On 9 July 1943, Allied forces invaded Sicily. This was just a prelude to the long-awaited allied assault on mainland Europe which took place at Salerno in Southern Italy on 3 September that year. Five days later, on 8 September, Italy surrendered to the Allied forces. The German forces, however, continued to fight on.
Despite fierce resistance from the German forces, and having to cope with increasingly difficult terrain, most notably during the Battle of Monte Cassino between January and May 1944, the Allied Forces made steady progress, eventually taking Rome on 4 June 1944. By the end of the month, Allied troops had reached Tuscany, and the German forces were in retreat.
On the afternoon of 18 June 1944, four German soldiers who had lost contact with their unit found themselves in the ancient hill-top village of Civitella in Val di Chiana near Arezzo.
They made their way to the local Dopolavoro, a Fascist social club, and settled down with some drinks and began playing cards and listening to the radio with the locals. Unfortunately, news of their presence in the village made its way to the local group of partisans. They went to the club and killed three of the soldiers. The fourth hid behind the bar and was uninjured, and subsequently reported the incident.
On 17 June 1944, Field Marshall Albert Kesselring, the German Commander in Italy had issued the directive:
“New rules in the war against partisans.
The partisan situation in the Italian theatre, particularly central Italy, has recently deteriorated to such an extent that it constitutes a serious danger to the fighting troops and their supply lines…….The fight against the partisans must be carried on with all means at our disposal and with utmost severity”.
Many of the inhabitants of Civitella, fearing retribution, fled from the village the very next day. Those who remained, in an attempt to show disassociate themselves from what had happened, attended a ceremony for the dead soldiers who were buried on the outskirts of the village. After a few days, as no reprisals had been forthcoming, most of Civitella’s inhabitants returned home.
On Sunday 29 June, the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, however, SS units of the Hermann Goering Division surrounded the village at dawn and systematically slaughtered all of the men of the village (and several women who impeded them), before setting light to many of the buildings. In all 244 innocent civilians were killed in Civitella and in surrounding hamlets.
By 16 July, the Germans had retreated North, and British soldiers had arrived at Civitella. One of the soldiers was Captain John Morgan of the Royal Army Service Corps. John Percival Morgan was born in Merthyr Tydfil on 17 March 1916, and lived with his parents, Arthur and Louisa at No 9 The Parade in Thomastown. After attending Cyfarthfa Castle Grammar School, he became a clerk at Lloyds Bank in Blackwood, before moving to the Dowlais Branch of the bank where he worked until he joined up in January 1940.
When John arrived at Civitella in July 1944, what he saw appalled him. He was confronted by the charred ruins of houses, and he wrote in his report:
“Almost completely destroyed by Germans on 29 June 1944, the few remaining residents being chiefly women and children. Large areas on the pavement adjacent to the wall are still covered by dried blood, mute but powerful testimonials to this exhibition of brutality. The village is now a place of utter desolation”.
The ruins of St Maria Assunta Church in Civitella, taken by John Morgan in July 1944
As he was exploring the village, two boys rushed towards him and begged him for water. He knew something must be done – two bowsers of water arrived in Civitella that afternoon.
Over the next five months, John, helped by Father Clement O’Shea a catholic priest who was seconded to his unit, did everything within their power to help the villagers, procuring food, clothes, medicine and anything that was needed, cajoling their fellow officers and men serving under them to even forego some of their own rations to help. By December, John Morgan’s company were preparing to move north, so he and Father O’Shea decided to organise a grand Christmas party with entertainment as a way to say goodbye.
The people of Civitella never forgot John Morgan and Clement O’Shea and the help, kindness and compassion they showed in 1944. They eventually erected a plaque in memory of John Morgan which stands today in the village.
Captain John Morgan died on 15 February 1968.
If you would like to read more about this story, I would recommend Dee la Vardera’s incredible book, ‘The Road to Civitella – 1944. The Captain, the Chaplain and the Massacre’.
I would like to thank Dee la Vadera for allowing me to quote from her amazing book, and I would also like to thank Terry Jones and Mansell Richards for supplying me with additional information. Finally, I would like to thank Keith Morgan, John Morgan’s son for allowing me to share his father’s remarkable story.