1000 Men, 1000 Stories

Thursday, February 5, 2026

Photographs: Allied Landings at GEORGE and HOW Beaches, Sicily, 1943 (1)

Turn Right for Ammunition and Petrol at GEORGE Beach!

RCNVR in Combined Ops are at HOW Beach Too, Close By!

Map of Avola region, from an Italian collection*, notes added in blue

ink after a COPP's survey**, then used by Allied forces in Sicily, 1943.

Photo Credit: From 'The Allied Landings in Sicily, WW2 Museum'

in Catania (on the east coast of Sicily)

*British war planners agreed or offered to make maps for the invasion of Sicily. They had maps of Sicily already in their possession, perhaps from many years earlier than 1943. The age of the map is not known but upon closer inspection, e.g., at the 'Allied Landings Museum' in Catania, the date may be found.

**COPPs - a Combined Operations Pilotage Party completed a survey of the area (for map building and to scope out the physical features re landing zones), using collapsable canoes transported by British submarine(s) to offshore Sicily in the dead of night a few weeks before the invasion took place. At the top of the map one can read (in blue ink) Defences Overprint dated 17.6.43 (i.e., June 17, 1943).

More about COPP's surveys and other activities can be found at a website with the same name. Please check it out. It is little known, likely because it carried out secret - but not insignificant - activities using just a small number of men compared to, say, the British Army, Navy or Airforce... at night when most people were sleeping.

(Reminds me of Canadians in Combined Operations, a small group of sailors, about 1% of all those in Canada who joined the Navy during WWII... even though they did most of their work in the daytime because it's very hard to know where to park a landing craft full of troops or the materials of war when it's dark out).

Questions or comments about this entry can be addressed to GH at gordh7700@gmail.com

Introduction:

In the area circled in yellow on the map above one will find GEORGE Beach, a designated landing area for British troops beginning on July 10, 1943 as part of Operation HUSKY. In blue ink one can read the following:

"Tracks inland from beach" (including arrows to certain spots)

"Low Cliff" and "Rocky Coast" (including lines to designate each area)

"Fairly soft sandy beach 1100 x 30. Water offshore suitable for L.C.A, L.C.S. etc. and ? L.C.T. No false beach, Exits good. Note: - There is a low cliff point at the north which divides the beach into two: 870 and 230 approx." (I assume that the measurements are in metres).

In Fontane Bianche "a low cliff point at the north... divides the beach

into two." I was unable to walk from right to left through the water with-

out losing or soaking my camera. The cliff is not used for jumping into

the water. Lovely beachside settings! Photo GH from atop "Low Cliff"

In the lighter original ink on the map the words Fontane Bianche are written near the beach, as well as 'grottazze' which means 'cattle caves'. My father, as a member of the 80th Canadian Flotilla of Landing Craft and about 60 other sailors/mates, found accommodation in the cattles caves after the troop ships (that they themselves had arrived in) were unloaded of all men and supplies and had departed. Two caves became their home for approximately 3 weeks in July, 1943.

Small squares with a dot inside show where pillboxes are located. The pill-

box with a 2, above the word 'grottazze' (left) (2 guns perhaps, one in each

direction, i.e., one toward the beach and one toward the road behind it)

still stands next to a gravel lane (shown as a dotted line on the map)

Behind this pillbox the gravel road continues uphill toward the grottazze,

the lovely beach area and the welcoming Mediterranean Sea. Photo GH

And a special note: On the map one can clearly see a road going from the beach to Cassibile! If the truck below turned to its right in about 10 metres it could make a delivery to Cassibile in minutes!

'Road to Cassibile near the beachhead', Sicily, July 1943

Photo Credit: Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale

About the photo: A signpost directs Allied troops to an ammunition and fuel depot near 'George Beach'. National Army Museum, UK

GEORGE Beach was a significant Allied landing zone for British soldiers, i.e. Monty's Eighth, and all the material of war needed to support them. The location was served by the Canadian 80th Flotilla of Landing Crafts, Mechanised (LCMs) to bring men and materials (e.g., ammunition, fuel, food, water, lorries, guns, etc.) to shore. The beach is now a focal point for a town or small city called Fontane Bianche (White Fountain) likely because of the importance of a small but clean and refreshing river that is nearby. Cassibile is a town about 2 or 3 km inland, west of GEORGE Beach.

HOW Beach was another Allied landing zone used by the British Army and was situated south of GEORGE, close to or at the town of Gallina and a few other suitable landing areas. Noto and Avola were farther south but not too far away. Some sailors were known to have visited Avola while on leave.

For example, Lloyd Evans, a member of RCNVR and Combined Operations, recalls the following in his memoirs:

Our departure (August 5th or 6th) from the Sicilian beach was both sudden and unexpected. After about a month there, three of us decided to visit the nearby city of Avola and to trade a few cans of bully beef for wine. It wasn't entirely risk free, however. As we walked through the ammunition supply fields off the beach, we heard the sound of a sniper's bullet passing very close by.

