Robert Dickinson’s prison camp diary, Servigliano Calling, is filled not only with details about Robert’s daily life as a prisoner (a daily activity log, letters and cards sent and received, parcels received, lists of contents of Red Cross parcels, and more). It contains items of artistic merit—34 poems by several PG 59 camp poets, with titles in beautiful calligraphy and hand-lettering—often accompanied by clever illustrations. 

The most impressive illustrations are the front cover, the title page, and a full-page portrait of Robert signed by Sergeant D. Stredder Bist.

A page in Robert Dickinson’s journal,”Servigliano Calling,” is dedicated to “next-of-kin” parcels received.

Relatives of Allied prisoners were allowed to send one package four times a year to their loved ones. How this process was conducted in Canada was described in an Ottawa Citizen article about the services of the Canadian Red Cross Enquiry Bureau on April 26, 1944:

“There are 6,365 [Canadian] prisoners and internees on record whose next-of-kin are issued quarterly labels for personal parcels by the Department of National War Services….

“As soon as a man is officially declared a prisoner of war, another pamphlet is sent [by the Red Cross Enquiry Bureau] advising the next-of-kin what to do about parcels and enclosing the latest postal regulations.

“The bureau also receives reports from the supplementing committee of the Red Cross by which it is enabled to keep in touch with the next-of-kin who have difficulty in making up their quarterly parcels. One of the duties of the Red Cross is to see that the parcels are up to their full weight and it is through these reports that the liaison officers of the Red Cross branches are able to offer help to those in need of it.”

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Red Cross Parcels distributed in Axis camps during the war were essential to the Allied POWs’ survival.

Robert Dickinson describes the eagerly awaited parcels in his diary; it’s clear that interruptions in parcel distribution were times of anguish.

Italian historian Giuseppe Millozzi, in his dissertation, Allied Prisoners of War in the Region of the Marche and Prison Camp at Servigliano, notes the following:

“English, Canadian and also New Zealand Red Cross sent to POWs various parcels some that contained clothes, tobacco and other necessities but the most important ones were food parcels that helped POWs to survive with the meagre Italian rations. Parcels coming from Canada and New Zealand were the richest as in those countries there was no food rationing such as in England that was under the constant threat of German bombing.

“Food parcels that had reached the camp were not enough for everybody and therefore they were divided among POWs. During the distribution of them, the Italian authorities usually punched food tins to prevent any the POWs from storing them for use in an eventual escape. POWs use tins of food, tobacco etc. as exchange goods; furthermore they recycled all the empty tins as the metal was very useful to construct a great variety of utensils.”

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Robert Dickinson recorded parcels of cigarettes received in his “Servigliano Calling” journal.

His girlfriend Ida was the primary supplier of cigarettes. Others came from his family and from his regiment in Lincoln, England.

Player’s brand tobacco was manufactured by John Player’s tobacco company in Nottingham, England. Higgs Bros. was a tobacconist shop in Lincoln.

Comments below in italic are from Robert’s diary.

CIGARETTE PARCELS

No. 1. Received July 23rd. 200 Players From Ida.

Jul 23rd [1942] First big parcel, just right have got no cigs. 200 Players from Higgs, no senders name.

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BOOK PARCEL

Received 21st. August 1943.

Girl in the Dark.
Murder for Christmas
Grapes from Thorns

The following passages from Robert Dickinson’s diary in “Servigliano Calling” convey the importance of books to the prisoners. The nighttime reading aloud of books in Robert’s hut was welcome escapism—even worth risk of punishment!

1942

Jul 9th

Denis and I bought a Penguin book “Crump Folk going Home” costing 20 Lira. A good investment, have now access to practically all the books in the camp. Reading aloud at night because of the bugs not letting one sleep; starting at 10pm till midnight.

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Two charts:

Daily Ration Scale W.E.F. 13th. March 1942.

This page with two charts from Robert Dickinson’s journal, “Servigliano Calling,” shows Robert’s awareness of basic nutritional needs and his meticulous effort to ensure those needs were met.

The food categories in the first chart (December 22, 1941) are:

Meat, rice or macaroni, oil or fat, tomato, grating cheese, table cheese, vegetable, sugar, coffee subs., biscuit, bread, and wine.

The food categories in the second chart (March 13, 1942) are slightly different. Vegetables listed are in dried form, and the chart lacks biscuit and wine categories.

On March 12, 1942, 
Robert wrote in his diary, “News of drastic cut in rations.” And on the following day he recorded, “Rations cut by more than half!!” The second chart reflects that severe cut.

It’s alarming to see the drop in rations for several categories from one chart to the next. The second chart, for instance, lists a reduction of meat from servings on five days a week to only two, and the portions on those two days are smaller. Rice or macaroni servings and bread are substantially reduced in the second chart. Oil or fat are a little reduced, but quantities of tomatoes, cheese, vegetables, sugar, and coffee are similar in the two charts.

Do the charts reflect what Robert actually consumed in a given week in the camp, or the balance he hoped for, given the scarcity of food in the Camp 59? The reference to “grammes per head” suggestions that he had his “chums” in mind as well as himself.

During this time of year, as we devote time in our kitchens to preparation of holiday meals and mouthwatering pastries and desserts, consider for a moment how our imprisoned soldiers craved their favorite foods from home—probably more during this season than at any other time of year.

It is any surprise that the prisoners attempted to recreate some of these dishes, using their daily camp rations and items from the precious Red Cross parcels?

Three pages of Robert Dickinson’s journal, “Servigliano Calling,” are devoted to recipes, ranging from a compote and spreads to pies and fig pudding.

The situation called for some invention—fruit pie crust made of a paste of grated bread mixed with margarine for example.

Cooking was done handily on the camp cook stoves built by fellow prisoners from scraps of tin and shoelaces.

Although Robert titled this section of his journal “Campo 59 Cookery,” the last recipe, “Campo 53 Rarebit,” is evidence that the culinary experiments continued after his transfer to Camp 53 Sforzacosta in January 1943.

One of the poems in Robert’s journal, “Thoughts,” by C. G. Hooper-Rogers, contains a list of sorely missed foods from home. Of his yearnings, Hooper-Rogers writes:

“All I’ve got to do is think, / Of all I used to eat and drink, / And the phantom foods I used to like, / Haunt me all the blinking night.”

Red Cross Compòte

½ loaf
¼ spoonful of sugar
1 spoonful of milk powder
2 spoonfuls of cocoa
(Custard or jelly powder can be added)

Break up the bread into coffeé mug and just cover with water. Soak well until soft. Add other items separately; stirring in well. When finished allow to set (if possible!!) Sugar may be added as desired.

Chocolate Spread

1 spoonful cocoa
1 spoonful milk powder
½ spoonful sugar

Mix the milk powder and the cocoa in the coffeé mug and add water, stirring well into a stiff paste add sugar.

Coffeé Spread (Method as for Chocolate Spread.)

1 spoonful coffeé
1 spoonful sugar
3 spoonfuls milk powder

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