Page 6: A Prisoner of War Remembers
November 1941: Before capture, en route for Sidi Omar |
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Here I must pause in my eulogies of Domenico to state that at no time, from the Italian capitulation on 8th September 1943 until we achieved freedom on 7th June 1944, were we ever aware of the correct military situation in Italy, as it was always rumour and more rumours. We knew, of course, of the capitulation. Then on 9th September, one of the prison guards, who had been on leave in Rome, returned with the news that he had seen Allied troops in that city and that we would probably meet them when they advanced up the country next day. This news was followed by the actual arrest of several German soldiers and their incarceration, by our non-Fascist guards, in an adjoining compound. Next day we witnessed the incredible sight of thousands of little white puffs in the sky some distance away and heard the sound of distant gunfire. Although we did not realise it at the time, we had seen the German take-over of Rome by their parachutists. Had we, then, been aware of the true state of affairs, I am positive that, in view of the exisiting chaos, with due caution and the assistance of the many pro-Allied peasants, we could have reached our lines within a few days. As there was no reliable news, and most of our guards had already gone, about one half of the camp (perhaps some 1500?) left on the following morning and those remaining were caught like "sitting ducks" by the Germans who arrived to take over the camp later on in the day. I left in a party of nine and through luck, and our own vigilance, we were still at large some weeks later. Then, perturbed by the lack of news and the difficulty in differentiating between Fascist and non-Fascist, I told my companions that it was my intention to attempt the triple-crossing of the Liri Valley, already described, and asked if any of the others would come with me. My two subsequent companions were of a like mind and we crossed the valley at dawn the next day and then up into the mountains again on the other side. The six who remained were recaptured that very afternoon. A friendly shepherd, who shared his mid-day meal with us, said that the priest of a near-by village had a radio. So after dark that night I crept into the village and knocked at the priest's door. I explained, as best I could, that I was one of a party of three escaped POWs in the vicinity and that we were anxious to hear the BBC news, particularly that appertaining to the Italian front, so that we could make realistic plans. He was most sympathetic but denied that he had a radio. He did, however, give me food and wine and ten (genuine) lire which I treasure to this day. I do not blame this good man for his lack of co-operation, for I could easily have been a German sent to entrap him. So we continued, newsless, high up in the Apennines. One day we had traversed many miles in the mountain solitude without food. Darkness was falling rapidly, with an increased drop in temperature, when we suddenly espied a light ahead, obviously from a forester's hut. I think that before sighting this welcome light (whether or not it betokened friend or foe) our spirits were at their lowest ebb since we had been captured. The first knock received no response but, on the second, the door was unwillingly opened. Inside were five young Italian airmen. Like ourselves, they were fugitives from the Germans and were in fear of being press-ganged into the Nazi war-machine. When they realised that we were escaped Allied prisoners, they made us most welcome and regaled us with wine and roast potatoes. They knew no English but their spokesman, whose knowledge of French was about equal to mine, said that he and his crew had been sent on numerous bombing expeditions to Malta but had always jettisoned their bomb-loads in the sea before, or after, reaching their objective - firstly because they did not believe in indiscriminate bombing, and secondly because the ack-ack fire below was far too accurate. They insisted on our sleeping in front of the fire so that, with full stomachs and warmth, we were soon fast asleep. We left early next morning after a further meal of roast potatoes. There had been a heavy frost during the night and it was bitterly cold. A few days later we "fell in" with Vincenzo and his amazing father Domenico, whose virtues, and he had many, I can now continue to extol. |
