| Original caption: “The Eighth Army front line Corps of Military Police patrol investigating suspicious movements in a deserted house.” Military Police attached to the 8th Army served a number of roles, from securing Prisoners of War, to reclaiming soldiers absent without leave, road patrols, traffic control, escorts for general officers commanding, provost companies to secure docks, and special investigations for criminal police work. “Front line” Corps of Military Police like these 2 Tommies were often employed in combat, for scouting, securing and removing Italian civilians from the combat zone, and capturing Nazi German prisoners for intelligence. Lanciano, a 3,000-year-old town in the Abruzzo region of Italy, is known for its Eucharistic miracle in the 8th century, when a monk said the words of consecration and the bread and wine turned into the flesh and blood of Christ. The town was repeatedly sacked, by the Goths in the 5th century, the Lombardis in the 6th century, the Byzantines the 7th century, the Franks in the 8th century, the Normans in the 9th century, and warred with Ortona in the 15th century. Lanciano – 22 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of the city of Chieti and about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the coastal resort of Pescara – had the misfortune to be 1 of the key municipalities close to the Gustav Line, 1 of the major defensive lines established by the Nazi Germans to counter the Allied invasion of the Italian peninsula. Opposed to the occupation of Italy, the residents of Lanciano rose up against the Nazi Germans on October 6, 1943. The leader of the partigiani group, a 28-year-old former soldier named Trentino La Barba (August 12, 1915 – October 5, 1943), and some comrades raided the local Carabinieri, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN – “Volunteer Militia for National Security”), and Guardia di Finanza barracks, where they stole weapons with which La Barba’s group attacked and dispersed a German column near Pozzo Bagnaro on October 4. After another attack on a military column, he was captured and tortured without success in the attempt to force him to reveal the names and whereabouts of the other partisans from his group. In order to intimidate the population, he was taken to Lanciano, where he was tied to a tree in 1 of the town’s main streets and given an ultimatum to reveal the names of the leaders of the local resistance group. After his refusal, German soldiers cut out his eyes in front of the assembled townspeople and then shot him dead, after which they hanged his body from the tree. A few hours later, an uprising against the German occupiers broke out in Lanciano, in which 47 German soldiers and 11 partisans were killed; a further 12 civilians were subsequently killed by the Germans in reprisal. Lanciano was finally liberated on December 3, when sections of the 8th Indian Infantry Division and the United Kingdom Royal Army 78th Infantry Division, part of the United Kingdom 8th Army, as part of the Battle of the Sangro River, arrived at the convent of Sant’Antonio di Padova. The Indian troops, accompanied by some local Italian officials who had come out of hiding on their arrival, marched triumphantly along Corso Trento and Trieste to Piazza Plebiscito, the town’s main square. On March 23, 1944, 68 Section, Corps of Military Police was ordered to Lanciano “as quickly as possible.” 4 men were sent off to find new billets, but the rest of the section stayed put “not having enough roadworthy vehicles to transport personnel and kit.” 5 days later, having acquired 2 new vehicles, the bulk of the section moved. At about 1130 hours on April 20, 1944, Lanciano was subjected to a heavy air bombardment by Focke Wulf FW 190 fighter bombers. Lance Naik Ranidan Singh was on duty as pointsman at the junction of Via Luigi De Crecchio And Via Trento E Trieste. During the period of the aerial attack the heavy calibre and anti-personnel bombs crashed down near the pointsman, inflicting casualties to soldiers and civilians. His fellow pointsman in Trafalgar Square was killed. Houses were hit, and many trucks brewed up in his immediate vicinity. Lance Naik Ranidan Singh (???? – ????) faced death not only from bombardment but from machine guns which raked Via Luici De Crecchio. The medal citation read: “During the whole of the attack this policeman stuck to his point and carried out Traffic Control. He refused to take cover although his billet was but twenty yards away. Immediately when the air attack started, a general exodus of military and civilian traffic from Lanciano began; the general flow from the town focused itself on Lance Naik Ranidan Singh’s point. His courage and devotion to duty undoubtedly saved what may have been a catastrophic traffic block.” Singh was recommended for the Indian Distinguished Service Medal and awarded the Military Medal. He was recommended for an award by Major Ian H. Cook (February 1923 – April 9, 1978), Assistant Provost Marshal of the 4th Indian Infantry Division. The partisan group became known as the Martiri ottobrini di Lanciano (“the October Martyrs of Lanciano”). La Barba was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal for Valour in his own right. 3 others were honored with Silver Medals. In 1952, the town of Luciano was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor by President Luigi Einaudi (March 24, 1874 – October 30, 1961). Photographer Charles Harry Hewitt (May 9, 1915 – July 1987) – known as “Slim” due to his slender frame – was a pioneering reporter and photographer and later television film cameraman. Hewitt was a Sergeant with the Number 2 Army Film and Photographic Unit and was present at many of the important offensives of 1944-45 in Italy. His photographs of the conflict appeared in the international press and much of his war photography is now in the collection of the Imperial War Museums. While photographing the Belsen camp in 1945, Hewitt came to the attention of Picture Post magazine’s Arts Editor, Edgar Ainsworth (1905 – 1975), who was also there making reportage drawings. After his military service, Hewitt was commissioned by Picture Post for numerous assignments until the magazine folded in 1957. He then made the transition from still photography to film to work for the British Broadcasting Corporation television program “Tonight.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0661.jpg |
| Image Size | 263.90 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1459 x 1421 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Number Two Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 9, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Lanciano |
| State or Province | Abruzzo |
| Country | Italy |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | NA 9686 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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