My father was based in a POW camp in Italy, at the end of WW2. He was in the British army from age 18, (1939-1945). Was in charge of the camp for twelve months. The pows could return home once they were 'sponsored', i.e. someone paid for their travel home. He was accommodated in a hotel. Only him staying there, but some supplies were still being delivered. Told me he could have what he wanted for meals, more or less. Sorry, that should read Riccione.
Hi & welcome Other details might be good, like fathers first name, date of birth, Regiment, service number, any idea where the camp was in Italy, in fact the more details you can provide the better the response is likely to be Also might be an idea to obtain your fathers service records - these are only available from the MOD for WW2 soldiers and the forms are in this link - Request records of deceased service personnel - thats assuming he has died TD
My father was called William. He gave me a lot of information and was a very truthful chap. Though he was English, he lived in Belfast between 3 years old until 15. It was some kind of Irish regiment he was in. Lived through D day, but close call. The regiment was flown in to the fighting area via a glider. A sniper had a gun trained in on the door of the glider. My father was second to get out of the glider. The first guy got all his face blown off as soon as the door opened. Therefore my dad used to tell me; "if I had been first out of the plane, you wouldn't be here now". I think the prisoner of war camp was in Rimini, and the hotel he was accommodated in was in Riccione. Maybe the other way round, obviously I wasn't there at the time. Before twelve months in Italy he was in Austria for a while. The British army used to feed Austrian children that were fairly much starving. They used to turn up to the army base to be fed on a regular basis.
At this point I would only suggest you obtain his service records using the forms in the link in post 2 above I would also suggest you look through or contact Roll call search | ParaData to see what they may have on him The details are very sketchy that you have provided and I would suggest before members invest lots of time in helping you research you help them out. Do you not have his birth details (date and place), his death details (date and place) TD
Hi, Date of birth 16/08/1922, in Barrow, a small village near Clitheroe, Lancs. Death 08/05/2003, Bury, Greater Manchester.
His full name William Jones There was just one photo in army uniform. I don't know what happened to it unfortunately, years ago.
England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 Name: William Jones Death Age: 80 Birth Date: 16 Aug 1922 Registration Date: May 2003 Registration District: Bury Inferred County: Lancashire Register Number: A57B District and Subdistrict: 003/1A Entry Number: 300 Really would suggest you obtain a copy of his death certificate and send off for his service record, having this will tell you what units he was with during his complete military service they will also tell you the dates he was with them and in what theatres of WW2 he was in. War Diaries for those units can help tell his story. These records create the backbone for you to fill in the details, but without them it will all be guesswork and blind alleys which means you could effectively never answer your original questions. Once you have them upload them and members will be able to start helping fill in the details TD
Research like this always take time - but better to be on the right track than fast and on the wrong track TD
Hello Icon, The camp you are talking at Rimini about was run by the Allies for their prisoners. There's quite a bit on it here: Do you know about the German POW camp in Rimini (1945)? Vitellino
Also found this regarding what became known as The Rimini Enclave in which the Allies interned, among others, their German prisoners: https://www.berghahnbooks.com/downloads/intros/PatheWartime_edintro.pdf It was the most important camp in Italy, set up after the German capitulation, on 2 May 1945. Lying along the Adriatic coast between Cervia and Riccione, the Rimini Enclave consisted of a complex system of no more than 10 camps with a set of supporting infrastructures to satisfy the principal needs of those interned. Between 1945 and 1947 an extremely diverse group of male and female prisoners was interned and guarded by an equally heterogeneous army....in ....this pivotal period between the end of the Second World War and the immediate beginnings of a new division and ‘cold’ war. Prisoners and guards were touched by these events, living in close confinement on an everyday level, in contact with the local population, which had to face the reconstruction of its territory and homes, and political parties. My contribution: This camp must not be confused with the Prisoner of war camps set up by the Italians between 1941-3 to house the men they and their German alies had taken prisoner in North Africa and Greece, nor with the repatriation camps for British ex-prisoners of war set ut by the Allies, such as the one in Naples. Vitellino
Do go ahead and send for his service records. There's a long wait at the moment but it will be worth it.
