Grandad's war

Gary Lineker explores his grandfather’s role in World War Two’s Italian campaign

- Gary Lineker

Back in 2013, former England football star Gary Lineker enjoyed tracing his family history for the genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?. His only regret, however, was that the hour-long format did not allow him the time he would have liked to investigate further his grandfather Stanley Abbs’ involvement in World War Two.

This week, the Match of the Day presenter puts that right by following in Stanley’s footsteps for a BBC1 documentary exploring the often-overlooked Italian campaign that played a key part in the Allies’ victory.

Knowing only that his grandad served in Italy as a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Lineker travels to Italy using Stanley’s war diary as a guide, following the Italian campaign from the first landings at Salerno in 1943, and meeting veterans who survived the brutal combat over the mountains and torrential rivers of Italy. We caught up with Lineker, 58, to find out more…