T/157587 Driver Norman DAVY, 278 General Transport Company, Royal Army Service: POW, E&E

Army Number: T/157587
Rank: Driver
Name: Norman DAVY
Unit: 278 General Transport Company, Royal Army Service Corps

 

PART I.
GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE FOR BRITISH/AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR.

1. No. - T/157587
RANK - DRIVER
SURNAME - DAVY
CHRISTIAN NAMES - NORMAN
DECORATIONS - NIL

2. UNIT (ARMY) - 278 GENERAL TRANSPORT COY, R.A.S.C.

3. DIVISION (ARMY) - 8th ARMY

4. DATE OF BIRTH - 26/11/1917

5. DATE OF ENLISTMENT - 15/2/1940

6. CIVILIAN TRADE OR PROFESSION - DAIRYMAN AND DRIVER

7. PRIVATE ADDRESS - 43 RADNOR STREET, BRADFORD MOOR, BRADFORD, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND

8. PLACE AND DATE OF ORIGINAL CAPTURE - TOBRUK, JUNE 21st 1942

9. WERE YOU WOUNDED WHEN CAPTURED? NO

10. MAIN CAMPS OR HOSPITALS IN WHICH IMPRISONED
Camp No. / Location / From / Till
CAMPO PG 87 BENEVENTO AUG 1942 - NOV 4 1942
CAMPO PG 53 MACERATA NOV 21 1942 - MAY 13 1943
CAMPO PG 120 PADOVA MAY 15 1943 - SEP 8 1943


11. WERE YOU IN A WORKING CAMP?
Location / From/ Till / Nature of Work
CAMPO PG 120(17) PADOVA MAY 15 1943 - SEP 8 1943 LAND


12. DID YOU SUFFER FROM ANY SERIOUS ILLNESSES WHILE A P/W?
Nature of Illness / Cause / Duration
NIL

12 b. DID YOU RECEIVE ADEQUATE MEDICAL TREATMENT?
NIL

GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE PART II TOP SECRET

1. No. - T/157587
RANK - DRIVER
SURNAME - DAVY
CHRISTIAN NAMES - NORMAN


2. LECTURES before Capture:
( a ) Were you lectured in your unit on how to behave the event of capture? (State where, when and by whom).
NO
( b ) Were you lectured on escape and evasion? (State where, when and by whom).
NO

3. INTERROGATION after capture:
Were you specially interrogated by the enemy? (State where, when and methods employed by enemy).
NO

4. ESCAPES attempted:
Did you make any attempted or partly successful escapes? (Give details of each attempt accurately, stating where, when, method employed, names of your companions, wherein when recaptured and by whom. Were you physically fit? What happened to your companions?)
NORMAN DAVY, R.A.S.C., GEORGE DURNDELL, R.A.S.C., ROBERT GELENY, R.T.C., GEORGE ALMOND, R.E. (CPL) CHARLES BRYANT
LEFT CAMP 120 PADOVA AFTER ITALY FINISH SEPTEMBER 9th 1943.
WE SPLIT UP AFTER ONE MONTH AS WE CAME UNDER ANTI-FASCITS MOVEMENTS (CONTINUED UNDER SIGNATURE)
We came under anti-fascist movements, and owing to the risk of being in numbers we were split up, myself and Cpl BRYANT was sent to a family in CORREZZOLA a province of PADOVA. This family kept us from Oct 10th 1943 until May 14th 1945 at great risk to their lives. We never saw our comrades saw we heard th had made a move owing to German activity in their district. We saw our first British troops May 2nd 1945, at CORREZZOLA, to whom we gave our particulars, a Field Section officer, May 6th contacted an A.M.G. Officer in ?PIOVE di SACCO. May 14th left CORREZZOLA under an R.A. company, for PADOVA 15/5/45, then on to Mestre 15/5/45 a transit camp, then by road to FORLI 17/545, under military channels then to ?ANCONA 19/5/45, ROME 20/5/45. Left ROME and arrived in NAPLES May 1945, repatriation camp B2.

