Category Archives: Murchison PW & I Camp

Welcome… Benvenuto

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Welcome to Footprints of Italian Prisoners of War a comprehensive archive of documents, artefacts, testaments, photographs and research relating to this compelling chapter in Australian history.

This is an international community history project involving Australian and Italian families from sixteen countries who have shared their stories so that this history is not forgotten.

The website operates as a ‘virtual museum’.

Sneath Murray Bridge

Over 18000 Italian Prisoners of War came to Australia from 1941 – 1945. Captured in theatres of war in North Africa, East Africa and Europe, they were transported to Australia  via staging camps in Egypt, Palestine and India.

This research features Italian prisoners of war and their farming families in Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. Articles cut across a range of topics: the battles in Libya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Greece; the movement of prisoners from the place of capture to prisoner of war camps in Egypt and Palestine; interment in the camps of India; transport to Australia; repatriation from Australia and arrival in Naples.  

The stories and memories of Italian and Australian farming families gives this history a voice.  The diversity of photos and relics shared personalises what would otherwise be a very black and white official report.

The articles featured on the project’s website brings colour and personality to this almost forgotten chapter in Australia’s history.

list-of-articles-may-2021-2Download

The Italian prisoners of war were more than just a POW.  They were fathers, brothers, sons and husbands from across Italy and from diverse backgrounds and occupations.

Follow their journey…. Walking in their Boots

 

The Footprints Project

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Footprints of Italian Prisoners of War Project is a community project supported by Australians in six states and Italian families in sixteen countries.**

Did you know?

The website operates as a ‘virtual’ museum and library.

Over 300 articles have been written for the website.

The website has a wide reaching readership to over 120 countries.

What makes this research unique and diverse?

Perspective.

Contributions have come from far and wide:  farmers, farmers’ wives, farming children, the town kids, families of Australian Army interpreters, children of Italians who were prisoners of war, Italians who were prisoners of war, the local nurse, the mother of an ex-POW, government policy and reports.

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What does the research encompass?

Website: italianprisonersofwar.com

Facebook Page: Prigionieri di guerra Italiani in Australia

Music Book: Notations for songs and dance music by Ciccio Cipolla.

Farm Diary: daily notations regarding farm life during war time including information on Italian POWs and Land Army Girls.

Feature article in Corriere della Sera [Italy] in March 2021.

Memories in Concrete: Giuseppe Miraglia from Enna Sicily and Adriano Zagonara from Bagnara di Romagna Ravenna.

Donations to the Australian War Memorial of two artefacts made by Gympie Italian prisoners of war

Two publications: Walking in their Boots and Costanzo Melino: Son of Anzano (in collaboration with Rosa Melino)

Journey of two Italian families from Italy to visit Queensland and ‘walk in the footsteps of their fathers’: Q1 Stanthorpe and Q6 Home Hill

POW Kit Bags: Adriano Zagonara and Sebastiano Di Campli

The Colour Magenta: The Australian prisoner of war uniform for Italians, Japanese and Germans.

Theatre Productions: Details of  plays performed by the Italians

Handbooks: L’Amico del Prigioniero, Pidgin English for Italian Prisoners of War, Piccolo Guido per gli Italiani in Australia

Voices from the Past:  testimonials from Italian soldiers who worked on  farms.

Letters written by Italian prisoners of war to family in Italy, to their Queensland farmers and to the children of farmers, written by mother of an Italian POW to a Queensland nurse, written by the Italians to their interpreter, Queensland farmer to Italian, letters written between Italian POW places in different states.

Photographs of Italian soldiers in full dress uniform, Italian soldiers in Italian and Libya during training, Italians as POWs with their farming families, Italians on their Wedding Day and with their families, Italians in POW camps in India.

Handmade items: embroideries, wooden objects, cellophane belt, silver rings, paintings, cane baskets, metal items, chess sets, art work, theatre programs.

Contributions by Italian families whose fathers and family returned to Australia as ‘new Australians’.

Identification of buildings used as prisoner of war accommodation.

Publication of three guides for Italian families to assist in their search for information about their fathers and grandfathers.

Collaboration with numerous Italian and Australian families; local museums and family history associations; journalists; translators; collectors of historic postal items; local libraries.

Discussion about our Queensland research at conference in Catania Sicily May 2019 on prisoner of war experiences.

