Gary Lineker: My Grandad’s Untold War
November BBC One In the year of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, those who landed at Normandy have rightly been honoured for their courage. And yet, as a new documentary presented by former Who Do You Think You Are? subject Gary Lineker reminds us, this was a war fought on multiple fronts. The programme also highlights that, no matter the era, many veterans return from the front reluctant to share their experiences with their families.
One such soul was Gary’s grandfather Stanley Abbs, who served with the Royal Army Medical Corps. Rather than landing in France, he was sent to Italy. Although Benito Mussolini’s Fascist regime was toppled as early as September 1943, the northern half of the country was occupied by the Nazis – seasoned troops determined to block the Allies from advancing north towards southern Germany.
In early 1944, at the battle of Monte Cassino, the fighting was especially bloody as the Allies struggled to capture a strategically crucial hilltop abbey, a prelude to liberating Rome. This was siege warfare conducted in the era of mechanised conflict and, over four months, the Allies suffered 55,000 casualties. Yet despite this, those who served in Italy were dubbed ‘D-Day dodgers’, treated by some as veterans who had avoided the worst of the fighting – even had it easy. How and why did this misunderstanding occur?
To find out more, the Match Of The Day presenter and former England captain follows in his grandfather’s footsteps. He uncovers stories not just of his own grandfather’s heroism, but also hears first-hand eyewitness accounts from veterans who served alongside Stanley. As Gary himself noted when the one-hour documentary was first announced, “Seventy-five years on, it’s important that we don’t forget the lessons and horrors of war.”