| Notes |
- NRH, birth certificate for Robert Whyte, born at Whig St Inverarity on 11 September 1918
Death
Cemetery: CASSINO MEMORIAL
Country: Italy
Locality: unspecified
Visiting Information: Wheelchair access to the cemetery is possible, but may be by alternative entrance. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628 507200.
Location Information: The Cassino Memorial is situated within Cassino War Cemetery, which lies in the Commune of Cassino, Province of Frosinone, 139 kilometres south-east of Rome. Above it, at a distance of 1 kilometre, is the dominating hill on which stands the Abbey of Monte Cassino. Take the autostrada A1 from Rome to Naples and leave it at the Cassino exit. At the junction of this exit and the road into Cassino, is the first of 6 clearly visible signposts to the cemetery and Memorial.
Historical Information: On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Progress through southern Italy was rapid despite stiff resistance, but by the end of October, the Allies were facing the German winter defensive position known as the Gustav Line, which stretched from the river Garigliano in the west to the Sangro in the east. Initial attempts to breach the western end of the line were unsuccessful. Operations in January 1944 landed troops behind the German lines at Anzio, but defences were well organised, and a breakthrough was not actually achieved until 18 May, when Cassino was finally taken. The site for CASSINO WAR CEMETERY was originally selected in January 1944, but the development of the battle during the first five months of that year made it impossible to use it until after the Germans had withdrawn from Cassino. During these early months of 1944, Cassino saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Italian campaign, the town itself and the dominating Monastery Hill proving the most stubborn obstacles encountered in the advance towards Rome. The majority of those buried in the war cemetery died in the battles during these months. There are now 4,266 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried or commemorated at Cassino War Cemetery. 284 of the burials are unidentified. Within the cemetery stands the CASSINO MEMORIAL which commemorates over 4,000 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the Italian campaign and whose graves are not known.
No. of Identified Casualties: 4046
In Memory of
Serjeant ROBERT WHYTE
7609052, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
attd. 8th Bn., Durham Light Infantry
who died age 24
between 09 July 1943 and 10 July 1943
Son of Robert and Isabella Jane Whyte; husband of Abigail McIntosh Whyte, of Dundee.
Remembered with honour
CASSINO MEMORIAL
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1918 - 1943 (24 years)