My Wish List

In the beginning:

I had one wish, to find one Queensland family who remembered the Italians working and living on their farm. Thank you Althea Kleidon, you were the beginning with your photos and memories of Tony and Jimmy.

My adjusted wish list, to find three photographs of Italian POWs on Queensland farms. Then came Rosemary Watt and Pam Phillips with their collection of photos, a signature in concrete and a gift worked in metal.

….

Now:

To have the three Finding Nonno guides translated into Italian.

If I win Gold Lotto, to have Walking in their Boots translated into Italian or an upgrade to the website.

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**Background

What started out as a personal journey to read about the Italian POW Camp outside of Home Hill has resulted in a comprehensive, diverse and rich collection of stories, letters, photographs, testimonies, artefacts, music, newspaper articles spanning over 80 years: the battles in the Mediterranean and in Libya 1940 to the present.

Over the past seven years, I have heard these words many times over, “but you have it wrong, there were no Italian prisoners of war in Queensland”.

And this became a focal point for the research: to record this chapter in Queensland’s history before it was completely forgotten.

But like ripples in a pond,  Queensland’s history of Italian POWs expanded across and was part of a greater history and so the project extended and expanded: to other Australia states and to Italian families in sixteen countries around the world.

Join the journey and follow the footprints of the Italian prisoners of war.

Ossario Day 2018

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Sombre and reflective, Kay Ball from Murchison Historical Society has written an article about the remembrance service at The Ossario 11th November 2018…

Murchison and District Historical Society Inc.

The Ossario, located in a quiet corner of the Murchison Cemetery was completed in 1961 and is a beautifully crafted Mediterranean style building. It contains the remains of Italian Prisoners of War and Internees who died on Australian soil during World War 2.

Murchison Ossario

Every year, on the second Sunday in November, hundreds of people gather to remember the 129 men and one woman for whom the Ossario is their last resting place.

On Sunday 11th November this year, a warm sunny day with a lovely clear blue sky, the occasion was again well attended by over 300 people. Mostly of Italian descent, they travel from Melbourne, interstate, overseas and across Victoria and are joined by locals who appreciate this special occasion. The ceremony is moving, suitably reverent and also colourful with many Italian Military Service uniforms, banners, flags, floral wreaths and bouquets in abundance.

Lining up at beginning…

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Otranto sails for Naples

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On the 8th /9th January 1947 about 500 Italian prisoners of war left from No. 7 Woolloomooloo Wharf in Sydney Harbour on the Otranto.  The Italians had arrived by train from Cowra with a military guard of four officers and 50 other ranks.

Pietro Gargano was disheartened to leave Australia.  Pietro had married a Cowra girl, Joyce Slocombe after escaping from the camp.  His wife persuaded him to give himself up and representations were made to allow Pietro to remain in Australia. Pietro returned to Australia in 1949.

Alessio Matonti [Matoni] told reporters that he had spent three years working on orchards in Orange. He left Australia with these words: “Best wishes to everybody in Australia.”

Another Italian prisoner was photographed by a journalist in Sydney.

Ladened with his personal possessions, many Italians also took home items not available in Italy such as canned food, material and boots.

A Heavily Bearded Italian Prisoner of War Boards the Otranto

[The Sydney Morning Herald January 8th 1947]

Civilian passengers who boarded the Otranto in Sydney were told by the  officers that passengers would be put off the ship if they fraternised with Italian officers during the voyage.  Italian officers were quartered in passenger cabins and Italian troops were isolated from passengers in troop decks. One female passenger from Sydney stated that she found the order to not fraternise was ‘most rude’.  Her logic was that should an Italian officer bump into her accidently and apologise to her, she could hardly refuse to reply. Some of the 200 civilian passengers were war brides travelling to Britain.

The OC British Lieut. Col. At T McCullogh was in charge of the Italians and stated, “I fought Italians and know them.  Women can find them very attractive. I will not hesitate to stop fraternisation.”

Italian officers were not allowed to attend dances on the voyage, though an eight-piece POW orchestra were engaged to play at the dances.

10th January 1947 arrived at Station Pier Melbourne from Sydney to embark a further 3000 Italian prisoners of war.  About 150 friends and relatives of the POWs waited at the Station Pier gates which were locked.  Australian farmers and their wives had made the journey from country Victoria to say goodbye to prisoners who had worked well on their farms for two years. It was reported that some women managed to get through to hand the prisoners parcels and take letters to mail from them.

