A Joyous Reunion—the David Garcia and Umberto Capannolo Families Meet

2 Replies
David Garcia and his Italian protector Umberto Capannolo

Last September, at the “Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà) event in Servigliano, I had the pleasure of meeting Linda Quigley, daughter of British POW David Garcia, Linda’s daughters Annabel Heath and Miranda Quigley, and Miranda’s husband Roger Bickmore.

Pte. David Garcia, 1/4 Battalion, Essex Regiment, was deployed to North Africa during WWII, and was captured near Mersa Matruh in June 1942.

Unlike most POWs featured on this site, David had not been an internee in PG 59 Servigliano. Rather, he was interned in PG 102 L’Aquila, nestled in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains some 130 kilometers (around 80 miles) south of Servigliano.  

Following the September 1943 Italian Armistice, prisoners of PG 102 left the camp. A War Office document, dated April 1945, in the British National Archives, explains:

“After the Armistice with ITALY had been signed, the Italian Commandant opened the gates of the camp and marched the P/W out into the hills, as it was reported that Germans were approaching. A certain number of escapers were rounded up by German paratroops and taken back to camp, but the majority got safely away.”

David and another escaped prisoner, whom the family believes was named Patrick, made their way to San Giacomo, where they were protected by the family of Umberto Capannolo. 

The exact dates that David and Patrick were with the Capannolos is not known to the family. However, David retained a slip of paper certifying that he had “rendered a statement of his experiences to the British Section, C.S.D.I.C., C.M.F. [Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre, Central Mediterranean Forces].” The document is dated 5 July 1944, therefore David may have been on the run in enemy-occupied Italy for as long as 10 months.

On returning home to England, David attempted to contact the Capannolo family in order to let them know he was safely home and to thank them for their kindness.

When the letter was returned to David, he wrote to the British Red Cross asking if they would assist in his contacting the family. 

Continue reading →

A VanSlooten-Palmoni Family Reunion

1 Reply
Louis VanSlooten’s son Tom VanSlooten and daughter Karen Miersma embrace Antonello Palmoni

Last September, during the “Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà) celebration to honor the 80th anniversary of the Italian Armistice and the breakout of Allied POWs from Italian camps, several attendees had the thrilling experience of meeting descendants of the Italian families who protected their father or grandfather. 

This post is about the meeting of two of escaped POW Louis VanSlooten’s children, Tom VanSlooten and Karen Miersma, and Antonello Palmoni.

Antonello’s grandmother Iginia and grandfather Luigi Palmoni hid and fed Louis and fellow PG 59 escapee Luther Shields. 

Antonello’s father, Marino Palmoni, was a 10-year-old boy when the desperate soldiers emerged from the woods near his family’s home to ask for food.

Read “Martino Palmoni on the Sheltering of the POWs” and “Louis VanSlooten’s Story.”

The old Palmoni home is nestled against a bluff, below the comune of Montefalcone Appennino

Tom VanSlooten was accompanied on this Italian adventure by his wife Carmen, and Karen by her husband Tom Miersma.

Continue reading →

Postcard from a Past Christmas

Leave a reply

My friends here in America tend to regard the holiday season as beginning on Thanksgiving Day and ending on January 1. However, my British friends, well versed in old lore and traditions, realize that Christmas begins on Christmas Eve and ends on the night of January 5th—Twelfth Night, or Epiphany Eve—the twelve days of Christmas being the span of days between.

Therefore, to celebrate the close of Yuletide, I’m pleased to share with you a gift I received from Derek Porter on New Year’s Day: the scan of a Christmas postcard sent from PG 59 during the war.

Dated 1 October 1942, the card reads:

Dear Joyce,

No Flowers, No Presents,
But just a card,
To carry my Greetings to you,
May every hour of your Christmas be gay,
And every year to come bring joys anew.

All my love
Albert

The card was sent by Albert Frank Myhill to his fiancée Joyce.

Albert Myhill was not soon to return to England and his beloved Joyce. Records show he was transferred to the work camps of PG 146 in northern Italy; after the Italian Armistice in September 1943, he found himself a prisoner of the Germans in Stalag IVB Muhlberg.

The return address on the card is:

Albert Frank Myhill
Gunner 1557752 23/7
P.G. 59. P.M. 3300
Italia

It is addressed to:

Miss J. Hammond
18 Short Brackland
Bury St. Edmunds
Suffolk
England

I’m looking forward to learning more about Albert from his son-in-law Derek and Albert’s daughter Sarita.

Follow the Camp 59 Survivors for future posts on Albert.

“Paths to Freedom”—The Fourth Day

Leave a reply
The figure of a wounded warrior caps the Servigliano war memorial

This is the last of four posts concerning the 2023 “Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà) event in Servigliano, Italy. The September event was a celebration of both the 80th anniversary of the Italian Armistice and the subsequent breakout of thousands of Allied POWs from camps across Italy—including camp PG 59 in Servigliano.

Read also “‘Paths to Freedom’—the First Day,” “‘Paths to Freedom’—the Second Day,” and “‘Paths to Freedom’—the Third Day.” 

“Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà)—10 September 2023

Italian Senator Francesco Verducci speaks at the commemorative ceremony

Our final day together began with commemorative speeches at the war memorial in Servigliano’s Piazza Roma. Wreaths were laid at the base of the memorial by representatives of the three event-sponsoring organizations.

An additional, a hand-made herbal wreath to represent “Wales, Australia, and the Camp 59 reunion” was laid by Linda Veness and Rona Crane.

Wreaths at the base of the memorial

After the ceremony, church bells rang out invitingly, and all were welcome to attend Sunday Mass in the Church of San Marco, just a few steps away from the memorial.

