Anzio pays tribute to British war veteran Harry Shindler with exhibition.

Italy marked the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings at Anzio and Nettuno during world war two with commemorations on Monday in the neighbouring coastal towns south of Rome.

Italian culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano in a post on X said that it was an honour to participate in ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the Allied landings, "which made a decisive contribution to the liberation from Nazi-fascism."

È stato un onore partecipare alle cerimonie per celebrare l’80esimo anniversario dello sbarco alleato a Nettuno e Anzio, che diede un contributo decisivo alla liberazione dal nazifascismo. pic.twitter.com/T0iydq5qj0— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) January 22, 2024

The commemorations were attended by Britain's ambassador to Italy, Ed Llewellyn, as well as representatives of the American embassy in Italy and British and Italian defence forces.

The events, including historial re-enactments, are taking place in Anzio and Nettuno where the landings and battles over almost five months in 1944 resulted in 43,000 Allied casualties of whom 7,000 died.

Today we mark the 80th anniversary of the landings in Anzio and Nettuno. Together with Ambassador @EdLlewellynFCDO, @AmbasciataUSA, @UKDefenceItaly we pay tribute to those who lost their lives for our freedom.#LestWeForget | @CWGC pic.twitter.com/ZBA5mZln8w

— UK in Italy (@UKinItaly) January 22, 2024

For many years the events were attended by Harry Shindler OBE, a British veteran of the Battle of Anzio and the Liberation of Rome in 1944, who died last year aged 101 at his home in Italy's Marche region.

An exhibition in Shindler's honour is currently being held at Villa Sarsina in Anzio, as part of the 80th anniversary events, until 28 February.

Today we hosted ceremonies in our sites around Anzio to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Allied landings at Anzio. Attended by our representatives, the UK Ambassador to Italy @EdLlewellynFCDO , officers from Allied Joint Force Command Naples and the Italian Army among others.… pic.twitter.com/QK6NREnU7g

— CommonwealthWarGraves (@CWGC) January 22, 2024

Documents from Shindler's archive highlight his work in tracing the graves of British servicemen killed or listed as missing in action during world war two, including the father of Pink Floyd founding member Roger Waters. 

For a history of Operation Shingle and the Anzio landings see the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

Photo Commonwealth War Graves - X