A new play which aims to raise awareness of a World War II battle two days before D-Day is to have its première in Shrewsbury.
J F Cornes’s The Forgotten Altar tells the story of the Battle of Monte Cassino which took place in May 1944 and provided a straightforward route for the Allies to capture Rome.
Two British Eighth Army Infantrymen, Private Jack Melley and Clifford Merrick, prepare for one last advance through the streets of Cassino. Melley has been returned to his unit after suffering mental distress during an assault of Snakeshead Ridge. Sharing a dugout with Merrick, Melley is battling his own psyche and guilt after having done something terrible at Snakeshead.
The focus on these two characters will be interspersed with accounts based on authentic testimony from a female Italian ambulance driver and Cassino resident, Lucia Toro.
Rafe Bird will play Private Clifford Merrick, while Rich Dee will take on the role of Private Jack Melley. Zoe Watts will be Lucia. Cornes will direct and Matthew Russell will be costume and set designer.
The Forgotten Altar will open at Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery on Tuesday 6 August at 3PM. It will transfer to The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Hanley on Friday 9 August at 7PM, Uppermill Library, Oldham on Thursday 15 August at 7PM and the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, Lichfield on Saturday 14 September at 5PM.