22nd Battalion 2NZEF

"Vrai et Fort"

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WEEK 2

DAY 13 Thursday 2 June 2005

Florence War Cemetery

The 2nd June is a National Holiday in Italy so all the shops were closed. This morning we boarded the buses early, before the temperature soared above 30°C again, and headed for the Florence War Cemetery. This cemetery is sited on the bank of the Arno River in a quiet, sheltered spot. It is the home to 1620 graves with many of these being New Zealanders.

The Florence Cemetery holds a personal attraction as here lies the graves of several of my father's friends, men killed as they stood beside him during the attack on La Romola on the night of 30th May 1944.

Florence War Cemetery, looking back to the Cross and entrance

Looking across the cemetery from the entrance

The headstones of Medway and Valintine, 22 Battalion men.

Douglas beside the graves

Roll of Honour of 22nd Battalion interred at Florence

Surname	Names	Rank	Age	Date of Death	Number	Plot	Row	Grave
BERRY,	REGINALD HENRY	Private	22	28/07/1944	402952	VII.	F.	7
BORTHWICK,	THOMAS JAMES	Private	25	1/08/1944	554900	VII.	E.	7
BREWER,	PHILIP D'ARCY	Lance Serjeant	25	31/07/1944	6889	VII.	E.	2
CRUICKSHANK,	REGINALD JOHN	Private	21	31/07/1944	455726	VII.	A.	11
DEEHAN,	FRANCIS HENRY	Private		2/08/1944	76715	VII.	E.	6
DUNBAR,	ALEXANDER	Lance Corporal	22	12/08/1944	434423	VII.	A.	18
FEARON,	LAURENCE MICHAEL	Private	26	19/11/1944	41012	IV.	J.	11
FLEMING,	ROBERT CLARENCE	Private	22	27/07/1944	453005	VII.	G.	17
HOLMAN,	CLARENCE PATRICK	Private	26	27/07/1944	44439	VII.	G.	18
LUDBROOK,	REGINALD HUMPHREY	Lance Serjeant	32	12/08/1944	586782	VII.	D.	11
McNEIL,	JOHN HUGH	Lieutenant	24	30/07/1944	70492	VII.	B.	14
MEDWAY,	LESLIE JOHN	Private	22	30/07/1944	618522	VII.	E.	8
MOLLOY,	TERENCE WILLIAM	Corporal	27	30/07/1944	44495	VII.	B.	17
MURFITT,	CECIL SAMUEL	Private	24	30/07/1944	45046	VII.	B.	15
NILSSON,	GORDON LINDSAY	Private	29	30/07/1944	402467	VII.	B.	18
PRICE,	RHYS DAVID	Serjeant	30	9/08/1944	41607	VII.	F.	6
RICHARDSON,	CECIL	Private	26	26/07/1944	42495	VIII.	E.	1
RIDDLE,	IAN GOODLAND	Private	29	28/07/1944	117275	VIII.	A.	14
RYE,	GORDON RAYMOND	Private	23	3/08/1944	438780	VIII.	B.	9
TUFFIN,	GEORGE HOWARD	Private	21	31/07/1944	441282	VII.	E.	3
VALINTINE,	DENZIL ALFRED	Private	22	30/07/1944	459451	VII.	E.	9
VILES,	ALAN RAYMOND	Lance Corporal	23	30/07/1944	273523	VII.	E.	1
WAUCHOP,	THOMAS STEWART	Lieutenant	34	25/07/1944	469048	VII.	F.	8
WEVELL,	PHILLIP SYDNEY	Private	33	30/07/1944	562805	VII.	A.	15
WICKEN,	WALTER ALEXANDER	Private	31	30/07/1944	517383	VII.	B.	16

Our visit to the Florence Cemetery was the last formal activity associated with the veteran's return to Italy.

Montecatini Alto

Following our return to the Hotel, we caught the funicular cable car up the hill to Montecatini Alto, the small village sitting on top of the hill.

The entrance to the Montecatini Funicular, or cable car

Looking up the track

Through a tunnel - there is the other car

So this is how they pass - just like the Wellington version

The top terminus

Houses and olive trees on the way up

After walking around most of the village, we arrived at the Town Square to find it full of tables and chairs belonging to at least 3 restaurants. We gladly sat down to a cold beer and bowls of pasta before continuing our tour. The cable car took us back down to the hotel.

Montecatini Alto at the top

Looking across the village

Steep streets

The clock tower - time runs differently in this town

And back down the steep streets

The central piazza in Montecatini Alto - full of ristorantes and tables

A nice place for a plate of pasta and a cool beer

The local pasta and beer

One of 7 castles in the town

And finally back down the cable car to the street and the hotel. At the foot of the cable car is a bus stop, covered in the usual advertising. This one displayed an image that we saw all over Italy, which we presume is a celebration of the Italian clothing industry. There might be money in it for the designers, but there cannot be much profit in it for the cloth weavers.

Billboard on the local bus stop

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Last updated: 05/12/2016