On foot from PG 66 Capua to PG 82 Laterina

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by vitellino, Jun 21, 2016.

  1. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    I have discovered on the Internet a post from the son of Cpl. Finden 5500323 Hampshires saying that his father was transferred from PG 66 to PG 82 on foot.

    This is the first instance I have come across of group POW transfers on foot over large distances in Italy.

    Has anyone else heard of this, or more importantly, has anyone got formal WRITTEN PROOF(i.e. liberation or E & E reports) that it took place?

    Thanks,

    Vitellino
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2016
  2. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    I'm replying to my own post!

    I found in an entry in The People's War series to the effect that on the occasion cited the men were marched from the docks in Naples to Capua and were then transported to Laterina:

    BBC - WW2 People's War - Sidi Nsir, Tunisia to The Great March

    If any one has any information about other men being sent from Capua to Laterina I would be pleased to hear from them as I am busy getting material together for a website on the latter camp,

    September 2016
    Have now discovered that the men were sent by train from Capua to Laterina

    http://file:///C:/Users/utente/Desktop/Pte G R Hamilton POW No 222076, Camp E 715.html

    Vitellino
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2016
  3. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    To all those interested, my site PG 82 Laterina is now up and running, but until Google have catalogued it it can only be accessed vi the Address Bar at the top of the screen.

    Thanks to all those who have contributed, including Bronwen, Marty Saltiel, Marie Boshoff, JJ van Rooyen and Leone G.

    Vitellino

    http://powcamp82laterina.weebly.com
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2016
    Smudger Jnr and bamboo43 like this.
  4. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Vitellino,

    I took a quick look, congrats on a well presented and informative website.:)
     
  5. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Thank you very much Bamboo43
     
  6. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I see you are using Weebly. Have you used their new upgrades Weebly 4, I am a bit hesitant to tamper with my website pages just now and have decided to leave well alone.
     
  7. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    No, I haven't used their upgrades - I am always reluctant to change things which I know work for me.
     
  8. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    Vitellino,
    excellent information and a map of the camp.
    I am impressed with the model of the camp made by the local school.
    I must have passed by on the motorway last Easter whilst on holiday and visiting a few places I could trace where my late father was during the war.
    Regards
    Tom
     
  9. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Thanks. The local school became interested because of its post war use - it was a refugee camp for displaced persons of Italian origin from Istria. The post-war treaty with Tito left them in Yugoslavia and no longer in Italy.

    JJ van Rooyen's comment elsewhere on this website is how I feel about this camp - you can still see a lot of it, but it's in its 'natural' state. No museum, just a noticeboard at the end of the road. Very atmospheric indeed.

    Regards

    Vitellino .
     
    Smudger Jnr likes this.
  10. GeoffMNZ

    GeoffMNZ Well-Known Member

    Vitellino,
    A really great website - congratulations. This will make others research so much easier.
    Regards
    Geoff
     
  11. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Thanks Geoff.
    I intended to publish something similar on PG 54 in book form - it's already available in Italian - but perhaps I'll do a website, though there are already one or two up and running. Undoubtedly a website would reach a wider public.What do people feel?

    Vitellino
     
  12. Elliott H

    Elliott H Member

    Private Charlie’s Standing took this journey

    Charlie’s capture was actually just the start of his incredible journey, his great grandson Elliott Hasler has rounded the story off 75 years on.

    Elliott made a 1hr 20 min critically acclaimed movie called Charlie’s Letters to tell the story, which featured in the Edinburgh festival last year. He will show the movie as a tribute on Saturday morning in Hampshire and to also commemorate the battle of Sidi Nsir from Feb 1943. If you can’t come to the screening have a look at these links below.

    Screening at Harbour Lights Cinema Southampton on 3rd March 10.30 in the morning with a Q&A afterwards.

    Charlie’s incredible story:

    Charlie Standing—Escapee from Camp 82

    Charlie’s Letters the movie

    www.relsahproductions.co.uk
     
  13. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Did he REALLY do it on foot?

    Vitellino
     
  14. Elliott H

    Elliott H Member

    we dont know, he never talked about his experiences in WW2, like most I think, in fact he chose not to apply for his medals.

    He did say how beautiful Italy was as a county. He returned to Tuscany in the 1980s with Tup, his wife for a holiday.

    interestingly the PoW camp is still standing. some of the huts are used as industrial warehouses some in disrepair. We do plan to visit it ourselves in the next few years.

    Simon
     
  15. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am the expert on PG 82 but the website powcamp82laterina.weebly.com is mine (see above) and I have been there on three or four occasions as I used to live about an hour's drive away.

    I have read a fair number of personal accounts of men who were transferred between POW camps in Italy and in the main they were moved by train, only occasionally in lorries and never on foot. The 'on foot' bit was between the nearest railway station and the camp, and could be quite lengthy, as in the case of the prisoners who were marched from Chiavari station to PG 52 at Pian di Coreglia, a distance of 16 km.

    Vitellino
     
  16. Elliott H

    Elliott H Member

    V

    Thank you for letting me know. We think Charlie must have transferred by train and then walked to the camp but annoyingly we never asked him as he never spoke about it

    He died in 1999 a year before Elliott was born, all these historically facts go with them.

    What is it like there now.

    FYI the movie and Charlie are featured in today’s Hampshire Chronicle, link below.

    Charlie's Letters tells story of Hampshires stand at Sidi Nsir | Hampshire Chronicle
     
  17. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Undoubtedly the men walked from Laterina station to the camp. They were also sent back to the station, or in the end to another station on the line, during the so.called 'Death March' in June 1944 when PG 82 was being uesd as a transit camp.
    In answer to your question 'what is it like there now?' Quite a few huts are still there and some are being used by local businesses.

    Now to the names on the postcard - Settimio Galloni, Madalena Lido, and Madaleina Adelfa. Were these the people in Viterbo?

    Vitellino
     
  18. Elliott H

    Elliott H Member

    Vitelino

    Thank you for letting me know. We don’t know who these people are annoyingly, we’d love to find out. We surmise it may be those who helped him but often those who helped were not named in case of capture and reprisals.

    FYI the movie screening went really well today. Some great stories from families of veterans who had similar stories to that of Charlie.
     
  19. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    I have checked in the phone book and there are still some Galloni families in both Viterbo and its province. The same goes for the Maddalena family. Shall I try to contact them for you?
     
  20. Elliott H

    Elliott H Member

    Wow, Yes please if you can. It would be great if there was a link and contact, thank you ever so much for doing this.

    if you need a photo of Charlie theres on in the Southampton Echo in Thursdays paper, search Sidi Nsir
     

Share This Page