Raffaele Caprioli had boarded the Otranto in Sydney.  Suffering from appendicitis, he was carried ashore at Station Pier and transferred to 115 Heidelberg Military Hospital.  He was repatriated on the Orontes on the 21st January 1947.

A group of Italian prisoners of war were photographed by a representative of the International Committee for the Red Cross, waiting to board a repatriation ship.  One man’s kit bag shows his name: LALLA. There were only two Italian prisoners with the surname LALLA: Ettore Lalla, 26 years old from San Buono Chieti  and Attilio Lalla, 46 years old from Liscia Chieti. Both boarded the Otranto in Melbourne.

Guerre 1939-1945. Rapatriement de prisonniers de guerre italiens.

Repatriation of Italian Prisoners of War ICRC VP-HIST-03235-24

15th January departed Fremantle F Shed

While in Fremantle Harbour it was reported that there were 3708 Italians on the Otranto, which included 21 officers.  When the ship berthed, the wharf was barricaded, and the Italians POWs were kept below. Some talked through portholes to 30 Italians who came to farewell them.  Otranto sailed at 1pm.

2nd February 1947 arrived at Suez

5th February 1947 arrived in Naples

Weather conditions forced the Otranto to stand off Naples Harbour until the winds abated.  Gale force winds tore other ships in Naples Harbour from their moorings.

Fine War Service for Otranto

From September 1939 to August 1945, the Otranto was in ‘war service’.  During that time, the ship carried 132,1919 troops, 10,076 prisoners of war and 3,181 civilians. Her first engagement carried the first Australian contingent to the United Kingdom.

On her voyage from Sydney to Italy to England in January/February 1947 she transported 523 passengers, 3708 Italian prisoners of war and an Australian guard of 46.

I want to go home…

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Crescenzio RAVO was 18 years old when he was captured at Tobruk on 22nd January 1941.  He spent his 19th birthday on the Queen Elizabeth as she made her way to Australia, arriving in Sydney 15th October 1941.

Ravo 1

 Crescenzio Ravo: 19 years old Cowra PW & I Camp 17.11.41

NAA: A7919, C100635

His 20th and 21st birthdays were celebrated in Cowra and his 22nd and 23rd birthdays at Q6 Home Hill hostel. Three weeks after his 24th birthday, he escaped from Murchison POW Camp.

While he was at Q6 Home Hill hostel, Sept 1944 to November 1945, he had spent 67 days in detention.  He has escaped from Q6 and was found at Iona School and had also gone walkabout a couple of times while on work duty. Once in Murchison, he damaged property of the Commonwealth, used threatening language and then escaped again.

History is interesting. The full picture does not always reveal itself.  In a moment of sentimentality, I reflect that Crescenzio was the age of my sons, while I have been undertaking this research.  I wonder how they would act and react at being in such an unfamiliar environment. Both would endure their situation, very differently.

I think however angry Crescenzio was, however brazen and sullen, the final page in his file helps tell his story; he just wanted to go home.

Repatriation orders were for all Italian prisoners of war to transported to Italy.  Those men who were Italian, but were residents of Libya or Eritrea or Ethiopia were placed in an uncertain situation.  Home was not Italy, and therefore once in Naples, would transfer to their home in a ex-Italian colony be automatic? This is the situation Crescenzio found himself in: repatriation to Italy, but how would he get home to Tripoli? Did repatriation orders include directives for those Italians whose home was not in Italy?  Would Crescenzio be stranded in Naples without the means to make his way to Libya?

The following entry answers these questions:

War Diary: 2 Sep 46 “Commands have been informed that except in exceptional circumstances Italian PW will not be repatriated to former Italian colonies.”

Ravo 2

Letter by Ravo to PW Camp Authorities

NAA: A7919, C100635

What is known about this situation is that a return to Libya was difficult.

Here are the journeys of two other Italian soldiers who were Libyan residents:

From ‘A Father’s Love’: Liborio Bonadonna

But Liborio’s return to his family in Tripoli was further delayed. Once he arrived in Naples, he required an operation.  Fighting bureaucracy, he tried to gain permission several times to reach Libya and his wife and parents.

