Photographs: Invasion of Sicily, July and August, 1943 (6)

 On July 10, 1943, Action was Very Heavy on GEORGE Beach

Canadians in Combined Operations Were in the Thick of It

Modern day view of a small portion of GEORGE Beach.

Photo by G. Harrison, September, 2023

Introduction:

Of the approx. 16 dozen photographs taken by official British Army photographer Leonard Chetwyn during WWII that I have been able to locate at the Imperial War Museum (U.K.), a small handful were taken on July 10, 1943. That day was special in a variety of ways.

Firstly, Operation HUSKY, the invasion of Sicily, began in the very early morning of that day, in a wide variety of locations on the eastern and southern shores of the soon-to-be-overwhelmed island in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea.

The Western Task Force (U.S.; Patton) headed north-west to Palermo.

The Eastern Task Force (British, Canadian; Monty, Simonds) headed

northward toward Messina (upper right) beginning July 10, 1943.

Map found in Combined Operations by Londoner Clayton Marks

Secondly, four Canadian Flotillas of Landing Crafts participated in the invasion. I.e., the 55th and 61st Flotillas of Landing Craft Assault (LCAs) landed British troops north of Pachino and the 80th and 81st Canadian Flotillas of Landing Craft Mechanised (LCMs) landed some troops (I believe) and all materials of war at the HOW and GEORGE  Beaches for approx. four weeks (into August) north of Avola and south of Syracuse.

And thirdly, as can seen above ("Dad is here"), my father - as a member of the 80th Flotilla - was kept very busy at GEORGE Beach, south of Syracuse, now modern day Fontane Bianche.

"Very busy," handling LCMs:

LCM in foreground, off the coast of Pachino, relatively peaceful landings

Photo Credit - Imperial War Museum

"Very busy" and not so "peaceful landings" took place at GEORGE Beach":

"Utter death and carnage..."

A brief summary of LCM landings during the first 3 days near Syracuse.

From the memoirs of L.S. Doug Harrison, RCNVR/Comb.Ops

Photos follow from modern times, Sept. 2023, at Fontane Bianche, Sicily:

My younger son Paul, walks toward the ridge (50 meters away) that is home

to two caves, near the southern-most end of GEORGE Beach. Photos GH

Modern-day GEORGE Beach, from south to north side of a lovely bay

View of the northern-most side of the bay, home to GEORGE Beach,

just a few kilometres south of Syracuse

While looking for relevant photographs re the invasion of Sicily (hoping to spot my father smiling at the camera, maybe even giving a 'thumbs up') I came across a heading - for the first time - concerning actions at GEORGE Beach. In previous posts I have shared at least two of the handful that follows by a British photographer listed below:

INVASION OF SICILY TROOPS AND ARMOUR MOVE INLAND FROM "GEORGE" BEACH

(Photographer) Chetwyn, Leonard, No. 2 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit. All photos are found at the Imperial War Museum (IWM), U.K.

NA 4369 A tank moving inland in pursuit of enemy forces. 1943.07.11

Off the beach, likely heading toward a road that runs north and south,

parallel to the shoreline and less than 1 km from the landing zone

NA 4370 An amphibian 3-ton truck moving inland. 1943.07.11

I believe the arrow marker on the tree (right of center) is pointing

toward a road (still there) that leads to and from the landing zone. 

NA 4371 A Bren carrier leaving the beaches (P.A.C.) 1943.07.11 

The arrow points east toward the Mediterranean and the rising sun

NA 4372 A motor cyclist driving inland from the beach. 1943.07.11

NA 4373 Bren carrier leaving the beach. 1943.07.11

NA 4374 The first prisoners taken by our assault troops marching

back to the beach. 1943.07.11

NA 4375 The first prisoners taken by our assault troops marching back

to the beach. 1943.07.11 IWM (Not all POWs were housed in Sicily or 

Italy. A fellow hockey player told me his father ended up in S. Africa).

Please click on the link provided to view a short, related video found under the heading Invasion of Sicily (Landing) AYY 502/1/3. Production date 1943-07-10. Creator - War Office Film Unit (Production Company) Morris, R H (Production individual), IWM

Next are a few photos taken by another photographer and sorted under a heading seen before in previous (and recent) entries:

THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA, SICILY, ITALY, THE BALKANS AND AUSTRIA 1942-1946

[As found at IWM, officially from Collection: WAR OFFICE SECOND WORLD WAR OFFICIAL COLLECTION by (Photographer) Sgt. Palmer, No. 2 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit. 

Because Sgt. Palmer's file numbers (NA 4366 to NA 4368) exactly precede those for the above set (NA 4369 to NA 4375) and small hints re the size and shape of the small bay are observed, I believe these photos are also of GEORGE Beach

NA 4366 Scene on the beaches as troops wade ashore. 1943.07.10 

NA 4367 British Tommy wading ashore with a heavy load. 1943.07.10

NA 4368-1 Scene on the beaches as troops wade ashore. 1943.07.10 

NA 4368-2 Scene on the beaches as troops wade ashore. 1943.07.10 

Please click on the link provided to view a short, related video found under the heading Invasion of Sicily (Landing) AYY 502/1/2. Production date 1943-07-10. Creator - War Office Film Unit (Production Company) Morris, R H (Production individual), IWM

British troops were not only landed by Canadian flotillas of landing craft near Syracuse, they were transported to several landing sites near and south of Noto and Avola by British and Canadian flotillas of landing craft. Many photos of various units are found at IWM, again by a number of official photographers under various headings:

THE BRITISH ARMY IN SICILY 1943

(Photographer) Mott, Frederick, No. 2 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit

NA 4357 British troops marching into Avola. 1943.07.10

NA 4359 British Patrols passing among dead Italian soldiers in Avola. 1943.07.10

NA 4361 Self-propelled "Priests" entering Avola. 1943.07.10

NA 4362 A Sherman tank advances inland, 10 July 1943. 1943.07.10

While collecting F. Mott's photos under one heading it was easy to spot others under a different heading. For example:

INVASION OF SICILY 

(Photographer) Frederick Mott

NA 4363 Units of the R.A.C. advancing inland. 1943.07.10

(R.A.C. - Royal Armoured Corps)

NA 4364 Units of the R.A.C. advancing inland. 44 R.T.R. 1943.07.10

(44 R.T.R. - Royal Tank Regiment. More details here.)

NA 4365-1 Units of the R.A.C. advancing inland. 1943.07.10

NA 4365-2 Units of the R.A.C. advancing inland. 1943.07.10

Questions or comments can be sent to gordh7700@gmail.com

More photographs re the invasion of Sicily (and then Italy) to follow.

Please click here to view Photographs: Invasion of Sicily, July and August, 1943 (5)

Unattributed Photos GH