolded.
Associazione Linea Gustav conducts educational initiatives in Italy and abroad to preserve, renew, and build a shared historical memory of the Second World War. From 2010 to date, these initiatives have
involved approximately 22,000 students from elementary, middle, and high schools in Lazio, as well as numerous groups consisting of historians, military personnel, and tourists from Italy and abroad.
Damiano Parravano
Chairman
Associazione Linea Gustav
Cassino
80th Anniversary
May 18th
2024
Acknowledgements
Helen James – Monte Cassino Society
Des James – Website and Facebook Coordinator
Damiano Parravano – Chairman Gustav Line Association
Frank de Planta – Battlefield Guide
Joe Purdy – Digital Editor
Jez Teasdale – Monte Cassino Society
Copyright © Patricia Rigg 2025