ITALY, 1943 and 1948

My next novel will be set in Italy during and after the Second World War. As part of my research I have just completed two trips to Italy, thanks to very generous grant from The Society of Authors. Thanks to another generous grant from Arts Council England, I will be spending a month in India in December and January, undertaking similar research there.

My first visit, in late July/early August this year was to  Monte Cassino, the site of four major battles that took place over a period of four months between January and May 1944, and cost 55,000 Allied casualties. Just a look at some of the pictures of the terrain, a series of mountains and rivers, fiercely defended by the German army, which held all the high ground, will explain the almost impossible task that confronted these soldiers. Historians have described the Italian campaign as one of the most hard fought and challenging of the entire war, but the Normandy invasion diverted attention away from Italy and the soldiers in Italy were nicknamed 'The D-Day Dodgers" after a comment made by Nancy Astor in the House of Commons. Their response was a song, ironically embracing the sobriquet, which can be heard HERE.

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The campaign and the Allied bombing devastated  great swathes of Italy, destroying whole towns, turning farmland into battlefields and creating hundreds of thousands of refugees. After the surrender of Italy in September 1943, with their man away fighting as Partisans or with the Allies, or working as slave labour in German POW camps, thousands of women had to turn to prostitution to feed their families. Despite the terrible suffering experienced by the civilian population, many escaped  Allied POWs were sheltered by Italian families who risked their lives and shared their meagre food and supplies. Guides helped them through the mountains risking instant execution and reprisals against their families. Just as the soldiers in Italy were effectively branded as cowards by the epithet attached to them, the extraordinary courage and compassion shown by the Italian people has rarely been recognised, and on my trips to Italy I discovered that that the people of the area have not changed. 

On my first trip, with guide Danila Bracaglia, who showed us round the area and introduced us to Italians who had childhood memories of the German occupation, we were welcomed warmly, as though we were long lost family. I also discovered many similarities between the Indian and Italian ways of life. Most soldiers at the time of the war were from agricultural families. They understood the poverty and harshness of the life, but also the deep connection between the people and the land they lived on. 

My second trip, with retired Lieutenant-Colonel Frank de Planta, of Cassino Battlefield Tours, was even more memorable. I decided to return to Monte Cassino because, having learnt something of Italian culture and history on the first tour, I needed a close understanding of the military campaigns, especially those involving the British 8th Army, which included colonial troops from New Zealand, Canada, India and Nepal, as well as Polish troops. When I contacted Frank, he told me he was taking a contingent of 35 soldiers from an armoured Scottish regiment to Monte Cassino and asked if I would like to join them. Somewhat nervously I agreed. The experience  was beyond my wildest expectations. Apart from the thoroughness of the tour, and the comprehensiveness of the tour which covered everything from the strategy to the  detail of individual battles, spending time in the company of soldiers gave me an insight I could never otherwise have had into their way if life - their strategies for coping with the unbelievable stresses they face, the closeness and loyalty, the camaraderie, the different roles played by each member, the black humour, and of course the courage and sheer grit in the face of challenges that most of us would crumble under. 

I am looking forward to my month in India in December and hope I will find half the welcome and inspiration I found in Italy.