Italian POW Camp PG54 Fara-in-Sabina

My father was held prisoner in this camp. I'm hoping to learn more about it. Thank you for the link.

 

Please get in touch if you have any questions.

What happened to your father after the Armistice? I am always keen to learn more about the men who were held in this camp.

Best wishes,

Vitellino

 

Quite a bit happened to him.
His name was James Foxall. His regiment was The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, and he was in the first battalion. They were sent to support the 8th Army in North Africa, and he was captured at the battle of Gazala, part of the Tobruk campaign.
He was in a POW camp in North Africa, but I don't know the name of it. Sidi Barani, maybe?
He escaped but was caught soon after and sent to Fara in Sabine. I do not know the date of his arrival, or the date of his escape from there, but I'm guessing it was sometime in 1943, and i do know he spent Christmas 1943 on the run.
He and another soldier "went over the wire."
The other soldier got trapped and my father had to grab his legs and pull him down. This resulted in a bad cut on his hand. Many years later, we met that soldier and he showed us the scar on his hand.

They were hidden by a farming family up in the hills. The had to stay hidden during the day but could come out at night. For some reason, my dad didn't stay hidden and was at the house in daytime when the Germans came looking for escaped prisoners. Dad who was only 5ft 5inches tall was shoved inside the bread oven which was still warm from the morning's baking.

The Germans didn't find him and later, when they had gone, the farmer took a photo of them celebrating by the oven drinking a glass of wine. when the war was over, dad visited the family and they gave him the photo. i have it now and can send it to you.

Eventually he was recaptured but I do not know the date.
He was transferred to a camp in Tuscany called Laterina. Again I do not know when. I understand it was a very bad place.
In June 1944. the Germans decided to Transfer the prisoners to Germany and started emptying the camp.
They were marched to Montevarchi railway station. Any many stopping for any reason was shot and their bodies left where they fell. On arrival, it was discovered that the railway was damaged by bombing so the had to march back to camp, past the mutilated bodies of their comrades as armoured vehicles had driven over them.
My father had nightmares about that for many years.

Once the railway was repaired, they marched again to Montevarchi. They were herded into cattle trucks and set off. About 3 or 4 miles out near the town of San Giovanni, my father and 2 other soldiers were able to pull some planks off the side of the truck and make an escape. They had decided to go in different directions, and (cutting a long story as short as i can,) he stumbled on a farmer and his daughter working in the fields.
There was another young man with them. His name was Enzo Tayar and he was Jewish and was being hidden by the farmer and his wife. Enzo could speak fluent English and dad could speak some Italian, so between them they explained the situation.
The farmer (BIsta Nepi) and his wife, Stella, Took my dad in without hesitation and cared for him until the liberation.

An after note..
Enzo taught the farmer's daughter, Dina, to speak English, and improved my fathers command of Italian at the same time. Dina and my father fell in love and married in September 1945. They were married for almost 49 years.
I'm rather proud of my Italian family.
In 2023 I attended a ceremony in Florence, where the Israeli ambassador awarded Bista and Stella the honour Most Righteous of Nations. In recognition of their bravery.

 

Thank you so much for this, Christina. May I put it on my Laterina website?

I can fill in a few gaps for you. The men held in PG 54 Fara in Sabina all escaped after the Italian armistice, which was on 8 September 1943. I suggest you track down Gunner Clifford Spencer's account of this in the BBC series the People's War.

Given that your father was not put on the train which was bombed by the Americans on 28 January 1944 he must have been recaptured after this date. The camp was being used as a transit camp for recaptured POWs until that time. The next former camp to be used was PG 77 at Pissignano in Umbria, until March 1944, after which the transit camp was PG 82 Laterina.

How emotional for you to have been invited to the ceremony in Florence in which your grandparents were honoured.

There is a possibility that youor grandparents put in a claim for compensation to the Allied Screening Commission. These records are held in the USA Archives. You have to search by their surname.

1. Visit https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75857261
and click on 'Search within this series'
There are eight pages

2. Make a note of the name and file number on the Index Card.

3.To get a copy of the file you need write to them at archives2reference@nara.gov. giving the name and file number, and quoting the series: 331.23 Records of the Allied Screening Commission (Italy) and its successor, The Prisoner-Of-War Claims Commission.

Best of luck,

Vitellino

 

Thank you so much for the advice. I will check the links out.
I doubt if my grandparents made a claim. Enzo offered them the diamonds sewn into the waistband of his trousers but my grandfather refused.
I think one of the conditions of the award from the government of Israel is that the non jew who helps a jew in the days of the holocaust should not benefit financially from the situation.

