Contact Us

To join our society and receive our newsletters please contact our secretary at info@montecassinosociety.co.uk

If you have any questions or information about relatives who fought in Italy, then please contact us below. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

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25 thoughts on “Contact Us

  1. Good morning
    I am looking to bring my Partner to memorial service at National Arboretum in May .

    Do we need to book ?

    Many thanks

    • Hi Karen.
      No you do not have to book but it would be useful if you could let our Secretary know if you are coming as it helps with the organisation of the event. You can contact her though the link on our home page. I look forward to meeting you at the Arboretum.

  2. Is this Society restricted only to British veterans of this Battle? I noticed on your site that there are no other veterans of other Allied forces. My father was a Polish veteran fought & wounded at the Battle of Monte Cassino. He wrote down his personal memoirs of his entire journey from when he was sent to Siberia, released after the amnesty, joined the Polish army in Russia, went to Iran and the Middle East where he trained along side the 8th British Army, fought throughout the Italian Campaign, to when he immigrated after the war to Canada. Would this be something the Society would be interested in?

    • Hi Michael. Thank you for your message. The Society is definitely not restricted to British veterans. The stated aim of the Society is to perpetuate the memory of the conflict in Italy and this includes all participants. This year we travelled to Cassino for the 80th Anniversary with two of our members whose fathers were both in the Polish army. You are correct to say that our Recollections page only has British veterans (except for an Italian), so we would welcome your father’s memoirs to be included. My wife edits our newsletter and would be delighted to receive your father’s account. I await to hear from you.

  3. Dear society.

    My family comes from a little village near Cassino, and I have always been passionate about the story of what happened there.

    Being able to connect with veterans, transcribe their testimonies, and honor the memories of those who lost their lives would greatly contribute to expanding this memorial. Even something as simple as a date of birth, a place of death, the name of a unit, or a photograph of a soldier would be incredibly valuable to my work.

    I sincerely thank you for taking the time to consider my request, and I remain at your disposal for any questions or additional information you may wish to share.

    Thank you once again for your attention and support.

    • Hi Fabio.

      Thank you for your interest in our society. We are also dedicated to preserving the memory of all the people who were involved in the conflict in Italy. Unfortunately, we have very few veterans left amongst us and those still alive are not able to communicate well. Have you looked at the page on our website titled ‘Recollections’? It has the transcribed memories of many veterans, some no longer with us. If you have any more accounts from people, both military and civilian, who experienced the war in Italy, we would love to hear of them and possibly publish them. May I ask the nature of your work and if it is solely for your personal interest.
      Best regards
      Des James

  4. Hi,

    I am researching my family tree and am trying to find out some more information about my paternal grandfathers war service (Warrant Officer John Sutherland Campbell Stirling). He served in the Royal Engineers from 1939 and was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940. Subsequently, he served in North Africa and the Middle East then in the Italy campaign (after being seconded to the US 5th Army as an engineer. He was mentioned in dispatches for something he did during the battle of Monte Cassino but we have never been able to find out what he did (he didn’t talk about his war when he was alive and died relatively young in 1974 aged 58. Just wondering if you have any pointers on where I can find out more information on his service? Many thanks, John

      • Hi Frank

        That’s great. His full name was John Sutherland Campbell Stirling and his regimental number was 1913429.

        Many thanks

        John

        • John.

          His Regimental Number is from the batch allocated to the Royal Engineers so that is correct. Your best bet is to go to http://www.gov.uk and look up ‘How to I obtain a Service Record’. That will secure you his Service Record and all will be revealed about where he went and with which Field Company or Field Squadron.

          Regards

          Frank

  5. I am desperately trying to buy an 80th anniversary pin badge but am having no success…. My great uncle John Walker died there on 13th May 1944 and I have memories of going to his memorial every year in Budworth Cheshire…if you can help at all I would be thrilled … many thanks..Christine Mercer X

    • Hi Christine.
      Sorry about the delay in replying but I have been on holiday. I have contacted the Royal British Legion and unfortunately, the Monte Cassino pins have sold out and they do not intend to replace them as it was for a special occasion. If it is of any interest, the Monte Cassino Society are about to have badges made which will be on sale to members. Let me know if you are interested and I will send you more details.
      If you have any details or stories about your great uncle, we would love to hear them and with your permission, perhaps put them in our newsletter. You can see copies of past newsletters on this website.
      You can reply to my email address which should appear below.

