Hello All I am beginning research for a documentary film project based on my father's - Donald KENNEDY (27194 Private) - experiences. I am not sure how much his service number tells you but he was part of the 1st Transvaal Scottish. My aim is to explore the following 'broad' issues such as the involvement of South African troops in WW2, the role of the Italian Resistance movement, the role Switzerland played in the war and the harbour they gave to escapees and then personal issues like what motivated men to go to war in the first place and how they coped with the extreme situations they found themselves in. Ultimately, I would like to draw parallels from history to some of the situations we currently find ourselves in with the global rise of racism, nationalism, fear and tyranny. To be totally honest, all of the motivation and the direction are still percolating in my being but the drive to begin working on something has become a compulsion. I cannot not do this any longer. And I need help! Because it's personal, I am going to use his story as a beginning. A few years back, I received some of his service records via a professional researcher here in South Africa and I am only now beginning to 'unpack' them. They are scant at best and a little like Greek to me so I am hoping that there might be members of this forum who might have pieces of the puzzle to add. I would like to attach 2 scans of a form which kind of gives the basics of his activity but I am unsure how to do this. If there is anyone out there who can shed more light onto what he might have been up to in any way at all, I would greatly appreciate it. In stories he told us as kids, he was held for a period of time in the dungeons over the bridge of Sighs in Venice. I am particularly interested in hearing if this might have been possible and if there are any other records about this. He escaped during transportation either in Padua or Verona station. It's a rather dramatic story of him being handcuffed to another man and managing to drop his side of the handcuff and simply walking away. I would love to hear if there are any other versions of this story. Apparently the man he had been handcuffed to was shot but again, this is only here-say - would love to know if there is any way of corroborating this story. Following his escape, he was assisted by the Italian resistance until he crossed the Alps with 6 other men into Switzerland. So, there are the bones - anybody got anything of more substance to add??! Warm regards Jane Kennedy And how do I attach pics and documents to posts???
