Find of 231 Brigade Maltese Cross at Regalbuto
20/05/2008

Maltese Cross in Regalbuto Sicily

The exploits of 231 (Malta) Brigade during the Sicily campaign of 1943 rarely receive the exposure they deserve. The brigade was commanded by Brigadier Roy Urquhart~ he trained his troops hard and reaped the benefit during throughout Operation Huskey. The brigades emblem was a distinctive white Maltese cross on a red shield~ I saw an original example on a recent battlefield tour with fellow Guild of Battlefield Guides~ member Tim Saunders.

We were covering the advance on the town of Regalbuto by 1st Canadian Division and 231 (Malta) Bde~ Tim had explained the events leading up to the capture of the town in his usual eloquent manner. We then discussed the morning of 2 August 1943 when the Herman Goring Division withdrew its troops from the town.

At this point Roy Urquhart was concerned that the more numerous Canadians would swamp the town and take the credit for the hard won victory of his brigade~ in particular The Devon's. He ordered a company of the west country men into the town armed with red and white paint to ensure there was no doubt as to who the honour of claiming the battered town belonged~ Maltese Crosses adorned all of the prominent buildings in Regalbuto.

A great story I thought~ in passing we asked our group members to keep their eyes open for any trace of 231 Bde markings. We did not expect any success~ it was only as we approached a very shabby bar in the town square that the sign in the attached photograph was pointed out to us by the squadron Intelligence Officer she had keener eyes than the rest of us! An example of battlefield archaeology for all to see.

Mike and Tim were conducting the tour for Anglia Battlefield Tours.