Walter Nixon told the BBC he survived in a hole in the ground for five months during the Battle of Anzio
By Stuart Howells and Laura Devlin
BBC News, Suffolk
A World War Two veteran who described the frontline of the Italian campaign as “hell on Earth” has died aged 101.
Walter Nixon, from East Bergholt in Suffolk, was a wireless operator in the 81st Anti Tank Regiment and served in the Battle of Anzio in 1944.
He had recalled his experiences to the BBC, including during an emotional return to Italy, 75 years on.
Keith Nixon said his father passed away on Sunday and urged everyone to raise a glass to toast his “marvellous life”.
“He was really loving and kind, and thought the world of his family,” said Mr Nixon.
“He loved telling his stories; it filled him with pride.”
Image source, Nixon family
Walter Nixon (back row, right) was keen to share his stories, his son Keith said
Mr Nixon enrolled in the Army aged 19 and after six weeks’ basic training in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, went on to fight in Africa and during the Battle of Anzio.
“Someone at one time said it was like Passchendaele in the First World War,” he said in 2022, as part of the BBC We Were There project.
“I don’t know what Passchendaele was like but I know what Anzio was like – it was hell on Earth.
“The only protection we had was a steel helmet and a hole in the ground.”
He was 20 years old during the beach landings behind enemy lines as allied forces fought to break the German defences in southern Italy.
The fighting led to 10,000 British casualties and ended with the liberation of Rome on 4 June, 1944 – just two days before the D-Day Landings dominated headlines.
World War Two veteran returns to Italy 75 years on
In later life, Mr Nixon had reflected that their service and sacrifice felt forgotten because of the focus on D-Day, his son said.
He served in the Army until 1947 and had two sons with his childhood sweetheart, Eileen.
A staunch trade unionist, he worked in a plastics factory and supported the community, raising money for a new village hall at Brantham.
In 2019, the grandfather of eight returned to southern Italy for the first time.
He visited graves of some of the thousands of people killed during the operation, including that of a colleague whose body he removed from the trenches.
Breaking down in tears, he said: “I think how futile the war was, when you see all these young people, they never lived, they never saw a life.
“I was part of it and I was lucky to get through.”
Mr Nixon died in the same week as D-Day veteran Bill Gladden, of nearby Haverhill, who passed away on Wednesday, aged 100.
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