The cargo ship Felce was seized by Britain in Haifa Palestine on 11th June 1940. The 19 crew onboard the Felce were interned in Palestine and arrived in Sydney Australia on the Queen Elizabeth 23.8.41. Italian and their families who were resident in Palestine and subsequently interned were also on the Queen Elizabeth.
The ship was renamed Empire Defender, her original name, and used by the British Ministry of War Transport. She was put in service across the Atlantic. On 14th November 1941 she was torpedoed and sunk by aircraft off Galite Island north of Tunisia.
On 22nd June 1942, the crew of the Felce were reassigned as prisoners of war.
With the exception of Costantino Bergonzo, all crew were repatriated to Italy. Costantino was ‘released to Melbourne’ and in 1947 married Antonina Maggiore. In 1961, Certificates of Naturalisation were issued to Costantino and Antonina. They settled in Melbourne.
Salvatore D’Esposito was originally ‘released to Melbourne’ but within eleven months he was repatriated to Italy on the General Heintzelman which also repatriated Italian internees to Palestine.
Another crew member of the Felce, Federico Calosso visited Brisbane in October 1950 onboard the Iris. His comment, “internment cost a wife” would resonate with many Italians who were interned during WW2. He continued working as a wireless operator and in two and a half years had only had ten days in Italy.
1950 ‘INTERNMENT “COST” A WIFE’, Brisbane Telegraph (Qld. : 1948 – 1954), 1 November, p. 23. (LAST RACE), viewed 05 Jun 2021, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217273094
Footprints of Italian Prisoners of War in Australia 
My uncle Salvatore Vinci was in an internment camp in Palestine and was among the prisoners who were taken to Australia where he remained after the war.
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