Liborio’s grandson, Liborio Mauro says that “He told her [my grandmother] if I’m not able to join you, I would like to go back in Australia. After 3 times, he finally joined my grandmother in Libya where my father Carmelo was born in Tripoli in 1949.”

Abele Damini was also a resident of Libya.   Valerio Damini writes, “After the war, Abele came to Afragola (Napoli province) identification center, he did not wait for official re-embarkation and, boarding clandestinely in an illegal ship, he tried to reach Libya coast by himself. He then be imprisoned in Libyan prison (for I do not know how long), where he got sick and died.”

After six years in captivity, these Italians who were residents of the colonies, deserved quick and free passage to their homes and families.

Finding Nonno

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The history behind nonno’s stories

Robert Perna from Detroit Michigan writes, “Many years ago my grandfather told me about his time as a POW from Italy. He surrendered in North Africa and was first shipped to Iraq. Then he was shipped to Australia and worked on a cattle farm. He told me it would take weeks to walk the fence and repair it. He said the owner owned a territory. 

I’m looking for any way to find out who he lived with. He passed many years ago, but his memory of his time there was always very clear. He did end up going back to Italy because that’s where his family was.”

And so the journey begins for a grandson to meld a grandfather’s stories with historical fact.

Using the guide Finding Nonno, Robert found with ease his grandfather’s Australian records which confirmed a few details: his nonno Arcangelo was captured in North Africa: Amba Alagi on 5.5.1941; he was sent to India (not Iraq); he was shipped to Australia: onboard the SS Uruguay in 1943 which docked at Sydney; and he was assigned to farm work: in the N11 Prisoner of War Control Centre Glen Innes.

Robert recounts the details of Arcangelo’s conscription and war service, “My grandfather went to Rome to go pay the taxes on his property. While there, they recruited him off the streets* and sent him to Africa. He could not say goodbye to his family.

From there he was sent to Northern Africa where he was in charge of a platoon. They found out they were being attacked at dawn. So they hunkered into a hill waiting for the African army to attack. Once they ran out of bullets, everyone surrendered, so no one would get killed.” 

The piecing of history continues giving credence to Arcangelo’s memories of the day he was captured 5th May 1941:

1 May 1941 Viceroy of Italian East Africa Duke of Aosta and 7,000 troops were trapped at Amba Alagi, Abyssinia by Indian 5th Indivision to the north and South African 1st Brigade in the south.

3 May 1941 Allied and Italian troops engaged in heavy fighting at Amba Alagi, Abyssinia.

4 May 1941 29th Brigade of the Indian 5th Division launched another attack at Amba Alagi, Abyssinia, capturing 3 hills between 0415 and 0730 hours.

5 May 1941 3/2nd Punjab Battalion advanced toward the Italian stronghold at Amba Alagi, Abyssinia at 0415 hours. They were pinned down by 12 Italian machine guns for the most of the day. The attack was called off at dusk.

British Pathe footage captured the Italians after the surrender of Amba Alagi. Another detail from this battle comes from Craig Douglas at Regio Esercito History Group in Brisbane: “When the Italian troops surrendered at Amba Alagi, the British commander allowed them to surrender with the full honours of war. In tribute to their tenacious defence right to the end.”

The battle for Amba Alagi, the last Italian stronghold in Eritrea. Italians who surrendered Fort Toselli seen marching down the road from the fort. c. June 1941

(AWM Image 007945, Photographer: Unknown British Official Photographer)

From Amba Alagi, Arcangelo would have been sent to POW camps in Egypt to be processed and assigned a M/E number: 289564 [Middle East].  From Suez he would have been transported to India.

Critical Past footage gives a window into the past; the arrival of Italian prisoners of war in Bombay India.

The next stage of Arcangelo’s journey is his arrival in Australia which was reported in the newspapers.  Two ships from India arrived together in Sydney 4th October 1943 with 507 Italian POWs on each ship (one medical officer, 5 medical other ranks and 501 other ranks: MV Brazil and SS Uruguay.

