Tracking survivors of Italian POW camps

Hello, thanks to Brian Sims I have info on my Dad's POW camps in Italy. I am seeking anyone who may have experienced these camps or have info about them or even memories of him. My father was Pte Stanley Roy Eldridge of the 1st Transvaal Scottish. Captured Tobruk 21/6/42. POW Camps: Tarhuna (Libya) 4/7/42 to 5/12/42. Capua (Camp 66) 8/12/42 to 1/4/43. Fara Sabina (camp 54) 2/4/43 to 15/4/43. Ferrera-Erbognone 16/5/43 to 9/9/43. Escaped to Switzerland, arriving at Bellinzona 17/11/43. I am hoping to retrace his experience and possibly find descendants of the families that helped him. Thanks, Russell Eldridge

 

Hi Russell,

That's great to hear. Brian really came up trumps for you there. I was at the National Archives on Saturday and tried to pull the debrief document for your Dad, but it was already taken. I had a successful day myself though, picking up some medical personnel details for my research.

Good luck going forward.

Bamboo.

 

Hello, thanks to Brian Sims I have info on my Dad's POW camps in Italy. I am seeking anyone who may have experienced these camps or have info about them or even memories of him. My father was Pte Stanley Roy Eldridge of the 1st Transvaal Scottish. Captured Tobruk 21/6/42. POW Camps: Tarhuna (Libya) 4/7/42 to 5/12/42. Capua (Camp 66) 8/12/42 to 1/4/43. Fara Sabina (camp 54) 2/4/43 to 15/4/43. Ferrera-Erbognone 16/5/43 to 9/9/43. Escaped to Switzerland, arriving at Bellinzona 17/11/43. I am hoping to retrace his experience and possibly find descendants of the families that helped him. Thanks, Russell Eldridge

Hi Russell

I can let you have a whole heap of information about PG 54 Fara Sabina, although I notice that your Dad was there for only a few days.

My Grandfather was also captured at Tobruk on the 21/6/42 and was held at PG 85 - Brindisi, PG 66 - Capua and PG 54 - Fara Sabina 28/9/42-11/9/43

Chris

 

Thanks Chris. Yes, I'd be interested in something on Fara Sabina. It all helps to reconstruct his experience. It would be interesting to know more about what happened on 21/6/42. Cheers, Russell

 

Thanks Chris. Yes, I'd be interested in something on Fara Sabina. It all helps to reconstruct his experience. It would be interesting to know more about what happened on 21/6/42. Cheers, Russell


I may have posted this in the past but ?:- PG 54 Fara in Sabina.

Position 42:15N - 12:45E Altitude 774 ft. Camp in 3 sections. One of Buildings. The other 2 probably of Tents. Nearest Airfield Stimigliano.

 

Hello, thanks to Brian Sims I have info on my Dad's POW camps in Italy. I am seeking anyone who may have experienced these camps or have info about them or even memories of him. My father was Pte Stanley Roy Eldridge of the 1st Transvaal Scottish. Captured Tobruk 21/6/42. POW Camps: Tarhuna (Libya) 4/7/42 to 5/12/42. Capua (Camp 66) 8/12/42 to 1/4/43. Fara Sabina (camp 54) 2/4/43 to 15/4/43. Ferrera-Erbognone 16/5/43 to 9/9/43. Escaped to Switzerland, arriving at Bellinzona 17/11/43. I am hoping to retrace his experience and possibly find descendants of the families that helped him. Thanks, Russell Eldridge

Hi Russel,
Try contacting Don Edy, he was in the same camps as your father, Tarhuna, Capua. Don has a site called Goon In The Block, which if you search I think you can easily find. He wrote extensively about the Western Desert, then about the camps he was in Italy and Germany. I'm having a little trouble posting so hopefully this isn't in duplicate.

 

Russel / Chris -
My late father was also captured in Tobruk, POW in Campo 54 Fara Sabina , escaped , POW in germany (I think Stalag 4F) . He never spoke of his experiences nor kept any mementoes/photos .
Gerald Baxter ('Gerry') -- South African 2nd Infantry -- signalman
I would appreciate any assistance , copies of documents/photos .

Regards
Kevin Baxter

 

Kevin,
Sgm G F Baxter 9749 was in St. 4F in 1945 P.O.W. No. 263029

In August 1943 he was in PG65 Gravina; Altamura. Near Bari.

Brian

 

Hi new to this ..hope i'm doing it right. i am trying to find details of my late father, Herbert Hart, he was with the Sherwood Foresters taken prisoner at Tobruk 1942 , don't know which italian camps he was in but know he escaped ,refusing to leave his sick friend behind ,and made it to switzerland. Like a lot of them he never spoke about his time during the war. Anything would be appreciated..thank you.

 

Hi Rene,

I have a very limited knowledge on this subject, but by good fortune I do have the list of POW's of the Italian's 1943. This is file WO 392, held at the National Archives, Kew, London.

I have found a Private H.N. Hart 4980123, Sherwood Foresters, listed as held in Camp 153. Now, sadly on the Camp listings, no such Camp number is stated?

I have attached the entry from the list below.

There are much more informed forum members around on WW2 Talk and I am sure they will be along shortly.

Hope this is your Father?

Bamboo.

 

This is a misprint as PG153 was in the Tripoli area of Libya.


My records show Pte H Hart 4986123 was Captured 13/6/1942 and Interrogated in Switzerland on 22/12/43


Brian

 

Hi Brian,

Would that mean that it should be Camp 53?

Steve.

 

Quite possible Steve.

There is a quite easy way to find out.

 

Pte H Hart Sherwood Foresters. P.O.W. History

Tripoli

PG 66 Capua - PG 70 Porto San Gorgio - PG 62 Bergamo - PG 62/51

 

Thank you for the thumbnail , this is my father ,also brian sims has emailed me some details ,can't believe it i've been trying for ages to find something, wish i'd known about this before..thank you for your help.

 

Rene,

No problem at all. If you would like the full jpeg then just pm me and we will work out how I can send it?

You cannot get much better help than Brian, very lucky there.

Bamboo.

 

Hi Russell,

That's great to hear. Brian really came up trumps for you there. I was at the National Archives on Saturday and tried to pull the debrief document for your Dad, but it was already taken. I had a successful day myself though, picking up some medical personnel details for my research.

Good luck going forward.

Bamboo.

hello mr Bamboo, did you see if the German debrief files were open now ? I understood that they are closed till 2020 ... however the debrief file i was after might have been produced by MI5 OR MI6 could that make a difference ? kind regards cheers .
I did get sight of a file created by security regarding serving men who were held in or by concentration camps but that file only had hald the docs, the others were in a closed file .

 

Thank you for the thumbnail , this is my father ,also brian sims has emailed me some details ,can't believe it i've been trying for ages to find something, wish i'd known about this before..thank you for your help.

Obviously the PG153 in the listings was where he was last known to have been,

Would liked to know more about Lina Camella though.

 

Hi sirbhp,

I was in the NA last week and had a liberation file out for German camps, so I guess the answer to your question is they are available? I have no idea if files with a more secretive history are held amongst them, perhaps someone else may be able to advise.
The file reference I had out was WO344/239/1.

Bamboo.

 

MI9 was responsible for debriefing Liberated POW whether they had been in Camps in Europe or the Far East. All the Liberation reports are listed Alphabetically in WO 344.

The Reports made by former Far East POW do differ slightly from those made by others and start at WO 344/361/1.

MI9 were also resposible for debriefing Escapers and Evaders.