      • Thankyou for getting back in touch…I’m so disappointed that I won’t be able to buy the commemorative pin…I recently went back to where his memorial is and was horrified to see it was all smashed up.I can’t even begin to tell you how I feel. I am on holiday at the moment but when I get back I will more than likely join and also purchase the new pin…thankyou for your help

        • Christine.

          If you would like to know a bit more about where and how he died, do say. As part of 12th Infantry Brigade, 6th Battalion Black Watch crossed the bridge at ‘Amazon’ on 13 May 44 and pushed forward accompanied by the tanks of A Squadron 2nd Lothian & Border Horse. I have the mapping and story if you would like to read it.

          Better still, walk the ground with the Monte Cassino Society.

          Regards

          Frank

  6. I am writing to you as a result of a photo a friend took last month of my father’s gravesite in the Cassino cemetery. Beside the site (P J Dudman) was a message from your society stating that you had recently held a remembrance service in the cemetery to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle, and that those present had each selected a gravesite to stand by. I was very moved. I have also stood at the gravesite, in 1998, and my brother previously. We were born in England in1941 and 1942, so had no memory of our father. My father’s family was indeed doomed – my grandparents and my aunt were killed in the Blitz in 1940, their youngest son Tony was killed at El Alamein in 1942, my father in 1943 and his twin brother, Jim, shot down over Paris on June 11th, 1944. I thank you from my home in Auckland, New Zealand, for this gesture your society made this year. My friend, Peter Charlesworth, a fellow Italian student, took the photos and made the visit on my behalf. i am now 82, but as long as I live, the sacrifice of my family will never be forgotten. And, as I well know, they were surely just the tip of the shocking iceberg. Thankyou again
    Maureen Rutledge

  7. Hi

    My name is Marc Kirsten

    I thought you might like this short interview I did for the RLB about my father who fought at the Battle of Monte Cassino, which was posted on their fccebook page on Saturday.

    https://youtu.be/mkeOiho95OY

    All the best

    Marc

  8. I have just read about the society,my father was in the 2nd battalion london irish rifles as was you sec.what if anything can i contribute.

    • John.

      Come out to Cassino and see what 2 London Irish did in the Fourth Battle of Cassino. As part of 78 Infantry Division, they were ordered to push up the valley right underneath and in full view of Point 593, Point 575 and the monastery. It was quite an ask.

      Regards

      Frank

  9. I was talking to mark Smith at Temple at War on Saturday .
    Asked him why the Battle of Monti Cassino was never pubisised as much as D Day and that my father Oliver Douglas Barnard fought there with the 8th Army .
    He told me of the Monti Cassino Society .
    So here I am wishing to join you all .\

    • Sorry about the delay but most of the committee have been in Cassino for the 80th anniversary. We would love to have you join our society. The cost is a modest £15 per year for which you will receive at least 2 newsletters per year. if you have any information about your father we would be glad to publish it on the website and in the newsletter. Please contact our secretary at info@montecassinosociety.co.uk for more details.

    • Olivia.

      As a battlefield guide for the Italian Campaign, I am immensely frustrated that Normandy and NW Europe get so much more of the media attention than Italy. Part of it is because Normandy was so much easier to get to after the war but with the arrival of Easyjet, Wizz and Ryanair it is now possible to reach the Italian battlefields at far less cost. I am hoping that this will improve the public’s understanding of what exactly the troops in Italy endured from Sep 43-May 45.

  10. Diary of Harold Brand. I found his account very moving. My father had fought in the previous Monte cassino Battles. He was attatched now to the “Fifth Indian”. At one timr he took a unit of troops through the ruins of Cassino and up to Castle Hill. He also fought the German assault from the castle ruins. There is a possibility that he is the Sergeant mentioned in Mr. Brands account.

    • Hi John. We are pleased that you found the account of Harold Brand interesting and relevant. If you would like to write a piece about your father we would be glad to include it in ‘Recollections’ and perhaps print it in our Newsletter. You can send it via the email link in the website to our secretary.

    • John.

      I am confused by where your father would have been. Are you saying that he was in 5th Indian Brigade, 4th Indian Division. If so, that would place him on or near Snakeshead Ridge for the Second Battle of Cassino in Feb 44.

      Is this correct? What unit was he serving in at the time?

      Regards

      Frank

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