ITALIANS FOR FARMS” Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 – 1954) 10 October 1943: 5. Web. 22 Jun 2019 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59187793

1000 Italian War Prisoners Arrive” Kalgoorlie Miner (WA : 1895 – 1950) 7 October 1943: 4. Web. 22 Jun 2019 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95630892&gt;

 

Arcangelo Perna’s arrival is documented on the Nominal Rolls Cowra 12 (c) POW Camp arrival from overseas 5th October 1943. He is assigned his Australian POW number : PWI 55833. Notice that his rank is Corporal though his other documents have his rank as Italian and Private; somethings are lost in translation.

Nominal Rolls of Italian Prisoners of War to Cowra

(NAA: SP196/1, 12 PART 2, 1943-1944 Sydney)

Within two months of his arrival in Australia, Arcangelo is assigned to farm work N11 C.C. Glen Innes.

Robert has a clear memory of his nonno’s recollections of Australia, “ He told me he worked on a cattle farm there. First thing he had to do was mend the fence with the owner. So they packed up the cart and took off. It took over 3 weeks to walk the fence. After that he worked there for a few years. Once it was time to go, the owner begged him to come back and live there. My grandfather said no, he had a farm in Italy. He never said anything bad about being there in Australia. He said they were a nice family who treated him wonderfully.”

Arcangelo’s Service and Casualty Form provides the details of his time between leaving the Glen Innes farm and his repatriation.  A documented four day stay in the Glen Innes hospital and his transfer from the farm to Murchison suggests ongoing medical concerns.  Those Italian who were medically unfit were sent to Murchison. And it is while Arcangelo was at Murchison, official group photos of the Italians were taken. 

A search of the Australian War Memorial collection did not turn up a match for Arcangelo. And Arcangelo’s photo could have been missed because, not all photographs taken of the POWs include the names of the men in the photos.

With this information and a chance at finding his nonno, Robert set to looking through all the group photos taken at Murchison March 1945. And there he was: seated second from the right.

A special moment for Robert: he had found Nonno in Australia.

Murchison, Australia. 2 March 1945. Group of Italian prisoners of war (POWs) interned in D2 No. 13 POW Group.

(AWM Image 030229/13, Photographer: Stewart, Ronald Leslie)

Arcangelo was repatriated on Chitral  from Sydney on 24th September 1946. These early repatriations were for special consideration, medical or compassionate reasons. This was one of the early repatriation ships which boarded 300 POWs in Sydney and another 2900 in Fremantle Western Australia. The majority of Italian POWs held at Northam Camp WA were repatriated on Chitral.

 Robert continues, “When he came home, my grandmother wasn’t even home when he got there! One of my aunts were born while he was away. Plus, my dad was born about 9 months after he came home.”

“These memories [of my nonno] have been a part of my life since he’s told me the story. It has been told hundreds of times. Now I have proof, pictures and info to back up my story,” Robert reflects.

No title” The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954) 24 September 1946: 3 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Web. 22 Jun 2019 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231583722&gt;

*This is not the first time I have heard about this method of recruitment. A group of young men from the Lecce region, told a similar story to their Queensland family in Gayndah.

Remarkable…

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What do Giuseppe Quarta, Tito Neri and Antioco Pinna and  have in common?

 

Giuseppe Quarta Tito Neri Antioco Pinna

(Photos courtesy of Antonio Quarta, NAA: A367 C85639, Luigi Pinna)

This is the question I had to ask myself when Antonio Quarta contacted me recently.  Antonio’s father  was from Arnesano (Lecce), he was captured in Bardia (Libya) and he worked on farms in the Burnie and Deloraine districts of Tasmania.

Remarkably, Giuseppe Quarta had a photo of ‘Adam and Eve’, the same photo Antioco Pinna from Palma Suergio (Cagliari) also had. ‘Adam and Eve’ was a statue sculptured by Tito Neri in the Loveday Camp (SA) in 1946.

Caporale Tito Neri

‘Adam and Eve’ by Tito Neri

(Photo courtesy of Antonio Quarta)

All three men were captured in different battles of war and came from different parts of Italy, but all three are connected to ‘Adam and Eve’.

The connection is that Giuseppe, Antioco and Tito had all resided in Camp 12 POW Camp India (Bohpal) before boarding the ship Mariposa in Bombay, arriving in Melbourne on 5.2.44.  After being processed in Murchison Camp (Victoria) they went their separate ways: Giuseppe to farm work in Tasmania, Tito to farm work in South Australia and Antioco to forestry work in South Australia.

