Looking for a WW2 Italian POW

[nikjar78]

Hi all,

We have recently found out that a family rumor of my Dad being the son of an Italian POW is true! Surprising what a DNA Genealogy test can uncover.

Sadly we have very little to go on, we know he was held in the Robertsbridge area of East Sussex & that he helped work on a farm in the area. My Grandmother was called Rosa, my father was born in Feb 1946. It could be a case of my fathers middle name being a possible link to the name Gianni or Giovanni.

My sister took the test & has DNA links with the Naples/Palermo area.

I'm pretty sure my Dad will look the image of his Dad, due to my brother looking the image of him.

Any help would be gratefully received.
Thanks for reading.

[lcmor]

Hi there!

Here is a link to a map of the POW camps in the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/news/databl ... ps-uk#data

I think you would need to start by contacting the local war records office in Sussex, if they don't have the information they should certainly be able to point you in the right direction. https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/leisurean ... istory/ww2

Also, if your Grandfather's surname was not that common it can help you to trace the area that he came from in Italy. Italian surnames are very specific to certain areas in Italy.

Anyway, good luck with your search! What an exciting discovery!!

[Anizio]

To find this information what you will really want to try to find it the man's year, or approximate year of birth and town of origin. Then you request his ruoli matricolari.

If this confirms that he was a POW then you want to contact the Archivio Segreto Vaticano because they have an extensive record of Italian POWs.

[nikjar78]

Thank you both for your information.
I didn't get much luck looking for Sussex files, I have to wait until Thursday to see if I have better luck with the National Archives.
If I get some information back I will post it No doubt I'll be back on here asking for help
Many thanks again!

[nikjar78]

Sadly the info I got back has nothing of great use Does anyone know if you can search pow records in Italy? Would they give information of where they were held?
Thanks again.

[lcmor]

Hi again!

Did your granddad have a common surname? If it's not too common it might be possible to trace him to the level of a province in Italy. Then if you know about what year he was born you can contact the state archives in that province and ask them to check for 'fogli matricolari' using just his name and year of birth.

You can check where his surname originates from here: http://www.cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani

Good luck!!

[nikjar78]

We don't have a name to go on, I'm trying to find a list with work places on so I can narrow the field

[gaspaol]

Unfortunately the name Giovanni doesn't help much since it's one of the most common names in Italy.
Have you already tried with your father's birth certificate? That may give you at least some clues about his parents.
I don't think Robertsbridge was a POW camp though. By 1946 your grandfather was probably a free man and the fact that his wife was able to come to live with him from Italy may suggest so.

"Italian POWs presented one way of alleviating labour shortages, particularly in agriculture. Following the Italian surrender in 1943, 100,000 Italians volunteered to work as 'co-operators'. They were given considerable freedom and mixed with local people."
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-short-h ... in-britain

[nikjar78]

Hi gaspaol,
I think the details I put have you a little confused. My Grandmother was English, it just so happens she had an Italian sounding name. So the name on my fathers birth certificate is her husbands not my fathers actual father.
Do you know if there's a way of getting a copy of POWs from Naples & Palermo from Italian records please?

[suanj]

Hi,
in Italy no records on line abt POWs, however maybe helpful to contact the Red Cross..
the infos that you are searching for, most probably the Red Cross have.... I hope someone can help you....

the service was stopped, but I believe that from next Oct will re-start:
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/reques ... -world-war....
Try not harm...
suanj

[nikjar78]

Thank you, I will look into it

[MarieJosephine]

Hi all,

We have recently found out that a family rumor of my Dad being the son of an Italian POW is true! Surprising what a DNA Genealogy test can uncover.

Sadly we have very little to go on, we know he was held in the Robertsbridge area of East Sussex & that he helped work on a farm in the area. My Grandmother was called Rosa, my father was born in Feb 1946. It could be a case of my fathers middle name being a possible link to the name Gianni or Giovanni.

My sister took the test & has DNA links with the Naples/Palermo area.

I'm pretty sure my Dad will look the image of his Dad, due to my brother looking the image of him.

Any help would be gratefully received.
Thanks for reading.

Hello, I have been looking for my father's son for years. He was a prisoner of war in world war 2, and worked on a farm in England. He had a child (son) during that time. Do you happen to know if it was anywhere near Well Pond Green? I don't know the name of the farm. My dad passed away and I only have a baby picture which I posted on this site if you look by my name.

[Nesto]

I am new here, but have frequented these boards in search of my grandfathers children. Found out in my 20's my grandfather(moms dad) had fathered twins with a woman while he was a italian POW in England. It was kept a secret until an uncle spilled the beans. All my grandfather ever told me was that he was in the liverpool area. So I really dont know much else of where he was there. I have ordered an ancestry dna test, in hopes maybe someone will pop up in the search. My grandfather was in contact with the woman when he was sent back to italy, and she had sent pictures of their children. Until my newlywed grandmother found out.. and all contact was lost. Her final letter to my grandfather, appearntly said she had met another man and he was going to take care of the children. Possibly, kids dont know? Hopefully, my DNA search will help...

[nikjar78]

I’ve since found a camp number but, sadly still not getting us anywhere.
He was in Normanhurst camp 145. I’m still hopeful that someone somewhere has a missing link.

[MarieJosephine]

Thanks for responding. The red cross gave me a list of camps where my father was. Last camp was Camp 128. His name was Giuseppe. I was hoping yours had a connection to me. Do you have any baby pictures of your father? I posted the only picture I had on this site under all my posts. Good luck to you.