The Bauducco Family “Helper” Compensation Approved

Carola Bauducco and her husband Giovanni and their daughter Maria, whom they called Ginetta

In a claim received by the Allied Screen Commission, Italy, on 1 October 1945, Maria Bauducco Di Giovanni (Giovanni’s daughter) of A. Diaz 29, Gassino (Torino) requested compensation for the sheltering of Corporal Ronald Leonard Dix (service number 6022221) and Gunner Robert Dickinson (service number 896957).

The applicant was Maria Concetta Bauducco, who was called Ginetta, or Gina. Ginetta/Maria was one of the daughters living at home when the Bauducco family sheltered Ron and Robert.

The value of the assistance was determined by the commision to be:

Value of food and lodging supplied: 54,270 lire
Value of clothing supplied: 6,000 lire
Money advanced: —
General unspecified assistance (GSA): 730 lire
Total: 61,000 lire

As evidence two postcards are included in the claim. Both are addressed to Gent. Signora Bauducco of Via A. Diaz, Gassino, Torino, and they express holidays wishes. The cards are signed Ron and Robert. As the cards are postmarked with the same date and location, we can assume Ron and Robert were together at the time they were sent.

In her claim, Maria noted, in Italian:

“I have received a card dated December 18–19, 1944; the prisoners were led away by my father and entrusted to the partisan Carlo, who to the present day resides in Castelnuovo Don Bosco; I also am acquainted with him. The two English prisoners were brought away owing to the threats of the Germans. Germans occupied my courtyard.”

According to Maria’s claim, food and lodging were provided to Robert and Ron from 10 September 1943 until 18 October 1944. According to the application “complete clothes” were also provided for both Robert and Ron.

An appendix in the claim mentions that both Ron Dix and Robert Dickinson were killed while fighting with the partisans.

Appendix A of the application reads: “Cpr. Dix & Gnr. Dickinson were killed by the Fascists while fighting with the Partisans. They had been staying at a house in GASSINO for 13 months. This is evidently claimant’s house, as no one else has claimed for these two P/W. These details have been given by T/18033 Drv. BROWN E.

The postcard Robert sent to Maria reads: “Touti saluti e Buone Feste—Robert” [Best regards and Happy Holidays].

The postcard Ron sent reads: “Ricorrendo te feste di invio i miei saluti fini sinceri—Ron” [With the arrival of these holidays I send you my sincere greetings].

Tranquil landscapes are featured on the fronts of Robert and Ron’s postcards.

A full index of Italian claimants requesting compensation for assisting escaped Allied POWS or evaders during World War II is available on the U.S. National Archives (NARA) website.

Robert Dickinson—The Ongoing Journey

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Steve Dickinson (left) and his sister Jane visit in Italy with Saverio Rodi, son of Ginetta Bauducco. The Bauducco family sheltered their uncle Robert for 13 months during the war.

Last year I described in a post titled “Robert Dickinson—A Banner Year for Discovery” how Steve Dickinson was gratified to receive fresh information about the circumstances of his uncle Robert’s death. Robert died fighting with the Italian partisans in March 1945.

However, Steve still longed to meet descendants of the Italians who were protective of Robert in his final months of his life.

In 2009—not long after I met Steve—he told me that he had tried to find descendants of Ginetta “Gina” Bauducco, a woman whose family he believed had sheltered Robert in her home on Via Armando Diaz in Gassino, Italy.

Steve created flyers with information about Robert and a picture. “Spent some time in the village where Robert was hidden and left some of the fliers in various places,” Steve wrote to me. “Several shops, including the pharmacy, said they would put them in their windows. Also, left many in post boxes on Via Armando Diaz.”

Steve’s email address was on the flyer; disappointingly, he received no responses. In 2023 he once more attempted a search, this time with the assistance of a local journalist and a piece in the local newspaper; again there were no responses.

The last camp where Robert was interned was PG 112/4 Turin, where 126 English soldiers were tasked with construction of the Cimena Canal.

Shortly after the Italian armistice was signed Robert and his friend Ronald Dix escaped the camp. The next day they encountered the Bauducco family, who took them into their home.

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Captain Saturnino Brandimarte—From Erstwhile Enemy to Ardent Protector

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When American soldiers from PG 59 turned up in Falciano just days after their escape from the camp in September 1943, they were welcomed warmly by the residents of the entire village. In the weeks to come help was provided by 17 families. The coordination of this effort was undertaken by Saturnino Brandimarte, a captain of Italy’s Royal Army, who was now serving as the village schoolteacher.

Although the individual families filed Allied Screening Commission claims requesting compensation for their assistance given to the POWs, Captain Brandimarte himself filed a highly detailed report with the ASC to bolster these claims.

Note that although there are frequent references to six prisoners, two others—Ira Powers and Jack Hayes—also received help in Falciano. Ira and Jack left sooner than the others and succeeded in crossing the Allied lines. The other six were recaptured.

To read about one of the Falciano helpers, see “Antonio Ferretti—A Welcome in Falciano.”