When we arrived at Avola, we dipped our tin mugs into a barrel of vino, which was conveniently located in the centre of the square. We wandered through some empty houses vacated by the owners when they fled to the hills. That evening, we fell asleep outside an air-raid shelter favoured by the local inhabitants who spread their mattresses there every night.

Lloyd Evans (back row, second from right) and my father (front

row, right side with 'a smoke' he rolled with one hand) and mates (all

with the 80th Flotilla?), perhaps in Sicily before they were put off - after

all British troops and supplies had been unloaded. Photo - Lloyd Evans

Unfortunately an army Provost group spotted us and removed us by truck to their HQ. Not for the first time, we discovered that a city was out of bounds. We had consumed a fair amount of vino and were not too happy about this and called them several uncomplimentary Limey names. The sergeant in charge, a Scotsman, thought all this was pretty funny. He promised to send as back to the beach, by jeep, in the morning if we behaved ourselves.

However, the officer in charge had other ideas but when the sergeant explained our fondness (?!) for the Limeys, he relented and we were delivered safely to the beach. When we arrived back, the flotilla was loading our gear onto our landing craft and, with an escort of Motor Launches and a Destroyer, we set off later in the day for Malta, about 75 miles to the west. (From 'My Naval Chronicles' by Lloyd Evans, page 30)

Caution - Major League Link ahead! Please click here to read more of Lloyd Evans' Navy memoirs at combinedops.org, created by Geoff Slee, Scotland. Be prepared. Have food and drink handy... you might be reading for a few days!

More details follow from the National War Museum:

Transported on American-built 'Landing Ships, Tank', or 'LSTs', sailing from North Africa, the 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943 as part of 4th Armoured Brigade.

According to the unit war diary 41 of 50 tanks were landed on 10 July 1943 primarily on beaches codenamed 'George' and 'How'. Resistance on the ground and from the air was limited. Cassibile and the high ground to the west of the village were among the initial objectives of the Sharpshooters following their successful amphibious landing.

A Sherman tank of 3rd County of London Yeomanry commanded by Allan

W. Grant (1911-1997) disembarks from a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) at

GEORGE Beach, July 10, 1943. Photo by Maj. W. H. J. Sale, MC

Source: National Army Museum

Details from the National War Museum continue:

The war diary for 10 July 1943 mentions an ammunition dump, near 'How Beach', exploding, resulting in the wounding of Sergeant Longstaff of 'A' Squadron.

(Photo by) Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, Italy, 1943. The photograph is from an album containing 246 photographs compiled by Major Sale.

One can gain access to some of Major Sale's photographs by visiting here: National Army Museum

Or, one can also just drive over to the National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, London (SW3 4HT) if one lives in the area.

More to come from the collection of Major Sale.

Please click here to view more about GEORGE Beach: Photographs: Invasion of Sicily, July and August, 1943 (6)

Unattributed Photos GH

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Editor's Research: Three Months in the Mediterranean, 1943 (30)

A Big Batch of News Clips from The Gazette, Aug. 9 1943

Monty Heaps High Praise Upon Canadian Troops

"From original caption: "Canada launched its first Lancaster on Friday

and sent it overseas..." Photo found in The Gazette, details below

Introduction:

British, American and Canadian armies have not yet reached Messina or swept remaining (retreating) German forces off the island of Sicily. It won't be too long before stories and photographs appear in The (Montreal) Gazette that depict the end of Operation HUSKY, begun July 10, one month earlier.

Two weeks ago, January 19, 2026, Cyclone Harry battered parts of the eastern shoreline in Sicily, including an area I visited with my son Paul in September, 2023 (80 years after the invasion of Sicily). Santa Teresa di Riva was central to our visit and the damage done to the shoreline will take many months, perhaps a year or more. Scars related to the upheaval, psychological and physical, will last much longer. "Do you remember when Cyclone Harry....?" will surely last for decades.

Areas affected by bad weather are seen along the seafront in Santa Teresa

di Riva, Sicily, Italy, 21 January 2026. (Feb. 3, 2026, EPA)

Looking north, then south from the beach at Santa Teresa di Riva in September 2023:

Photos GH

The same is true about damage done to the island of Sicily during WWII. While exploring the inside of a cave in Sept. 2023 a few miles north of Fontane Bianche (home to the 80th Flotilla of Canadian Landing Crafts (LCMs) in 1943), a 70-year-old doctor (we met him and his grandson during a hike along the coast) recalled family memories related to WWII.

"My grandmother lost her house during the Allied invasion. And an uncle was killed," he said solemnly.

