Browse Items (106 total)
- Spatial Coverage is exactly "Italy--Po River Valley"
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Ernest Smith's pilot's flying log book. Two
Pilot’s flying log book for Warrant Officer Ernest Smith, from 3 April 1943 to 29 June 1944, recording operations and instructional duties. He served at RAF Hixon, RAF Blyton, RAF Grimsby (Waltham), RAF Binbrook, RAF Wickenby, RAF Bircotes, RAF…
Paolo Troglio and a donkey cart
Five men are around a donkey drawn cart, one seated on it holding the reins, while another has placed a hat on the donkey's head. Captioned: 'Torino. Ponte Gran Madre. 31-03-39. Valentino Periani Battaglia Venezia Troglio'
Lists of subtenants
The document lists the subtenants at Via Valtellina n. 50, Milan: Bernabè Angelo, Lucini Maria, Bernabè Angela.
Paolo Troglio holding puppy
Paolo Troglio, casually dressed although wearing a uniform hat and heavy boots, cradling a puppy in his arms. He is standing outside a building . On the reverse: 'Milano 22-12-42' and 'E 453'.
Bernabè Angelo bombing survivor card
Bernabè Angelo bombing survivor card issued after the 15 August 1943 Milan bombing. ' Angelo and his dependents have been evacuated to Sant'Angelo Lodigiano and have received 75 lire as cash benefit.
Interview with Pietro Cosma
Pietro Cosma (b. 1927) remembers the bombings of Milan and recollects two wartime anecdotes: the execution of a man in front of his home and Benito Mussolini’s corpse on public display in Piazzale Loreto. Describes wartime hardships: losses; food…
Interview with Tino Luparia
Tino Luparia (b. 1930) chronicles the first daylight bombing of Turin which was aimed at the SPA industries, then a defence contractor. Describes the effects of a massive unexploded bomb which pierced all floors of a building and stopped immediately…
Interview with Antonio Bozzetti
Antonio Bozzetti (b. 1924) remembers the efforts to dodge fascist paramilitary service. Describes how he avoided being enlisted because he had a reserved occupation in a factory working for the Germans. Points out he witnessed all Milan bombings and…
Interview with Eraldo Bessone
Eraldo Bessone (b. 1925) remembers the 18 November 1942 bombing of Turin , the first intense attack after a series of operations which caused limited alarm and little damage. Gives a vivid and emotional account of the destruction of a nearby military…
Interview with Romualdo Siccardi
Romualdo Siccardi (b. 1926) remembers the November 1942 bombing of the Borgo San Paolo gas holder in Turin, when he was sixteen. Mentions briefly makeshift shelters in basements deemed tantamount to death traps and gives a detailed account of the…
Interview with Osvaldo Gramegna
Osvaldo Gramegna (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Turin. Mentions civilians initially fleeing along the railway during alarms and explains how, in hindsight, it was foolish behaviour. Anecdotes of his evacuee life at Casalgrasso: ineffective civil…
Interview with Aldo Magnaghi
Aldo Magnaghi (b. 1927) remembers the bombings of Milan and explains how his house was not directly hit but rather heavily damaged by blast waves. He describes phosphorus loaded incendiaries, their effects on wooden structures, and how civilians…
Interview with Albino Ristorto
Albino Ristorto (b. 1938) remembers the day he challenged the president of the local partisans association, who was reluctant to admit their involvement in the bombing of Dronero. He reports the widely held belief that the partisans asked the Allies…
Interview with Albino Ristorto
Albino Ristorto (b. 1938) remembers the bombing of Dronero in 1944 when he saw a formation of aircraft approaching from the north, coming from Turin (Torino)
airport. He describes how one them made a swooping manoeuvre and mentions how the pilot…
airport. He describes how one them made a swooping manoeuvre and mentions how the pilot…
Interview with Angelo Cassia
Angelo Cassia (b. 1926) gives an account of the bombing of Turin in the summer of 1943. Mentions the use of a shelter in the basement until it became clear that it wouldn’t withstand a blast wave, therefore trapping the occupants inside. Describes…
Interview with Alessandro Novellini
Alessandro Novellini (b. 1932) remembers the bombings of Turin and mentions different shelters in the city: the one in the basement of his house and the much bigger one at Piazza Risorgimento, built in 1943 when the tide of war was turning in favour…
Interview with Marta Papotti
Marta Papotti (b. 1937) remembers the bombings of Turin and how she and her family dashed to the shelter in the basement. Reminisces over the sense of community and describes people reciting the rosary or just chatting. Describes how her father the…
Interview with Laura Perego
Laura Perego (b. 1919) narrates how her village in the outskirts of Milan went through the war almost unscathed, in spite of being close to an ammunition dump and other potential targets. Remembers a mysterious badly dressed man who lived in a nearby…
Interview with Margherita Franco
Margherita Franco (b. 1934) remembers listening to declaration of war on the radio while her father kept working in the garden. Describes her mother preparing a bag with food and other basic necessities and hanging heavy curtains at the windows as…
Interview with Corrado Marenco
Corrado Marenco (b. 1940) describes various wartime anecdotes: a makeshift shelter dug in his garden where he and other children had fun despite the danger of 'Pippo'; how his father had to hide inside the bell tower of a church to escape from German…
Interview with Patrizia Riviera
Patrizia Riviera (b. 1930) gives a brief account of wartime life in Bergamo. Mentions food shortages, fear of bombings, basements used as shelters. Mentions disrupted schooling after the fall from power of the Fascist regime.
Interview with Francesca Marchese
Francesca Marchese (b. 1933) recalls the bombing attacks on Casale Monferrato, mentioning a bridge that survived multiple attacks and was nicknamed ‘The devil’s bridge’. Recollects people used to congregate in a field to watch the bombing of…
Interview with Maria Malagni
Maria Malagni (b. 1921) recalls her difficult childhood and chequered schooling history. Mentions wartime anecdotes: the death of her fiancé, an airman shot down over Brindisi; fascists seizing supplies; the capture of two partisans that her father…
Interview with Ivonne Cerasoli
Ivonne Cerasoli (b. 1925) describes Milan shelters, consisting largely of basements reinforced with wooden props, and tells how people cut down trees for firewood.
Interview with Rosetta Gobetti
Rosetta Gobetti (b. 1930) describes the bombing of a marsh near Isola della Scala, describing it as probably target mis-identification. Recalls a more severe bombing which destroyed many houses and killed twenty-eight people. Gives a short…