Continue reading →

“Paths to Freedom” Event—The Third Day

Leave a reply

This is the third of four posts concerning the 2023 “Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà) event in Servigliano, Italy. The event was a celebration of both the 80th anniversary of the Italian Armistice and the subsequent breakout of thousands of Allied POWs from camps across Italy—including camp PG 59 in Servigliano.

Read also “‘Paths to Freedom’—the First Day,” “‘Paths to Freedom’—the Second Day,” and “‘Paths to Freedom’—the Fourth Day.” 

“Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà)—9 September 2023

In the morning, we travelled by bus and car to meet with the ELMS walkers in the village of Smerillo, where Marco Ercoli shared the story of his grandmother, Letizia Galiè in Del Gobbo, and the two American POWs from PG 59 whom she sheltered—and for whose descendants Marco is still searching.

See “A Haven in Smerillo.”

A 40-minute video was taken of the event in Smerillo; you can view it on YouTube. The video concerns the story of Letizia Galiè in Del Gobbo and the search for descendants of the POWs she sheltered.

The streets of Smirillo
Continue reading →

“Paths to Freedom”—The Second Day

Leave a reply

This is the second of four posts concerning the 2023 “Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà) event in Servigliano, Italy. The event was a celebration of both the 80th anniversary of the Italian Armistice and the subsequent breakout of thousands of Allied POWs from camps across Italy—including camp PG 59 in Servigliano.

Read also “‘Paths to Freedom’—the First Day,” “‘Paths to Freedom’—the Third Day,” and “‘Paths to Freedom’—the Fourth Day.” 

“Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà)—8 September 2023

The morning began with the unveiling of a new plaque at the entrance to the camp.

A host of dignitaries were in attendance, included the British Ambassador to Italy Ed Llewellyn (Lord Llewellyn of Steep, OBE), British Defense Attaché Matthew Smith, United States Defense Attaché Lt Allen Juno, the Prefect of Fermo Michele Rocchegiani, the Mayor of Serviglano Marco Rotoni, and the President of the Province of Fermo Michele Ortenzi. 

Continue reading →

“Paths to Freedom”—The First Day

Leave a reply
The community of Servigliano, in the shadow of Italy’s majestic Apennine Mountains, was the setting for a grand event last month.

“Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà)—7 September 2023

One month ago today, on September 7, a spectacular four-day event opened in Italy.

“Paths to Freedom” (Sentieri di Libertà) was a celebration of both the 80th anniversary of the Italian Armistice and the subsequent breakout of thousands of Allied POWs from camps across Italy—including camp PG 59 in Servigliano. The escapees turned for help to local Italians, who courageously defied Nazi death threats to protect them.

“Paths to Freedom” was cosponsored by Casa della Memoria of Servigliano and the UK-based groups Monte San Martino Trust and the WW2 Escape Lines Memorial Society.

There were people in attendance from the UK, of course; however, a large number of attendees were from faraway places: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

Although several in attendance had been to the site of PG 59 before, for many this was a first visit. For some, it was even their first time in Italy.

Many attendees came with partners/spouses, siblings, or children.

The event kicked off at 5 p.m. with an informal reception at the Gelateria Caffetteria Marcozzi in Servigliano piazza. Event planner Anne Copley had signaled in an advance email that she would be recognizable by her “trusty fluorescent clipboard”—a tool which we were to see flashing above her head on numerous occasions in the coming days as she shepherded us through tours and field trips.

Continue reading →

Two Pavese Helper Priests

Leave a reply

“Many priests in the villages of Pavese helped the Pows,” according to Massimo “Max” Piacentini (a researcher with the Istituto Pavese di storia della Resistenza e dell’età contemporanea) . 

“Don Mario Grugni was a highly-esteemed pastor for many years in Ceranova. But the most important was Don Piero Angelini, pastor of Vairano, about 4 kilometers from Ceranova. Here was the camp of our Pows. Don Piero was an agent of the Ufficio Assistenza Prigionieri Alleati of CLN, and he saved many Pows (I have his memoirs).

“I think Don Piero and Don Mario certainly collaborated with each other to assist and save the local Pows. Also, Don Piero hid Pows in the bell tower and in the attic of his church in Vairano.”

A Don Mario Grugni memorial plaque in Ceranova, Italy. The two photos are of Don Mario Grugni at different ages. 
Continue reading →

Dr. Domenico Lunghi—A Safe Harbor for Four Former PG 59 POWs

Leave a reply

I’ve recently received a great deal of help and guidance from Massimo “Max” Piacentini, a researcher at the Istituto Pavese per la storia della Resistenza e dell’età contemporanea.

In 1991 Bill Armitt (right) took his wife Hilda back to the scene of his escape, where they met with Dr. Domenico Lunghi (at left)—photo by Hilda Armitt, courtesy Victoria Theatre Archive

Istoreco (istorecopavia.it), founded in 1956, is part of the national network of the Ferruccio Parri Institute. An important leader of the Italian Resistance, Parri understood the importance of preserving the documents of the resistence for posterity. In 1943 he charged his friend Giuseppe Bacciagaluppi with creation of the Ufficio Assistenza prigionieri Alleati of the CLN (Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale, or National Liberation Committee). The organization saved more than 1,500 Allied escaped POWs by guiding them to Switzerland. Documents relating to these saved POW are preserved in Fondo: Bacciagaluppi at the Istituto Parri of Milano. Istoreco of Pavia keeps documents such as the arrest records of POWs in Provincia di Pavia and an archive of oral sources, including interviews with local helpers. 

“My current research,” Max explained, “concerns the Pow camps in the Pavese area and the helpers who offered assistance to the fugitive prisoners after 8 September 1943. In the course of my research, I came across several Pows from camp PG 59 who were transferred in the spring of ’43 to the labor camps of Pavese, in particular to PG 146/23 Landriano.

Continue reading →