Author: John Simkins
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Nick Young’s travel blog – part 2
Nick and Helen Young embark on a journey to retrace the escape of Leslie, Nick’s father, from a PoW camp in 1943. Their car journey takes them through villages where Leslie hid, leaving thank-you letters to locals. They encounter heartwarming incidents along the way, uncovering their father’s arduous journey through Italy during the war.
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A People’s Courage
The Monte San Martino Trust has published a translation into English of first-hand accounts by Italian contadini who hid escaped Allied prisoners of war in the central eastern region of Le Marche. The English title is A People’s Courage, Civil resistance in German-occupied Italy. It is available from Amazon in Softback and also Amazon to…
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An overdue celebration
The MSMT members showed strong support for the overdue lunch in London, with 90 attendees, including 20 first-timers. The event highlighted the Trust’s activities during the pandemic, such as successful Zoominars and digitization of PoW memoirs. The focus is now on collecting Italian memoirs. Anne Copley presented research on non-officer PoWs.
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Wreath at massacre village
A Remembrance wreath was laid on November 11 2021 in Collelungo, in the province of Caserta, to honour villagers who paid with their lives for giving refuge to an escaped Allied prisoner of war. The wreath was laid on behalf of the Monte San Martino Trust by Col. Sebastian Pollington, who lives in Naples and…
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Italian book on PoW camps
The book “Prigionieri in Italia” curated by historian Marco Minardi provides new insights into the Allied presence in Italy during WWII, focusing on PoW camps. The volume, featuring leading Italian experts, covers various aspects, from organization and infringements of the Geneva Convention to the help given by local farmers. It sheds light on lesser-known camps,…
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Zoominar on Eric Newby
Nearly 200 people joined a MSMT zoominar on 12 May 2021 to honor Eric Newby’s Love and War in the Apennines. This marked the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication and featured research by Professor Robert Tregay on Newby’s escape route. The event also raised £1,000 in donations for the Trust.
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Recognition for Servigliano
The Italian Senate unanimously approved a bill on March 4th, 2021 for the former prisoner of war camp at Servigliano to become a national monument. This initiative marks an essential step in preserving the camp’s historical significance. The bill, which now moves to the lower house, has garnered support for the cultural and educational value…
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Bugle call to freedom
(An account of this project was carried in an article in La Gazzetta di Parma on 7 September. Gazzetta di Parma On 9 September the Monte San Martino Trust published the first version in English that tells the story of the mass escape of prisoners of war from a camp at Fontanellato, Italy, from the…
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Research into Indian PoWs
Light is being shed on the largely forgotten story of Indian soldiers who became prisoners of war in Italy, thanks to the research of Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Professor of Art (photography) at the University of Rhode Island, USA. The PoWs were among the 50,000 Indian soldiers who fought in the Italian campaign on behalf of…
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Partisan memorial
Italy is a land of many sad memorials recording the courage and sacrifice of Italians and other nationalities who fought and died in the struggle against NaziFascism during the Second World War, writes Anne Copley. The Trust’s attention has been brought to one such site in Pozza in southern Le Marche. It refers to the…