227099 Fus. John Leathem British Army 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers from:Lurgan, Co. Down, Northern Ireland  My father John Leathem enlisted on 19th of June 1941 with the Royal Irish Fusiliers at Ballykilner Camp in Co. Down, Northern Ireland. On 15th of November 1943 he was posted to the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers joining them at San Salvo in Italy. He fought with his regiment until 18th of June 1944 while advancing with the 56 Recce Group advance heading North of Orvieto towards Lake Trasimene. Withdrawn from the front he would spend the summer recuperating in Southern Italy before rejoining his regiment on 16th September 1944 while they were preparing in Taranto to rejoin the battle front. The unit then saw action starting in Castel Del Rio. My father's company was one of two companies that took part in the ill fated initial attack on Monte Spaduro. After a relatively unopposed advance onto Monte Spaduro the Germans counter attacked strongly on October 20th, 1944 and and completely overran the positions of A and B companies 1st Battalion RIrF after they had ran out of ammunition. My father was one of some 40 men taken prisoner. Many of his unit did not survive the counter attack. He was transported to Stalag VII-A and held POW until liberated by the Americans on 29th of April 1945. He seldom talked about his experiences in the trenches and in the POW camp. He lived a long life after the war although sometimes in pain from his war wounds. He died peacefully of natural causes on St. Patricks Day 1994 at the age of 84.
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