Anzio front, spring 1944: riggers of No. 655 Squadron (AOP) Squadron RAF patch the wings of a Taylorcraft Auster Mark III damaged by enemy gunfire. The No. 655 Squadron was formed at RAF Old Sarum, Wiltshire, on 30 November 1942 and went into action on August 1943 in North Africa. From December 1943, it served in Italy, where it remained until disbanding at Ronchi dei Legionari, near Trieste, on 31 August 1945. After the war some Auster left in Italy by the RAF was salvaged by the newly established Furio Lauri’s Meteor, overhauled and sold to Italian flying clubs and civil companies of aerial work. Victor Sierra

Workshop in a barn

At the Rhine river crossing, as the airborne troops were engaging the Germans during the afternoon of March 25, 1945, the key Operation Plunder Varsity commanders met for a conference - left to right: U.S. Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, Lieutenant General Sir Miles Dempsey, U.S. Lieutenant General William H. Simpson and Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery.

Allied Commanders

Anzio bridgehead, 29 April 1944: a dummy Sherman tank, constructed on the site by 6 Field Park Company, Royal Engineers, British Army. Victor Sierra