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'ON THIS SITE THOUSANDS OF MEN FOUGHT AND DIED' |
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'I lived near Anzio for a brief period of time in 2003, less than one kilometre from the Anzio Commonwealth War Cemetery in Villa Claudia. I knew about the famous American Beachhead Military Cemetery in Nettuno and often asked myself why there were no information points about the history of the Anzio beachhead in my local area, something which I found rather odd at the time. |
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During visits home to watch Yorkshire play cricket at Headingley, I was struck by a number of paintings in the members lounge, depicting former players who fought and died in Anzio, Cassino and other places in Italy during World War Two. On my return to Villa Claudia, I considered the possibility of working on a project to publicize the Anzio beachhead story in situ at some future time. |
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Perhaps being an Englishman, and knowing that had a beachhead assault similar to what happened around Anzio in 1944 occurred in England, the battlefield would have been conserved as a site of historic interest with funding made available to improve public access, or at the very least signposted, I naively expected the same level of respect, responsibility and humility here. |
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The present day reality of how Anzio remembers 1944 is at best a conditional acceptance of recent history. Remembrance day in Anzio on January 22nd each year is a well organized and well attended occasion. For the rest of the year, however, a single room museum hidden away between the railway station and harbour, manned by volunteers and reliant on donations, is the only place one can visit to learn about sacrifices made by thousands of men in a battlefield covering some 80 square miles. |
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If it is a lack of local information which has given rise to the apparent indifference towards what happened on the Anzio beachhead 66 years ago, then it is something this project seeks to address.' |
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Pete Griffin | Rome, June 2010 |
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The Myth of Angelita / Anzio, 1979. A statue dedicated to the memory of an Italian child called 'Angelita' is unveiled, a child said to have been found on the beach at Anzio in 1944 and adopted by Christopher S. Hayes of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, only to be killed shortly afterwards by German artillery fire (or a bullet in the arms of a nurse depending on what you read). Historians are adamant and common sense would suggest that if children were found alone and in danger by troops in the Anzio beachhead, they would have been taken directly to Medical Corps. / Read more |
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