My father told me he "celebrated" his 28th birthday in a cave. His birthday was March 17th 1944, so I'm guessing he was captured after that date. He never mentioned a camp in Umbria, so I suppose he went straight to Laterina.
I shall continue investigating! Thank you once again for your help.
Feel free to add the story to your website if you want. I will try to include the photo I mentioned too.

 

Here it is

 

If Bista was a contraction of your grandfather's full name it's possible this is the card relating to his file - this individual's address is Montevarchi
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/297219108?objectPage=173

 

Hi Chris,
Please can you send me copy of the PRO file for camp 54 please
Thanks Howard

 

Hey there - I’m very new to this and don’t know my way around at all - but I thought I’d give my grandfather a mention here if that’s ok. He was held in Campo 54 after being captured in Tobruk (June 1942). He was an escapee when the Italian armistice happened and hid until he managed to get to the allied lines in about June 1944. He never really talked about it but I have inherited many of his letters including ones he sent home to my grandmother during his incarceration at the camp so I am on a learning curve. I also found among the correspondence a letter in Italian from a Carlo, Sarin e Gianni Marionello telling him how much they care about him and expressing hope to seeing him again. There is also a copy of a short letter that he sent to them saying that he hopes they remember him with affection and he will never forget his friends in Fara Sabina. A friend translated these letters for me. The address on the envelope says Passo Corese (Rieti). I was very interested in the website about Campo 54 which is thanks to Vitellino (thank you) and I wondered if you’d like to add my grandfather’s name to the list of POWs. He was Army Number: 2100180, Garwood, L.S. (BDR) Unit 305/27/S/L RGT. R.A. I visited Fara in Sabina in 2017 (before I knew about the letters unfortunately) and saw the memorials there - It was wonderful to show it all to my children.

 

Hello Allegra,

Reading your grandfather's story was very interesting. I am extremely busy at the moment but will try to add your grandfather's story to the website, not only his number.

 

Very kind of you - please no rush.

 

My father was with the 2nd Transvaal Scottish regiment (South African army) and captured in Tobruk in June 1942. He spent time at Colfiorito from where he escaped on May 3rd (1943?) but was captured in Torito on the 15th and returned to Colfiorito. Next we find him in camp 54 but on September 11, after the armistice, he and some comrades left camp and eventually met some Canadians in Spinete, Campo Basso, on the 27th of October. He documented all this in a diary. so we would like to retrace his steps later this year.

Anton Vermaak

 

Hello Anton,

Thank you for sharing your father's story. Men were sent from PG 54 to build the camp at Colfiorito, and I imagine your father was one of them.

I know Colfiorito well. The Torita your father refers to is probably Torrita Teverina, about 17 kms north of PG 54, so it's not surprising he was sent there after recapture.

The villagers of Borgo Santa Maria are planning to hold an event at PG 54 sometime in the spring, probably in May, which I will be attending. We have still to fix the date. If you can give me some idea of the dates you are likely to be visiting we can organise the event to accommodate you.

Best wishes,

Vitellino (Janet Kinrade Dethick)

PS What I have just written about the event applies to anyone else who might be interested in attending.

 

Thank you for your reply Janet. I am afraid we are planning our visit at the end of September/beginning of October so we will have to miss the PG54 event.

Attached are photos of a handkerchief from Colfiorito. The heading reads: Roll of the British and South African prisoners of war

 

Thanks for the files. The prisoner roll is most useful.

We could postpone the event!! We haven't fixed anything yet. The idea came up this past September when we were there with some relatives. It's always better if there are some families there.

 

Well, that would be wonderful. The dates I proposed to my kids are September 2 until October 10 but this includes travel time. As soon as they let me know if it works out for them I will let you know.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Couple of questions:
What day of the week is best for the ceremony?
Is there anything left of the camp at Colfiorito? Is that location worth visiting?

 

Hello Anton,

Regarding the day for the ceremony, need to ask the organiser at PG 54. The son of another POW visited with us in September this year and it was on this occasion that the idea of a gathering was discussed. He and his wife are intending to be present and I have already asked them if September would be possible for them.

PG 64 is one of the best documented camps in Italy because after a short period in which it housed prisoners of war (until the end of December 1942) it became an internment camp for Montenegrins, thereby justifying its preservation, given that they were regarded as victims of fascism. If only such interest were shown in the camps for prisoners of war!!

Camp tab | Allies in Italy

Given this, are you sure your father escaped from Colfiorito? Hadn't he been transferred elsewhere?

Regards,

Janet

 

I went back to his diary; I had it wrong. He escaped, and was captured and returned to, Aquapendente, PG 10. So he was in three different camps. His handkerchief places him in Colfiorito in January of 1943, Aquapendente in May of 1943, and in PG 54 where they left camp on September 11 meeting up with Canadians on October 27 at Spinete.