Suffolk man to walk 110 miles through Italy to honour WWII troops and raise money for veterans
He'll be travelling from the historic battlefield of Monte Cassino to the Vatican.
A World War II enthusiast from Suffolk is preparing to walk more than 100 miles through Italy to honour the sacrifices made by Allied troops during the Italian campaign.
Warren Stace, who works at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, will take part in a 110-mile Peace Walk in April, travelling from the historic battlefield of Monte Cassino to the Vatican.
The nine-day trek will follow routes taken by Allied soldiers during the Second World War and aims to raise awareness of a part of the conflict that campaigners say is often overlooked.
Mr Stace will also be raising money for the veterans’ charity Help for Heroes.
Mr Stace said his interest in the campaign stems from his own family history. His great-grandfather, Laurence Leishman, served in the Italian campaign during the war and was involved in battles including Monte Camino, Monte Damiano and Anzio. At Anzio, he was one of only 40 men out of around 1,500 to survive a German attack before being captured and taken prisoner. He later endured time in several prisoner-of-war camps and was forced to take part in the “Long March” of 1945 as Allied prisoners were moved across Europe.
A “forgotten campaign”
Mr Stace said the walk is intended to highlight the importance of the Italian campaign during the war.
“So the campaign itself is often referred to as a forgotten campaign,” he said.
“It was sort of a sideshow to the main event, which was D-Day that happened in France. But the fighting out there was, I would say, in my personal opinion, more brutal.”
The walk is being organised alongside members of the Freedom for Italy Foundation, which works to promote awareness of the Italian campaign and connect museums across the country.
Mr Stace explained the route would retrace the footsteps of troops who fought there.
“We’re going to be walking in some of the footsteps of some of the troops that were out there during the Second World War,” he said.
Connecting history and communities
During the journey, participants hope to meet local communities and organisations along the route to share stories about the campaign.
“The main objective of the whole thing is to basically re-inform the people of Italy, not like they need reminding, but bring it to the forefront of their minds,” Mr Stace said.
He said the walk is also intended to encourage greater collaboration between museums that focus on the campaign.
“A lot of the museums in Italy don’t talk to each other… but that restricts the information, and it could be spread a lot further,” he said.
“So I’m hoping that’s the main goal anyway, to connect a few people out there and just bring the history back to life a little bit.”
Supporting veterans
Alongside promoting awareness of the Italian campaign, Mr Stace said he chose to support Help for Heroes because of the work the charity does with veterans.
“It sort of runs in line with what our walk is about, being about soldiers and the war itself,” he said.
“I see a lot of interviews online about the people it does help, ex-soldiers, veterans, people that have to live with war mentally, even though they’ve been out of service for years.”
He added that some people involved with the history community he runs online had also benefited from the charity’s work.
“There’s several people on there that have been helped personally by the foundation,” he said.
Keeping remembrance alive
Mr Stace said he hopes the walk will encourage people to continue learning about the history of the Second World War and the sacrifices made by previous generations.
“If you’ve got that bit of interest in it, then definitely dive further because there’s so much, you will never know all of it,” he said.
“I’d like people to try and remember a little bit more. Remembrance Days and all them kind of things that we do in this country need to keep going, and people should keep attending.”
The Peace Walk is due to begin on 6 April, with participants travelling through historic locations connected to the Allied campaign before reaching the Vatican.
Donations to Mr Stace’s fundraising effort for Help for Heroes can be made through his JustGiving page.