No joy lived in those words. But the scars related to WWII live 'just below the surface' of many, many Sicilians to this day I am certain. And next time Paul and I visit Sicily we will be wise to remember that short conversation.

And now, on with the show:

Monty heaps praise upon the Canadian Army in Sicily:

I think that praise from a commanding officer really meant something to the men who received it. At least it did to my father (RCNVR/Combined Operations). In his WWII memoirs - written in the early 1970s - about his month in Sicily he writes:

(We) The men under a new commanding officer did yeoman work, although working long hours, under fed and pestered severely by Stukas and JU88s. The stokers kept the landing craft running, if not on two engines then on one (no down time) and the Canadian Flotillas* were highly praised by the British Admiralty and General Montgomery himself.

Their monkey mascot went bomb crazy and was buried at sea in a sandbag. It was a sad occasion when it was chucked overboard for our safety. "Dad, Well Done" page 75

Please click here to read more about 'their monkey mascot' (re the 80th Canadian Flotilla of LCMs).

A lengthy article to bring us up to date re where Allied armies are at this point:

Photo Credit: World War II, Operation Husky, 1943

In 1943, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division and 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade followed an inland route up the centre of Sicily, acting as the left flank of the British Eighth Army during Operation Husky. Over 27 days, they fought through 240 kilometres of mountainous, tough terrain, advancing from the southern coast to the vicinity of Mount Etna before being withdrawn on August 6, 1943. AI Overview

Montgomery’s plan of attack was to drive northward along the east coast

of Sicily, with Patton’s U.S. Seventh Army protecting his left flank.

A U.S. map. No mention of Canadian Army attached to Monty's 8th.

Source: Warfare History Network

Three 44 Squadron Avro Lancaster B.Is in 1942. Source - Wikipedia

GH googled 'Normandie liner refloated in New York 1943' and AI offered the following:

The SS Normandie (renamed USS Lafayette), the luxurious French ocean liner that caught fire and capsized at Pier 88 in New York City on February 9, 1942, was successfully righted on August 7, 1943. The salvage operation to upright and refloat the ship was one of the largest and most expensive of its time, costing approximately $5 million.

As with the Avro Lancaster bomber, mentioned in an earlier news clip, images abound (including videos on YouTube; click here to view "Why SS Normandie Capsized in New York Harbour"):

The S.S. Normandie, a 1,029-foot-long ship, burned in a spectacular

blaze at a Manhattan pier in February 1942, and had to be removed over

17 months in the Hudson. Credit: The New York Times

From The New York Times we'll switch to an article out of London, England by Associated Press and cabled across the Atlantic Ocean to The (Montreal) Gazette. Brought to you by GH from London, Ontario, Canada via his iMac, built in the USA. It's about a new-found optimism:

The attack of Germany "across the Channel or the North Sea" is

still several months away. First came the long, tough slog for every

mile of the peninsula of Italy, beginning on September 3, 1943.

Wishful thinking? Mystery and intrigue? All this, even before AI was invented!

Lionel S. B. Shapiro, author of "They Left the Backdoor Open" ("Who is 'They'?" I won't tell you what it's all about, it would spoil the surprise!), is one of my favourite war correspondents, along with Ross Munro, especially as their stories relate to Sicily. Shapiro's lengthy columns under a specific heading are upcoming, as found on microfiche at the University of Western Ontario. Here he shares his account of "British and Canadian troops of the Eighth Army "swarming over the hills..." and earlier, "Monty's left hook":

Photo from Lionel Shapiro's aforementioned book, very close to GEORGE

Beach, home of the 80th Flotilla. This is likely HOW Beach, 2 - 3 miles to

the south, home of the 81st Canadian LCMs. Click here for more details.*

*If you don't like surprises.

"Canadian and British units captured Aderno" and more from other war fronts:

The following article takes us many miles from Sicily:

re Kolombangara: The cruisers USS St. Louis and HMNZS Leander firing

Click here for more about the 'Battle of Kolombangara' at Wikipedia.

Please click here for even more (a video) about the Battle of Kolombangara as found on YouTube.

And now a word from our sponsor, the people from Tic Toc!!

Juanita Rios, mentioned as "star of the broadway show, Star and Garter" in the above caption was actually listed as 'first girl' (a long way from 'star of the show) in the only list of characters I could find for Mike Todd's Broadway hit from 1942 - 43. I think Gypsy Rose Lee, featured on the Ed Sullivan show when I was a kid, was the real star.

Speaking of 'star of the show', the Lancaster was another one (one of many):

Please click here to view an excellent website re the Lancaster, how it came to be made in Canada (and many other features re WWII history).

Avro Lancaster B Mk. I (Serial No. R5727), built in the UK and

flown to Victory Aircraft in Malton, Canada in August 1942 to serve

as a pattern for the other Lancasters to be built in Canada.