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Antonio Ferretti—A Welcome in Falciano

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Antonio Ferretti (seated, far right, with handlebar mustache) with a few of the villagers of Falciano. Falciano had a population of 110 residents in 1940. Today the village has 15 residents.

My good friend Gian Paolo Ferretti, who lives in Ascoli Piceno, was born in Falciano—a small village within the comune of Acquasanta Terme, Italy. His family moved from Falciano in 1975, when Paolo was very young.

Paolo’s great grandfather was one of many Falciano villagers who assisted a group of escaped POWs—including Keith Argraves—who turned up in their village in the fall of 1943.

(See “Keith Argraves and Friends—‘Prisoners and Fugitives’.”)

“American soldiers who were escaped prisoners from Camp 59 were given refugee in my small village. Tales of them are becoming legend,” Paolo wrote. “A cave/stable where they slept is on the property of my family. The book Keith Argraves, Paratrooper has been the start of all my research.”

I asked Paolo about the spelling of the village name, because on today’s maps the village is spelled Falciano, but Keith Argraves refers to it as Falgiano. Paolo answered, “In the past the village name was Falgiano, now Falciano. These are changes in the language. Also, those with the name Brandimarte now spell it Brandimarti.” (As you will see, Captain Saturnino Brandimarte figures prominently in this village rescue saga.)

“The soldiers were in a wood of chestnuts. They slept in a cave or stable on the property of my family. During the day they came to the village and stayed with local people. The soldiers helped with farm work.

“One of those villagers was my great grandfather Antonio Ferretti. The prisoners usually talked with him, because Antonio once went to work in the U.S.—in Pittsburgh—during the 1908–1914 period.

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Keith Argraves and Friends—“Prisoners and Fugitives”

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Title page of *Keith Argraves, Paratrooper*

I recently purchased through Amazon a book I have heard about for years, and that I have long wanted to own.

Keith Argraves, Paratrooper by George W. Chambers (published in 1946 by the Southern Publishing Association of Nashville, Tennessee) was among the first Allied POW narratives to be written and published after the war.

The memoir is Keith’s experience as told through George W. Chambers, an Arizona businessman, civic leader, and amateur historian.

The edition I purchased was printed by Kessinger Publishing as part of their Legacy Reprints series. I’m thrilled to finally own the book. Many such POW memoirs have long been out of print and are hard to find.

The original subtitle for Keith’s book suggests the full sweep of his impressive adventure: An Account of the Service of a Christian Medical Corpsman in the United States Army Paratroopers during World War II, with Thrilling Stories of Training, Battles, Imprisonment, Escapes, Guerrilla Warfare, Hunger, Torture, and Faithfulness to Man and God.

Regarding the last item in the subtitle, I should mention that Keith, as a Seventh-day Adventist, abstained from drinking or smoking, studied his Bible daily, prayed for guidance and strength, and lived his faith to the best of his ability.

Keith’s memoir was written as a faith testimony, as is made clear an introduction by church elder C. Lester Bond: “ … the hero of this narrative, is only one of approximately 12,000 Seventh-day Adventist youth of North America who gave loyal service to their country while at the same time maintaining their devotion to God and His cause. Their faithfulness under the stress and strain of war has been a great inspiration to their fellow youth and to the church as a whole.”

Keith acknowledged his fellow POWs in this dedication:

In APPRECIATION of the loyalty and fellowship of those who shared the dangers and sufferings of our lot as prisoners and fugitives, I dedicate this book to

Daniel and Francis Cole,
Warren Decker,
Mahlon Black, and
Alfred Natassi [Nastasi].

My friend Robert A. Newton, author of Soldiers of the Strange Night, profiled Keith in a chapter entitled “Brave Men.” I asked Robert if he had been in contact with Keith while researching his book.

Robert replied, “Keith had passed before I started my search, but I did speak to Warren Decker, also a paratrooper, on the phone. He told me about Keith’s book and sent me a photocopy. I also spoke to Alfred Nastasi. Several of the other ex-POWs I contacted asked about Argraves. He was widely respected and made quite an impression on his fellow internees. Some remembered him as ‘Hargraves.’ The fact that he escaped the clutches of the Germans several times is amazing.”

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“In Peter’s House”—the Imprisonment of Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni

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The Church of Santo Stefano Protomartire in Marsia, Roccafluvione. Image—Wikimedia Commons

An entry for 17–21 May 1938 from the “chronicon” of Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni offers insight into the turbulent political climate in Italy that presaged World War II. (The priest’s chronicon was a journal where activities of the parish were recorded.)

Then, in the latter two entries in this post, Don Peppe—as he was affectionately called by his parishioners—contrasts the oppression of war with the joy and spirit of thanksgiving felt by the parishioners after liberation from the Nazis.

Don Peppe used the phrase “in casa di Pietro” “(in Peter’s house”) in sharing the story of his own arrest and imprisonment by the fascists. This allusion is to the Biblical imprisonment and beating of Saint Peter.

