ex-POW executed by germans in italy, 1944

Good morning,

I am investigating over the killing of an ex prisoner of war, maybe coming from the PG49 at Fontanellato or from the camp for "enemy aliens" at Traversetolo, where there were also some Allied officers.

On the 3rd of April 1944, German parachutists belonging to the scout unit of the Fallshirm-Panzer-Division 1 "Hermann Goering" occupied the Belleo, Gombio and Villaberza villages in the Reggio Emilia province looking for a partisan unit that had been flagged in that zome. Parachutists in civilian dresses, pretending to be ex Russian POW, met a couple of ox POW. One managed to run away, the other was killed by guns at Villaberza. According to partisan testimonies, the two were allegedly English officers; according to local tesimonies there were instead an unknown British officer whose name was JOHN GULL. Neither the CWGC, nor the American ABMC report a JOHN GULL (or GOULE, or a similar surname) killed on that day.

Would it be possible that in the files of the Special Investigation Branch there is any mention of that episode? Where else could I look for it?

Thank you.

 

There is a Montalto in Reggio Emilia. This is the closest I could find. There is no Judge Advocate General Dead Victim card for either Gull or Goule.

Reference:
WO 311/1336
Description:
Death of 'George Godfrey' escaped prisoner of war (amongst a group of 27 Italian partisans) at Montalto, Italy, March 1944
Date:
1946 Aug 01 - 1946 Sep 30
Held by:
The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department
MD/JAG/FS/45/61
Legal status:
Public Record(s)
Closure status:
Open Document, Open Description
Access conditions:
Open on Transfer
Record opening date:
15 May 2008

 

Thank you Papiermache, but Godfrey was not our man... he was shot, with a yugoslavian ex pow, between Montelparo and Montalto, in the Marche region, almost 200 km south.
Can you give me a link to read the other names and localities? May be our man was filed under other places in the area, like Casina (the main town not far from Belleo) or Civago and Gazzano, the places where the same germans killed other civilian...

 

That excludes poor "Godfrey.". In compiling cards the JAG was working from information which could be short on detail and often taken from Q forms. So far as I am aware there is no digital link you can access.

DV cards are in "shoe" boxes labelled WO353/18 and WO353/19. The DV cards are filed by surname and often give place and date. ( Unlike Far East DV cards which usually give the briefest of names, no date and a code for a place. )

WO353 contains about twenty two boxes of index cards to be read in the " Invigilation Room" ( although other boxes of cards at Kew can be read in the main reading room.) Other boxes refer to witnesses and places. I do not have photos of the whole file series.

 

Which man was killed? Was it Gull? If it was the other man then Lt. John P. Gelly RA, escaper from Fontanellato, could be 'Gull'. See his son's comments on this forum -Tunisia/SidiNeir "Then and Now".

Which partisan source did you refer to?

Vitellino

 

I know I wasn't asked the question but I've checked and there is no DV card for a Gelly, but there could be lots of reasons for that. The JAG file system wasn't the only one and the "clerks" sometimes didn't get the files from the "investigators" so they could put details on to the filing card system, and the cards are loose, not tied in place.

Anyway, Vitellino, I've sent you an email about your Dachau question.

Raining here.

John

 

Thank you Vitellino, Gelly did not appear in the CWGC lists, the man killed in Gombio called itself "John Gull".

Massimiliano Villa, a partisan leader, wrote a book of memories after the war (Dal Ventasso al Fuso). He met the two fugitives in the winter 1943-1944. Villa stopped at Gombio in his journey to another partisan held area. The two "british pow" believed him a fascist spy and threatened him with a gun, but Villa was able to give proof of his identity.

 

Hello everyone,

I think I may have found John 'Gull'.

I believe him to be New Zealander Lance Corporal John Alan GOULD, service number 13669.

WO 392/21 records him as having been held at one period in PG 107, Torviscosa.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as having died on 15 October 1944. Unfortunately this does not match with the date given above but that could clearly be wrong.

He is recorded on the Athens Memorial, hence his body was never recovered. This fact that is remembered in Athens would indicate that the last time he saw action before his capture was in Greece. (2 NZ Division was there in 1942).

I shall now contact CWGC to find out whether a body was brought in to any cemeteries in the region from the village named above,

Vitellino

 

Very good news Vitellino, we'll wait for more info, especially about the date!!

 

John Alan Gould

 

Some additional informations about Gould, he appear it the "Anzac European Freemen" list as POW held in italy

http://www.anzacpow.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/22740/3853_Anzac_European_Freemen_10-4-14.pdf

I've sent his pic to a friend, his father met "Gull" in Gombio in 1944, i wonder if he will be able to recognise him...

 

Hello Micky,

I have sent the request to the CWGC.

Vitellino

 

Thanks Vitellino, i'm still waiting for my friend's father reply...

 

My friend came back from the hospital, his father did'nt recognize "Gull" from the pic...

 

Micky,

Do you know where he was temporarily buried? I suggested Villaberza to the CWGC but perhaps if you have something more definite it would help.

Vitellino

 

No, i' did'n know, but the major nearest garrison was CASINA, few kms south

 

...but as for the Bonomi Law of 1946, all the Allied corpses buried in the province should have been concentrated in REGGIO EMILIA...

 

Hello Micky,

In cases such as this the serviceman who was shot would have been buried initially in a local cemetery.. He would have been collected from there at the end of the war - often as late as 1946 - and taken to a War Cemetery. If he was 'concentrated ' , which means collected, but his name was not known to the person who buried him (possibly the local priest) and there was no form of identification on his body, he will have been buried as an unknown serviceman. There is also the chance that he was never collected at all.

I have now discovered that the serviceman who was killed was an American pilot who was in the area with a British pilot at the time he was killed
www.redacon.it

'John Gull' has been described as being American in another document, hence it is no use looking for him in a CWGC Cemetery as only British and Commonwealth Servicemen are buried there. http://www.gliocchidi.it/download/gombio.pdf

There are ten American airmen by the name of John Gould in the Enlistment Records in the American Archives in Washington:
https://aad.archives.gov/aad/free-text-search results.jsps=3360&cat=WR26&bc=%2Csl%2Csd&q=john+gould+Air+corps&btnSearch=Search&as_alq=&as_anq=&as_epq=&as_

The American Battle Monuments website does not record the death of a John Gould, Gull or any similar name.Search | American Battle Monuments Commission so it will be a case of looking at the missing aircraft reports (MACRs) www.fold3.com/title_95/missing_air_crew_reports_wwii
to find out which John Gould came down in Italy.

Vitellino

 

Yes, i've checked the ABMC site without results, but many of the american soldier fallen in italy are not on the ABMC lists because some bodies was repatried and reburied in the US. I know the reports of "redacon" and "Gli occhi di", and the facts reported are not really verified. Checking the american WWII enlistment lists, there are only 24 Gull and 96 Gould. Some locals (and Massimiliano Villa) remember the two escapers as "british", other remember "a british and an american". About the MACR, there are thousands of US airmen shot down before the armistice, in africa, sicily and italian mainland. Is not so simple... but carry on!

 

Over to you at this point.

I have checked the American Missing lists but there's nno one there named Gould who was missing in Italy. I've also drawn a blank with the CWGC.

http://www.dpaa.mil/portals/85/Documents/WWIIAccounting

One further suggestion, have you looked at the parish records? The priest would have buried the three Italians who were shot on the same day and he may well have left a note about the prisoner of war in the Burials register. Two priests in the Cortona area named prisoners of war they had buried and one priest actually recorded that one of them, a Croatian, was later exhumed and sent back to his home country

Best of luck,

Vitellino