CFJIC-DND Photo, PL-1173 via Don Smith)

405 (B) Squadron RCAF Avro Lancaster “Ruhr Express” being bombed up

for a mission over Berlin. Ground crews are steering two “cookies” (block-

buster bombs) into position under the bomb-bay. This aircraft was the first

Canadian built Lancaster. (Library and Archives

Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4542805)

I think this cartoon is depicting Hitler's dilemma, i.e., the destruction of his once-powerful submarine fleet is out-pacing the German industry's ability to build new ones, replacements:

Another episode of "The Great Escape":

Like your mustard?

The Dieppe Raid occurred on August 19, 1942 and about two years later (two weeks shy since the following article was delayed from August 5th) members of the Canadian 1st Division exacted some revenge, balancing the scales to some immeasurable degree:

Private D.B. MacDonald of The Royal Canadian Regiment, who carries a Bren

light machine gun, near Campobasso, Italy, October 1943. Photo: Jack H. Smith.

From the Faces of War collection at Library and Archives Canada.

As found at The Regimental Rogue

"We just spit back at them." I think that many readers would say, "That's a pretty good response. I'd maybe do the same in the same circumstances."

My response is, "Hey, the guy was from London, Ontario, i.e., where I make my current home. I wonder if I can find any living relatives of Harvey Bonner in this fair city of mine and pass along the WWII article?"

I found 6 phone numbers for 'Bonner' in London (and I think I taught a Bonner back when I was a young teacher! Wouldn't that be a major league coincidence?!

So, I will call the 6 numbers to see if I can find a relative. If I do I will report back here.

On to Mr. Clapper's column. I wonder if he's in the phonebook?

Pause. I'll come to Clapper's Column in a few minutes. First, wouldn't this be a good time to remember a perfectly decent citizen of London, Ontario, who volunteered for the RCNVR in and around the same time as my father did in 1941 (their volunteer numbers are really not too far apart; Dad - V8801; Allan 'Addy' Adlington - V8786). He participated in Operation HUSKY, was injured while manning a gun turret during the landing of troops beginning July 10, 1943, and sent to hospital in one country then another. And he showed me the scar when I met him and his wife Mary about 15 years ago. I was writing for a local newspaper, mentioned my father's link to the RCNVR and he called me. "I trained and served with your dad during WWII," he said. My gosh, I've even got their wedding photo (given to me by Mary) and my Dad's best friend during WWII (Chuck Rose) stood up with Addy.

And it just so happens that when I was searching for one thing online I found another with Addy's picture on it. "I know this fella!" I said and then fell off my chair. I still carry the bruise. I'll show it to you sometime.

The following memorial page (and several pages re veterans I did not share here) was printed in honour of veterans from Dutton Township, and of the two Adlingtons listed on one page 'Addy' is the one with no link to Dutton mentioned, though all the others on subsequent pages had a defined link to that Township. I had the thought that maybe 'Addy' got included because he was listed on the same page with another Adlington, with described link to Dutton Township, though he did have a scar to prove he'd paid a heavy price for volunteering.

Being hospitalized in Scotland was fortuitous! 'Addy' had met a wee Scottish girl at a dance club in Glasgow (while on leave from a training camp in Irvine, Scotland in mid-1942). They were married in Glasgow (date?) and Mary later came to Canada via the SS Île de France, and fortunately not SS Normandie! Though she recalled to me that she did land in New York. Source - written memorial page and photograph (?)

Of course I have the wedding photo!

L-R: Chuck Rose (looking as if he has not done this before), 'Addy',

Mary, and Mary's sister, just a bit more 'wee' than Mary

And then there's the 'Addy' Adlington and 'Cactus' (and 'Dogo') Harrison connection:

Eight of the first 50 Canadian ratings to volunteer for Combined Ops.

L- R: Al Adlington, Joe Spencer, Chuck Rose, Doug Harrison*, Art Brad-

field, Don Linder, Joe Watson (with a large bee on his face?) At HMS

Northney (one of 4 camps, (I - IV), Hayling Island, Jan.- March, 1942

*Doug's nicknames, i.e., 'Dogo' or 'Do-Go' and 'Cactus') may be related to (a) his poor guitar playing (the guitar was purchased in S. Africa on his way to Sicily) as in "Do go somewhere else with your fumbling around off-key", and (b) his quick, sharp and prickly reactions to impertinent questions or being criticized. 'Like father, like son' rings true with me... but only occasionally. "I said, only occasionally!!"

Back to Clapper's Column:

Please click here to read a fine tribute to Fred Painton (mentioned in the second to last paragraph above) by U.S. war correspondent Ernie Pyle, seen in the photograph below:

Fred Painton: A Tribute, Saturday, April 28, 1945