A rare glimpse into the lives of some of the Ammanford soldiers who fought during World War Two has been unearthed in Betws.

A newspaper cutting from The Ammanford Chronicle has revealed the unlikely story of how four Amman valley men serving in the forces met by chance in Italy in the wake of one of the bloodiest battles seen in southern Europe during the conflict and were able to capture the moment with a photograph

The article, uncovered by Mair Williams, described how her uncle Captain David Henry Lloyd and three other servicemen met in February 1944 as the Allies began to advance into Europe after victory in North Africa.

The cutting is of a letter written to the Chronicle by Gunner Baynard Rees, of Betws, who, before the war, worked at the newspaper for seven years as a printer.

In his letter, Gnr Rees described his chance encounter with Sapper Vernon Walter Vaughan, of Llandybie, Radio Officer R Bryan Evans, of Walters Road, and Captain Lloyd, of Wernolau Road.

Gnr Rees explained how the four pals had met at a “certain Italian town”.

The town in question is believed to have been Monte Cassino, the site of some of the bloodiest fighting between the Allies and the Axis forces of Germany and Italy up to that point in the war.

Gnr Rees may well have chosen to withhold the town by name in a bid to avoid distressing his family and those of his brothers-in-arm at home in Ammanford, all of whom were likely to have been aware of extent of the fighting in the town 80 miles southeast of Rome.

In the letter, Gnr Rees, who kept in regular communication with former colleagues at the Chronicle throughout the war, said: “The last time I wrote to you was after the Victory March that marked the conclusion of the African Campaign.

“That occasion was, I suppose, of national interest. This occasion, I believe, has something with a little more local interest.

“The enclosed photograph is of four local men who recently had the pleasure of meeting each other in a certain Italian town.

“We are all in the best of health and spirits, but looking forward eagerly to that day when we, and a host of our brothers in the Forces, can meet in our own native land,”

Gnr Rees described how the Welsh contingent had managed to hold Welsh services in the town as well as at the Anzio beachhead where British troops hand first landed in Italy.

The letter goes on to explain how the group eventually broke up as each of the pals was recalled to his unit for a return to action.