In 1946, all Italian prisoners of war were brought back into six main camps around Australia to await repatriation.  It was at Loveday Camp (SA) that the three men were reunited once more: Tito Neri arrived at Loveday Camp (SA) on 27.2.46, followed by Antioco Pinna  on 3.4.46 and Giuseppe Quarta on 10.4.46.

Sometime between 27.2.46 and 7.11.46, Tito Neri created and destroyed his statue of ‘Adam and Eve’. Fortunately, Tito Neri and his statue were photographed and more than one copy of the photograph was produced with one copy now in Sardinia (Pinna) and one copy in Puglia (Quarta).

So many more questions are raised: who took the photo? how many photos were reproduced? do other Italian families have the same or a similar photo? do any Australian families have a photograph of ‘Adam and Eve’.

The completion of the statue must have been an important event for the Loveday Camp. Not only were photographs taken, but as  Dott. Andrea Antonioli, Commune di Cesena. explained in his biography of Tito Neri,  “Adam and Eve … nevertheless appears even in an Australian magazine.”  

Another reference to the statue can be found on Flickr: “Life size statues of Adam and Eve and the serpent (snake) which was sculptured by the Italian prisoner in the background. He had requested permission to make the statue out of cement, but it was denied, so he made it out of mud, and it was so beautiful that the commandant of Camp 14 gave him permission to cover it in concrete. According to the chief engineer at the camp, Bert Whitmore, the man destroyed the statues after the war, before he left.”

6393183925_fbdf382cf6_b

Adam and Eve and Sculpture at the Loveday Internment Camp

(from Flickr)

 

Questions. Answers. And more Questions.

Another Del Bo!

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Jennifer Ellis stumbled across a portrait of a lady and so began her journey to understand the history behind the portrait and painter…

Jennifer writes, “It was purchased in a second hand shop in Smythesdale Victoria for the sum of two dollars. It’s not framed . On canvas . On back is branded 1943 on the canvas. In red writing it has Riccardo del.bo Parma Italy. The front is signed like the picture in [your Del Bo] article and dated 1946. Pow . The detail is beautiful.”

Signature of Riccardo Del Bo 1944 and 1946

(photos courtesy of Janette Ratcliffe (Jones) and Jennifer Ellis)

It is with thanks to Janette Ratcliffe (Jones) that we know a little about Del Bo and his time on the Jones farm at Severnlea via Stanthorpe. Riccardo Del Bo was from the Parma region in Italy and had been captured in Greece on 24th January 1941. He arrived in Australian on ‘Queen Mary’ 13th October 1941 and was sent to Cowra PW & I Camp until his transfer to Stanthorpe via Gaythorne PW & I Camp in Mid October 1943.

On 7th February 1945 he was transferred to Murchison PW & I Camp in Victoria until his repatriation to Italy on the ‘Otranto’ on 10th January 1947.

It would appear that Jennifer’s ‘Del Bo’ was painted while he was in Murchison PW & I Camp. The answers to the questions: who is the lady in the painting? how did the painting get from a prisoner of war camp to a second hand shop? what is this painting’s story? Did Del Bo continue painting? will probably never be known. Shortly after Del Bo’s arrival at Murchison, he was photographed: he is the last man standing on the right.

Murchison, Australia. 2 March 1945. Group of Italian prisoners of war (POWs) interned in D2 Compound, No. 13 POW Group. Back row, left to right: 61970 N. Bruni; 48039 P. De Carlo; Unidentified; 49913 Q. Spognetta; 48016 R. Del Bo. Front row: Unidentified; 57177 G. De Vita; 57536 P. Rizzelli; 48145 P. Landolfi; 46993 H. Zirafi; 48153 M. Lo Cantore. Note: The number is an assigned POW number.  (AWM Image 030230/04 Photographer Ronald Leslie Stewart)

Jennifer’s keen eye and interest in the history of her second hand bargain, means that another small part of the history of Italian prisoners of war in Australia has been pieced together.

Jennifer reflects, ” I am also happy that I have found some history of this picture. The man I purchased it from can’t remember where he got it from as its been hidden away… When I told him about the history he was amazed. He is an antique/junk seller, and when I mentioned the pow under the signature he was surprised that he missed it. As I said it’s still probably only worth two dollars- but worth more in the history of it. I don’t think it has ever been framed. I’d say perhaps he [Del Bo] made it as a gift for someone and they kept it in a draw rolled up. It would be great to see if he continued his art. “

Portrait of a Lady by Del Bo

(photo courtesy of Jennifer Ellis)

Unlucky

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Gennaro Quintigliano was posing as a Greek national when he was recognised in Adelaide as an escaped Italian prisoner of war 7th February 1946.

