264748 Pte. Ronald Bowdidge British Army 2nd Btn. Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry from:East Ham My grandfather, Ronald Bowdidge served in Italy with the 2nd DCLI.
Although he died when I was young, I have been interested in what these men went through as my Mother said that he would not talk about his experience and become very quiet and reflective and almost unapproachable every Remembrance Day.
He fought and was taken prisoner in Italy and that is all my mother knew about his experience direct from my Grandfather. I want to know where these men fought and try to discover what experience these young men endured which moulded them for the rest of their life. My research into the 2nd's time in Italy led me to discover the route of the 2nd Battalion's march up the Italian Peninsula, from their opening battle during Operation Diadem at Monte Cassino to their penultimate engagement on the 25th-26th Oct 1944 in Northern Italy crossing the River Ronco, in which, due to a combination of factors unrelated to the men's bravery, the battalion lost over 120 men and officers killed, wounded or PoW in a single night.
I am looking to fill in more details from any relative of these brave men and also share what I have.
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