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Remembered Today:

Cavalry Unit on the Italian Front?


geh

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Attached a postcard showing a cavalry unit - British or American it has been suggested - lined up along a street where building on the left is flying the "old" Italian flag. A poster in the background apparently says "Questa Sera" possibly indicating the latest offering from a cinema or theatre, but reinforcing the assumption that it is in Northern Italy

 

Does anyone have any suggestions as to which town this might be?  Some of the citizens look prosperous and seem to be going about their business regardless of their many visitors.  (Please be assured that I don't intend to profit from any information obtained from the Forum - I just think it's a very interesting image and would love to find out more about the circumstances).

 

The other side of the card doesn't give any clues - in fact Italian is NOT one of the four translations of "Post Card"...!

 

Many thanks for any help.

 

WW1 Cavalry Unit in Italian Town.JPG

Edited by geh
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The British Cavalry units that went to Italy were the Corps Cavalry Regts, the 1st/1st King Edward Horse (the XI Corps Cavalry Regt)  and the 1st/1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry (the XIV Corps Cavalry Regt).  The latter stayed in Italy and became GHQ troops when the Horse went back to France in March 1918.

 

Edited by Gareth Davies
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28 minutes ago, Gareth Davies said:

The British Cavalry units that went to Italy were the Corps Cavalry Regts, the 1st/1st King Edward Horse (the XI Corps Cavalry Regt)  and the 1st/1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry (the XIV Corps Cavalry Regt).  The latter stayed in Italy and became GHQ troops when the Horse went back to France in March 1918.

 

Dear Gareth

 

Many thanks for your very quick and informative reply - the deployment of only two cavalry regiments will certainly narrow down the search.  Gill

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  • 1 year later...

I am pleased to confirm that the location of this picture has been confirmed as around no. 75 Via Vittorio Emanuele in Bordighera on the Mediterranean coast, not far from the French border.  The building hidden behind the railings on the right is the Church of the Immaculate Conception which still exists as does the ground floor of the building to its right - and the ornate balcony and urn on the left!

 

Two troopers from the Northamptonshire Yeomanry - Joe Manning Pryer and David John Houghton - are buried in the town's small military cemetery which makes them a prime candidate for the regiment in the picture.  Both died of illness in 1918, one of typhoid and the other unspecified. 

 

Thank you again to Gareth for the information - hopefully you are still using the site!

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Good detective work, well done.

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Good work geh.  It still looks similar today, but I can't link to streetview.

 

 

Edited by Heid the Ba
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