PRISONER OF WAR - LINCOLNSHIRE

[Roy Tasker]

I am trying to locate an Italian Prisoner Of War who worked on a farm at Digby (Lincolnshire)owned by George Tasker. It is believed that he stayed at a POW Hostel at Scopwick which is the next village to Digby. The only information I have regarding the Italian prisoner is his Christian name STEFANO and he was interned during 1944. Does anyone have any ideas on how I might be able to find more details about this person without knowing his Family surname?

Rgs Roy Tasker

[Roy Tasker]

Are there any records of the names of internees held at UK POW camps, in particular the work camps in Lincolnshire?

[Roy Tasker]

I am very interested in finding information on work camps in Lincolnshire, if I can find details of work camps near to Digby in Lincolnshire then I might be closer to finding a family name of my father who was held there!

[suanj]

It is a big hard without the surname, however if you read here http://www.redcross.org.uk/About-us/Who ... ers-of-war
the only option is to contact the International Red Cross in Geneva ( Switzerland) http://www.icrc.org/eng/who-we-are/contacts/index.jsp
explaining what you are searching for and providing all details... I believe that they can help, because the italian POWs was repatried by International Red Cross and they have the data... how much Stefano could there be prisonr around 1944 in Scopwick, Lincolnshire .... I believe just the person that you are searching for...
hoping helpful, regards,
suanj

[Roy Tasker]

Does anyone know if there are any lists of work hostels used to house Italian POWs in the UK?

[AngelaGrace56]

My understanding is that there are no lists and I can understand how frustrating this must be. I have seen very long lists of POW Camps however which you possibly have also seen. If not, let me know and I will post them here for you. Just wondering whether you have ever tried posting an ad in a local Newspaper in Digby or Scopwick or approaching some sort of historic society there?

I agree with Suanj that your best bet would be to contact the International Red Cross if you haven't already done so. I sent them an email at tracing.archives@icrc.org about a year ago and heard back promptly. They did however refer me to an on-line form which I filled in and am still waiting to hear back. (They did tell me it would take at least 12 months as they receive so many requests.) In your case it will be different because you don't have a lot of information, only the name Stefano and where he was located so the on-line form might not apply. They might however be able to offer you some strategies to help you with your search.

You might also want to post on this site here if you haven't already done so.

http://www.forum.familyhistory.uk.com/forums.php

I have used them once and found them very helpful.

(One thing about your story that puzzles me is that Stefano was in England during 1944 – Italy surrendered 1943 (I think) – so where was he before? My dad was also a POW in the UK but he previously spent approxmately two years in South Africa as a POW and was then shipped to Scotland where all the Italian POWs were “distributed” to various camps in England. Like your dad he also worked on a farm and dad was then invited to stay on as an employee at the end of the war. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I may have come across some POW lists for Capetown recently. I remember looking through them to see if dad was there or if I recognised any other names but didn't so discarded it. Just a thought.)

I hope this helps some how. Don't give up.

Angela

[Liberati]

I would agree that the Red Cross and networking with local historical groups would probably be your best angles. Also, Italy did surrender in 1943 but I think the Allies kept a lot of their POWs in custody because they needed the labor force. It's possible that Stefano may have been in England for the entire war if some of the Italian POWs from the North African campaign had been shipped directly to England. I know that others went to Libya, Kenya, India, South Africa, etc. Anyways, good luck with your search!

[suanj]

Does anyone know if there are any lists of work hostels used to house Italian POWs in the UK?

I found that the POWs camp where was the italian prisoners during WWII and near Scopwick, it was :
Camp nr. 80 in Horbling Sleaford, Lincolnshire
I believe that your Stefano stayed here...
suanj

[suanj]

again me: in the Camp nr. 80 in Horbling Sleaford, Lincolnshire was german POWs and italian POWs
on this website
http://www.pastorevito.it/posta-militar ... d-150.html
a letter sent by a italian POW in Camp nr. 80 in Horbling Sleaford, Lincolnshire
suanj

[AngelaGrace56]

Great finds Suanj - the last one very interesting. When I posted here earlier I was thinking "hostels" not "camps" so wasn't thinking?

Roy: This is one of the many sites that lists POW Camps in England. It is better than most because it breaks it down into areas so saves you having to scroll down to pick out all the relevant camps to the area you are looking for. What I thought you might also be interested in is the forum which appears right at the end of the list. Just hit control “Ctrl” and then “End” and it will bring you to the last post. You just might find something there that is helpful for you. I hope so.

http://www.online-archaeology.co.uk/art ... fault.aspx

Angela

[suanj]

Hi AngelaGrace56,
my replies was for Roy Tasker...
However I read abt Camp nr. 80 in Horbling Sleaford, Lincolnshire:
The site of a Second World War prisoner of war camp at Horbling, officially known as Camp 80. This was a purpose-built, standard type camp. Common buildings and facilities at standard type camps included water towers, offices, officer's mess, a canteen, guard rooms, barrack huts, ablution blocks, cell blocks, a camp reception station (medical facility/hospital), a cookhouse, dining rooms, recreation rooms and living huts or tents. Camp 80 functioned as a German work camp, where prisoners were sent out to work as labourers in the local area. It could have been in use up until 1948. The camp has since been removed and the site is occupied by housing.
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1472902
I found just 1 Pow's hostel in Lincolnshire:
The Rectory Camp, Bassingham Lincolnshire Eng Hostel
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablo ... ps-uk#data
suanj

[AngelaGrace56]

Hi AngelaGrace56,
my replies was for Roy Tasker...
However I read abt Camp nr. 80 in Horbling Sleaford, Lincolnshire:
The site of a Second World War prisoner of war camp at Horbling, officially known as Camp 80. This was a purpose-built, standard type camp. Common buildings and facilities at standard type camps included water towers, offices, officer's mess, a canteen, guard rooms, barrack huts, ablution blocks, cell blocks, a camp reception station (medical facility/hospital), a cookhouse, dining rooms, recreation rooms and living huts or tents. Camp 80 functioned as a German work camp, where prisoners were sent out to work as labourers in the local area. It could have been in use up until 1948. The camp has since been removed and the site is occupied by housing.
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1472902
I found just 1 Pow's hostel in Lincolnshire:
The Rectory Camp, Bassingham Lincolnshire Eng Hostel
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablo ... ps-uk#data
suanj

Thank you Suanj. You are incredibly good at this. I've saved the second link to my POW data base for future reference.

I can see that the camp at Sleaford is much closer to Digby and Scopwick than the one at Bassingham (The Rectory) and feel that this is also a very strong possibility, especially as it is termed a “Hostel”.

Roy: I have just come across the following which is both good news and temporarily not so good news:

Red Cross Announcement: http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/docum ... ld-war.htm

I would still send them an email anyway.

Angela

[AngelaGrace56]

Hi Roy

I've just sent you a message with some added info.

Angela

[Roy Tasker]

Thank you everyone for your help, all the pieces of the jigsaw get me a little closer.
Rgs Roy

[AngelaGrace56]

Roy, I've just sent you a couple of replies. I don't seem to be receiving notifications that I have a new "message" any more so that is why it has taken a little while to reply. (Hopefully this can be fixed?) Apologies. Angela