I’ve recently posted another excerpt from Don Peppe’s chronicon on Camp 59 Survivors, an entry covering the period of Nazi-fascist oppression from 8 September 1943 to liberation on 17 June 1944. Read “Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni—A Hero of Faith.” That excerpt includes the Marsia parish’s escaped POW rescue work.

Chronicon excerpts are here translated into English; however, I’ve also included the original Italian transcription (in italics).

Once again I wish to thank Gian Paolo Ferretti for his ongoing support and for guiding me through the translation of the chronicon.

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The Girl with a Peach: Courage and compassion in wartime Italy

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The Girl with a Peach: Courage and compassion in wartime Italy, a new work by Anne Copley, was published in June 2024 by London-based charity Monte San Martino Trust.

At 494 pages, this ambitious book is arranged chronologically—just as the POWs’ experiences flowed—from capture, transit, internment, and breakout from the camps, to the experiences of the POWs on the run, their being taken in by Italian families, and their ultimate reunion with the Allied forces.

Special emphasis is given to key aspects of the experience, such as relationships, dangers, and motivations.

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Ben Farley’s Ultimate Sacrifice

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The grave of Private B. F. Farley, 1923–1945, in the Farley Cemetery, Hatfield, Kentucky (USA). Apparently Ben Farley is buried beside his father, Bertran “Bert” Farley, and his maternal grandmother.

It’s Memorial Day in the United States, a national holiday set aside for the honoring of military personnel who died in service of their country.

I am remembering and honoring one soldier in particular: Private Benjamin F. Farley.

The name Ben Farley has been one I’ve known for nearly all my life. My father, Sergeant Armie Hill, a former PG 59 POW, used to tell my brothers, sister, and me stories about how he escaped from the camp in September 1943, and how he and Ben paired up together outside the camp walls that night and resolved to stick together during their flight. They headed south and 30 days later were among the first escapees to cross the Allied lines.

Armie recorded the story of his and Ben’s escape in two audio sessions that are posted on Camp 59 Survivors: “Escape—Armie Hill’s First Account” and “Escape—Armie Hill’s Second Account.’’

In PG 59, Armie, was designated a section sergeant (or orderly sergeant) and put in charge of a section of 35 men (Hut 4–Section 11). As Ben was among the men in his section, Armie would have gotten to know him well in the camp.

Ben could be feisty. “He and I hadn’t gotten along especially well earlier,” Armie said. “He was kind of a little cocky guy.”

He was short—5’6″ tall, and weighed 119 pounds.

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Charity on the Mountains

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The Cathedral of Saint Emidio in Ascoli Piceno contains a surprise gem for anyone interested in the stories of escaped Allied POWs in Italy and their Italian helpers.

Located in the apse of the cathedral’s crypt, a mosaic entitled La carità sui monti (Charity on the Mountains) attests to the advocacy role of the Ascoli church during the war.

Under the wartime leadership of Bishop Ambrogio Squintani, Allied prisoners who escaped from POW camps of central Italy—as well as families of Jews saved from persecution and sent to Ascoli by Pius XII—found refuge in the mountains. In the seclusion of the Apennines, they were cared for and fed by priests and local populations.

The Cathedral of Saint Emidio was named for the patron of the city of Ascoli Piceno. Archaeological evidence uncovered during the restoration of the crypt in 1967 established that the first temple was built as early as the 4th or 5th century on a pre-existing Roman building. At the end of the Second World War, Monsignor Squintani had the walls of the crypt decorated with mosaics designed by Pietro Gaudenzi (1880–1955) depicting events of the war, including the protection of Allied POWs. The mosaics were created by the Vatican Mosaic Studio in 1954.

Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni—A Hero of Faith

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Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni (left), on a 1936 visit to the ninth-century church of Santa Maria di Scalelle; most likely he is accompanied by aspirants of the Catholic Action Youth

I am profoundly grateful to several individuals who have made possible access to the information for this post.

First, a hearty thanks to my friend Gian Paolo Ferretti of Ascoli Piceno, Italy. Paolo contacted me last November about his great grandfather Antonio Ferretti who, on his property in Falciano, sheltered several American POWs who had escaped from PG 59.

In emails with Paolo, I shared a few details about my father’s time on the run after his escape from PG 59. I explained that Angela Bianchini had protected my father (Armie Hill) and his friend Ben Farley in Roccafluvione.

In 2010, I had visited Roccafluvione hoping to learn more about Angela, and I wrote about that visit afterward (see “In Search of Armie’s Italian Angels”). It was during the trip to Roccafluvione that I learned the name of Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni.

Paolo surprised me with news that he had arranged a meeting with Guido Ianni, deputy mayor of Roccafluvione, to discuss our quest. The deputy mayor was eager to help us learn more about Angela and Don Giuseppe Ciabattoni, and during Paolo’s meeting with him he was introduced to Antonio Ferretti, a young man working on a research project in the comune archives.

Antonio immediately began to hunt for information.

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