ITALY: 2002
Monte Cassino
Commonwealth War Grave: Cassino
RIFLEMAN A.C. BICKHAM, LONDON IRISH RIFLES
My name is Karen Bickham. I live in Plymouth England. For many years, I have wanted to trace the whereabouts of my Uncle Alfie's grave. Coincidentally, when planning this trip to Italy, his brother Fred, sent a certificate to show his war memorial was at Monte Cassino. On visiting Sorrento, we rushed to organise our trip to the British War Graves Cemetery. The sun was shining as our coach sped along the winding Italian roads of the Neopolitan Riviera and on to the motorway. I was very apprehensive about what I would feel as we approached our destination. We visited the monastery first. It was amazing to learn that the Germans had held on to it for about six months before they were taken. There were many killed in these battles and I tried to imagine how horrific it must have been. There are in all four cemeteries but we only visited ours. It was beautifully designed and very serene. It was now very hot as we left our air conditioned coach looking for panel 11 and the name A.C. BICKHAM, of the London Irish Rifles. It was simple to find and the silence and atmosphere made it a moving and emotional experience. I had never met this man, my mother's brother, who had his own painting and decorating business in Plymouth. He volunteered and was blown up shortly after landing on the beach head at Anzio. He had little life by the age of thirty, had never married and had not even reached this spot where his life and death are commemorated. I felt a little tear in my eye as we left. My mother who was very close to him passed away eight years ago so as we ate lunch nearby, I rang my aunt and uncle, back in Devon, England to let them know I had found it........
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