5. SABOTAGE
Did you do any sabotage or destruction of enemy factory plant, war material, communications, etc, when employed on working-parties or during escape? (Give details, places and dates.)
NO

6. COLLABORATION with enemy:
Do you know of any British or American personnel who collaborated with the enemy or in any way helped the enemy agains other Allied Prisoners of War? (Give details, names of persons concerned, camps, dates and nature of collaboration or help given to enemy).
NO

7. WAR CRIMES
If you have any information or evidence of bad treatment by the enemy to yourself or to others, or knowledge of any enemy violation of Geneva Convention you should ask for a copy of "Form Q" on which to make your statement.
(NOTE: Form Q is a separate form inviting information on "War Crimes" and describes the kind of offences coming under this title.)



GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE PART II TOP SECRET
(continued)

8. Have you any other matter of any kind you wish to bring to notice?
NO


SECURITY UNDERTAKING
I fully realise that all information relating the matters covered by the questions in Part II. are of a highly secret and official nature.

I have had explained to me and fully understand that under Defence Regulations or U.S.A.R. 380-5 I am forbidden to publish or communicate any information concerning these matters.

Date May 23rd 1945
Signature Norman Davy

 

MI9/Gen/Part IV​

CASUALTY INFORMATION

1. Number - T/157587
Rank - DRIVER
Name (BLOCKS) - DAVY NORMAN
Initials - N. D.
Unit - R.A.S.C. 278 GENERAL TRANSPORT COY
Private Address - 43 RADNOR STREET, BRADFORD MOOR, BRADFORD, YORKS, ENGLAND

2. if you personally witnessed the death, wounding, or serious illness of any other PW since the Armistice of SEPTEMBER 1943, please write below whatever details you can.
NO

 

APPENDIX "A"
GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE
PART III

Number - T/157587
Rank - DRIVER
Surname and Initials - DAVY N.
Unit - 278 GENERAL TRANSPORT COY RASC

 

Fascinating for two reasons. Firstly, it found its way into the Liberation Reports and not into the Escape Reports.
Secondly, the story itself and its emphasis on the helpers.There was at least one war cirme in Pieve (Piove) di Sacco - I must check that out.

We could start another thread but I think that there's a fair bit about hepers here and there in the POW section so perhaps all this information would need pulling together.

Edited to say two things: firstly, I notice he's a 'Macerata' man. Mustn't start to be pedantic on this one!

Secondly, 'we came under anti-fascist movements', i.e. they were in the hands of the partisans. It looks as though they were told what to do by them and were sent to the family who looked after them until the end of the war. I might just follow this up.

 

Correct - there were two. One is referred to elsewhere on the forum - the shooting of Eric Goodwin and Jack le Roux by the fascists:

WO 311/1215 Murder of two escaped allied prisoners of war by fascists at Campo Longo, Padua Italy November 1944
TS 26/792 Padua: murder of two Allied prisoners (Le Roux, Goodwin)
AND
WO 310/85 Piove di Sacco Italy: shooting New Zealand POW

WO 311/346 Conche di Codevigo Padua Italy: killing of New Zealand POW (Private Gay)

More about the partisans when I have time...

 

See also:

• 284298 Private George William DURNDELL, Royal Army Service Corps: POW Although there is no entry under ESCAPES in this linked thread, it appears that he could be the same GEORGE DURNDELL, R.A.S.C. mentioned in by Driver DAVY.

 

Good day dbf,
my name is Emanuele Martino and I have worked on the history of POW camp 120/XVII, in which there was Norman Davy. It was a subcamp of Padova PG120 with 50 soldiers.

On April 2019 the family of POW Jim Ayers met the helpers' family in Italy,
Nascose soldati inglesi rischiando la vita Dopo 70 anni il “grazie”
and I cooperate for the book https://www.amazon.it/Luigi-Gabrielle-Ayers/dp/1839750901

I kindly ask you to contact me at the email arch.emanuele.martino@gmail.com

Thanks a lot,
Emanuele