The Marmora Historical Foundation was recently contacted by Rafaella Cortese de Bosis, an Italian historian/ journalist in Rome, who specializes in WWII. She is working on a series of stories of Canadians buried in the military cemeteries in Italy. Her mission was to find out more about Private James Nash, the man that Nash Street is named after,

Here is her moving article, in full. Her skill of descriptive narrative will put you right in the action:

Pvt. JOHN ALBERT (JAMES) NASH

Hastings and Prince Edward (Hasty PEs)

Bath, UK April 17, 1906 – Spittal am Drau, Austria October 29, 1943

The street sign reads “CARONIA km 40”. It is a small village perched in the Nebrodi mountain range in Sicily, with a breathtaking view over the Mediterranean sea. But John will never see the village and Caronia will only be a name on a street sign, hanging on a rusty pole. In that very spot, 40km from Caronia, John J Nash, Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, 1st Canadian Infantry, is captured by the Nazis, while he was drawing water for the wounded.

It is July 22, 1943. John participated in the Sicily landing. Code name “Operation Husky” and with his regiment he fought step by step, in minefields, climbing steep mountains, treading trails along cliffs, inching forward on his elbows, trying to arrive in time to rescue the wounded. John is a stretcher bearer. The July heat is unbearable in this area. The soil is cracked by draught. Shade is a rare commodity. And the ubiquitous dust mixes with sweat and lands on the burns caused by the sun. Some wear handkerchiefs on their head with the four knotted corners, others take their shirt off and wear it as a hat but get their backs burned.