Description: For each edifice commemorated, the associated medals, including new and unpublished varieties, are presented, legends translated, die characteristics examined, contemporary supporting documentation cited, issue dates revised, and source images used by the artist are identified in limited cases.
Brief description: Michael Ross, an undergraduate at the outbreak of the War, immediately volunteered for military service and was commissioned into the Welch Regiment. This classic memoir, originally published in 1997 as From Liguria With Love and now updated by his son David, describes his experiences in North Africa, where he was captured, and Italy, both as POW and as an escapee, fighting alongside the partisans. Ross was Mentioned in Despatches for gallantry.After the war, he returned to Italy and married Giovanna, the daughter of the family that had hidden him from the enemy for many months. He later served in Korea, Hong Kong and Berlin before transferring to HM Diplomatic Service. The final years of his career were spent in North America and South Africa as a consular officer. Retiring in 1982, he and Giovanna divided their time between their homes in London and Bordighera, Italy. After 66 happy years of marriage, Michael died in 2012.