Green Howards soldiers were among those involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 – the initial stages of the fight to reclaim mainland Europe during the Second World War. It’s no coincidence that a year later, they would also be amongst the first to set foot on the beaches of Normandy in northern France.
2023 marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Husky; the invasion of Sicily. In this Museum Talk, Steve Erskine explores the role of the regiment’s soldiers in the action of the summer of 1943, and how it prepared them for the fight that was to follow.
This is a standalone Museum Talk, but is also designed to work as a double bill with another event following Steve’s return from Sicily having been part of the 80th anniversary commemorations. Why not book tickets for both?
Tickets: £5
Call 01748 826561 to book.
About your speaker…
Steve Erskine has been connected to the museum for more than 20 years; starting as a volunteer, then working as Assistant Curator and is currently the museum’s Researcher. His research achievements include helping identify the remains of a soldier, Pte Henry Parker, found on the Somme battlefield. Steve has a number of research credits in the work of others including A Delicate Affair – How America learned to fight a modern war on the Woëvre front. Terrance J. Finnegan (2015); Somme – Into the Breach. Hugh Sebag-Montefiori (2016); Bulfin – Ireland’s forgotten General. Brigadier John Powell (2018) and Zero Hour, Z day: XV Corps operations between Mametz and Fricourt – Volume 2. Jonathan Porter (2020). Steve is an experienced battlefield guide having conducted tours of the Dunkirk, Normandy, the Somme and Ypres battlefields. He is currently working on a regimental perspective of the Sicily landings and how they influenced the later Green Howard landings on Gold Beach on 6 June, 1944. Steve will attend the official commemoration of the invasion of Sicily, speaking at the Sicily 1943: Peace, Security and Prosperity Conference in Catania on 8 July 2023.
Type of event: Museum talk