ITALIAN POW -WWII- looking for son

[MarieJosephine]

Happy New Year to you also. Wishing you luck too. I am still waiting for information. Are you in England?

[Roy Tasker]

I am the son of an Italian POW who was working on a farm at Digby in Lincolnshire. I only know his name was Stefano and would have been there during 1944. My mothers name was Amy Lynaugh.

[MarieJosephine]

Hi Roy, I am still searching with no luck. My fathers name was Giuseppe Sciallis and the person he met and fathered a child with was named Hilda. I don't know where he was exactly on a farm, but it was in Well Pond Green, Hertfordshire I think. Seems like there are so many unanswered questions for both of us. Wish you were who I was looking for. I have given up hope. Thanks for contacting me.

[Roy Tasker]

Hi Marie Josephine

I have been doing some digging for you and have found some information, not sure if this helps - maybe you have this information already! From the words written on the back of the photo I am fairy sure that I can locate the exact area you need. There are two villages in Hertfordshire which seem to fit: -

Wellpond Green Nr Standon & then a smaller village called Standon Friars (Post Code SG11 1NP).

There was a POW Camp 2.6 Miles away called The Wynches Camp No 411, Much Hadam Herts. Standon Friars is only a few houses, so from the census or other lists you might be able to find what you are looking for!

Rgs Roy

[Brit605]

Have you tried Anglo Italian Family History Society. Based in London but have many records and one of their committee is researching POW camps. Also have a Facebook site where you can ask questions.

[markratcliff]

Hi Roy, I am still searching with no luck. My fathers name was Giuseppe Sciallis and the person he met and fathered a child with was named Hilda. I don't know where he was exactly on a farm, but it was in Well Pond Green, Hertfordshire I think. Seems like there are so many unanswered questions for both of us. Wish you were who I was looking for. I have given up hope. Thanks for contacting me.

Hi Marie Josephine

Appreciate this is reactivating an old post, however I just wondered if you had made any further progress in your search...

[MarieJosephine]

Thanks for the reply. No I have not made any progress. I stopped searching as it seem impossible. Only information I have is Well Pond Green as I mentioned. All I remember is my father saying it was a private estate where they were held as prisoner of war, and he worked as a gardener during that time. The woman name may have been Hilda (english) that was there and I believe her own husband was away in the war, so it seems they had an affair which would have produced my half brother. A shame I don't have more details, and my dad passed away over 15 years ago.

[greglam]

Thanks for the reply. No I have not made any progress. I stopped searching as it seem impossible.

I'm curious as to whether or not you have taken a DNA test through Ancestry or other sites? It is obviously a longshot, but, if you come up with a reasonably close, but unknown, match on your paternal side, that could provide you a lead with which to work backwards from that person. Assuming, of course, that that person is responsive and willing to help. Which, in and of itself, I have found, is a longshot, too.

Wishing you luck.
-Greg

[MaddalenaNYC]

Please don’t give up. It took me nearly twenty years to find some records but once I had, the results of that find were phenomenal.
I agree with Greg. If you have no objection to submitting your DNA to Ancestry, you might find something or someone.
Some years ago, one of my nephews submitted his DNA to Ancestry and lo and behold, he found an otherwise unknown half sister. No one in our family had ever known that she had been born.

Sometimes these things go well, and sometimes they don’t. But our reunion went well.
It was remarkable how much she resembles my brother. There were other family physical traits that we all share; long slender fingers and hazel eyes.

If you need a cheerleader to cheer you on, I am rooting for you.

[MaddalenaNYC]

I’m thinking. I’ve looked through this thread as much as I was able to. A birth is a birth is a birth.
Mostly all births are registered. Ok. So you have a photo of your half brother. I’m supposing that he was born while your father was still living in the UK as an Italian POW. You have discovered the place of your half brother’s birth. Try to narrow down the year of his birth and look to the birth registries of that locality.
Usually, if a married woman gives birth, the child is presumed to be her husband’s child. That is the law in most cases.
It does not matter if the birth mother’s husband is away at war.
The birth would be registered in the mother’s married name.
Rather than look for your father’s POW records (which can’t hurt), look to the birth registry.

[MaddalenaNYC]

You don’t necessarily need the last name, just an approximate date of birth. You have already stated that the birth mother’s first name was either Hilda or Ida. A previous poster had opined that the birth mother could possibly have been Hilda Williamson.
I’d go with that for now.

You might have to write to the local UK birth registrar in that district to ask for a search.
It’s definitely worth a try. It had worked for me in obtaining birth records.

[MaddalenaNYC]

I’ve left a message for a local historical society in Hertfordshire, England. It will probably take a few days or so until I receive a reply.
I’m somewhat familiar with Herts (Hertfordshire) as that locality is my husband’s family’s ancestral home.

Now, there was a camp there called Camp Royston. That camp housed Italian POWs. The POWs worked in the fields but also did road work. I don’t know how far that camp was from Wellpond Green, but I will look into it.

The Herts Historical Group does have photos of Italian POWs working the fields.
I’ll try to post the link.
Wouldn’t it be great if your father was in that photo?

I’ve gone through Ancestry looking for Hilda (Ida). There were a number of women with that name who were in private domestic help, often a cook.
I had only checked for Hilda (and/or Ida) Williamson. I’ll try Williston next.

Http://www.Hertsmemories.org.just

Keep up the hunt!