Cowra, NSW. 6 February 1944. Group of Italian prisoners of war (POWs) interned at No. 12 POW Group. Back row, left to right: 45603 V. Esposito; 45011 S. Amato; 57534 G. Quintiliano; 45953 G. Lo Russo; 45930 V. Landriscina; 57254 C. Giannini; 49877 L. Miele. Front row: 57521 A. Vezzola; 46282 A. Merante; 45155 M. Coppola; 46863 V. Termine; 49732 S. Piccolo. Note: The number is an assigned POW number. (Photographer Geoffrey McInnes)


Gennaro had escaped from Rowville Hostel Victoria on 30th December 1945.
This was a well-planned escape. It was reported that he had travelled first class by train from Melbourne to Adelaide. In his possession, he had Australian currency, an identity card and clothing coupons in his Greek alias and a plan to purchase a ticket for a steamer to Europe.
Gennaro Quintigliano was unlucky. Ex-Sergeant Leo Guinoy of Glenelg South Australia was walking down King William Street Adelaide during his lunch hour when he saw Quintigliano. Guinoy had been assigned as a sergeant in the Intelligence Corps at Murchison Camp Victoria.
Guinoy was quite possibly the only Australian in Adelaide to know Quintigliano and by sheer coincidence recognised the escaped prisoner of war.
Guinoy said that Quintigliano had an amazing knowledge of Australian slang and spoke quite good English. Quintigliano a powerfully built six-footer, offered no resistance and was reported to have said to Guinoy, “Well I am the stiffest man.”

(National Archives of Australia)

This was his second escape, having previously escaped from the Kyneton district in July 1945. He escaped a third time from Rowville Hostel in June 1946 and was recaptured in Sydney on 13 January 1947.

Gennaro Quintiliano has seen quite a bit of east coast Australia from his arrival in Melbourne to Cowra Camp to farm work in Canowindra to Gaythorne Camp to farm work in Gympie to Murchison Camp to farm work in Kyneton to Rowville Hostel to Adelaide to Sydney.

Ricorda Cafiero

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On 8th August 1945, Cafiero Veneri was sent to V26 Mornington Hostel [aka Fort Nepean and Portsea] to undertake maintenance and rehabilitation of the army facilities on Mornington Peninsula. His time there was short: 4 1/2 months.

On 23rd December 1945, Cafiero drowned while swimming off the Mornington Peninsula.  His body was never recovered.  Other Italian prisoners of war who died in Australia are laid to rest at The Ossario Murchison Victoria and they are remembered each year with an official service and ceremony on or around 11th November.

Other than a small newspaper article and the army records, there is no memory of Cafiero Veneri.  His body was never recovered and any memory of him disappeared with the passing of those Australian and Italian soldiers who knew him:

Caught by undertow at Point Nepean while bathing early yesterday afternoon, Dafiero [Cafiero] Veneri, Italian P.O.W. interned at the local camp was carried out to sea.  Attempts to rescue him were made by several eyewitnesses without success.

1945 ‘NEWS IN BRIEF’, The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), 24 December, p. 3. , viewed 08 Jul 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205653216

From Porto Fuori (Ravenna) Cafiero Veneri was born on 25th August 1913 . His parents were Maria Fabbri and Alfredo Veneri.  He served with the Fanteria [Infantry] 250 Legione CC NN and was captured on the Egyptian/Libyan border at Sidi el Barrani 11th December 1940. Sent to POW camps in India, he arrived in Melbourne Australia 26th April 1944 on the Mariposa. He spent almost 8 months at Murchison POW Camp before being sent to V18 King Lake Hostel. The 150 Italians at this hostel were involved in forestry work and woodcutting.  V18 Hostel closed in July 1945 and Cafiero Veneri was then sent to V26 Mornington Hostel.

There is nothing more poignant than a signature. A recorded memory of Cafiero Veneri.

Veneri Cafiero Signature

RICORDA CAFIERO VENERI