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Interview with Ferdi Righi
Ferdinando Righi recalls his early life in Monfalcone, brought up by his mother while his father served as a submariner. He describes daily life in wartime: how he used to sleep fully clothed, waiting for the air raid siren. His mother would put some…
Bombing of Trieste
Account of the 6 July 1944 bombing of Trieste written by a typist of the Servola ironworks. The first part of the document details the effects of the explosions and mentions some of the impact points: the ammunition dump and the oil refinery. The…
Tags: bombing; civil defence; home front; love and romance; shelter
Chiesa della B.V. delle Grazie mutilata nel bombardamento anglo-americano del 10-06-44
Following the destruction of a church in Trieste, the leaflet contrasts the horrors of unrestricted bombing warfare with the hypocrisy of Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. They describe themselves as devoutly religious despite ordering the…
Come proteggersi della nuova offesa nemica: “la piastrina incendiaria”
Instructions how to deal with a new type of small incendiary the Royal Air Force started to use. Advice includes: do not use water; put all the incendiaries in a hole dug in the ground; ask the assistance of the Unione Nazionale Protezione Antiaerea…
Report on a domestic shelter
Report on the condition of a domestic shelter, with notes on the condition of items of clothing that have been stored inside.
Tags: home front; shelter
Il gioco della protezione antiaerea
The board game has 78 spaces, numbered from one to 78, and arranged in spiral fashion. Players’ pieces are moved according to throws of one or two dice. Each square contains simple figures and a brief text about anti-aircraft precautions. Players…
Permit to circulate during alarms
The permit entitles Giovanni Granata to circulate freely in Trieste during alarms, at his own risk.
Tags: home front
Toy soldiers
Six figures in various poses (marching, standing, playing the bugle) depicting foot soldiers from different periods.
These toys were originally part of a larger set used by Alberto Dini to pass the time while inside a shelter in Trieste. …
These toys were originally part of a larger set used by Alberto Dini to pass the time while inside a shelter in Trieste. …
Tags: coping mechanism; home front; shelter
Interview with Eraldo Bessone
Eraldo Bessone (b.1925) describes the bombing of an industrial area close to the Lingotto district in Turin. He tells how it was completely unexpected and stresses how the population was totally unprepared. Eraldo describes his attempt to reach a…
Tags: bombing; home front
The day I reviewed the German army
The memoir details the events after Sergeant George Reid Williamson baled out of his Lancaster over Chateau-Thierry. After hiding in a wood for a few days, he met a local farmer who took him back to the farmhouse for food and a large overcoat. While…
Caterpillar club letter to George Reid Williamson
The letter apologises for the delay in sending out the caterpillar club badge to Sergeant George Reid Williamson. The sender encloses the badge with good wishes. Signed on behalf of Leslie Irvin.
Tags: bale out; Caterpillar Club
George Reid Williamson in front of a Wellington
George Reid Williamson standing in front of a Wellington. Trees are in the background. On the reverse 'George with his good friend the Lancaster' [sic].
Tags: 50 Squadron; aircrew; Wellington
Jack Bergie
Head and shoulder portrait of a man dressed in a dark shirt and tie, smoking a cigarette. He has short dark hair. On the reverse ‘Another helper Jack Bergie’.
Tags: Resistance
Members of the French resistance
A man and a woman, dressed in smart summer wear, pose in a park. He holds a pipe and she carries a dark coloured bag and a pair of white gloves. On the reverse 'Helpers. Don’t remember name. Might be Daniel' and 'Tollcross Août 1952'.
Tags: Resistance
George Reid Williamson reading a newspaper in the Bois de Boulogne
George Reid Williamson dressed in a pinstriped jacket and dark trousers, leaning against a wood and wire fence, whilst reading a newspaper and smoking a cigarette. A wooded area is in the background. On the reverse ‘In the Bois de Boulogne during…
Tags: evading; Resistance
George Reid Williamson on a rooftop
George Reid Williamson, smartly dressed in civilian clothes with a tartan tie, stands on a rooftop looking at the camera. Trees and buildings are seen in the background.
Tentaively identified as Paris by Cunin Yves and Charles Woodham of the…
Tentaively identified as Paris by Cunin Yves and Charles Woodham of the…
Tags: evading
Interview with Alberto Dini
Alberto Dini recalls his wartime life in Trieste starting from the declaration of war until the end of the conflict. He describes life under the bombs, highlightin disruption of utilities, devastated streets and chequered schooling history. He…
Interview with Matilde Pontecorvi
Matilde Pontecorvi (b. 1910) gives an account of the bombing of Ciampino when she was travelling by tram and bombs started to explode around it. She recalls how she survived only because a priest told her to duck under the seats. She describes the…
Tags: bombing; home front
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. She recalls a more severe bombing which destroyed many houses and killed 28 people. She gives a short…
Interview with Anna Maria Guglielmi
Anna Maria Guglielmi (b. 1940) recalls one of the first memories of her childhood when the siren sounded and she found herself in crowded shelter. She describes wartime anecdotes: drinking wine from a demijohn found in the attic; an encounter with…
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.
Tags: bombing; civil defence; home front
Interview with Maria Malagni
Maria Malagni (b. 1921) remembers her difficult childhood and chequered schooling history. She recalls wartime episodes: the death of her fiancé, an airman shot down over Brindisi; fascists seizing supplies; the capture of two partisans that her…
Tags: animal; bombing; fear; home front; love and romance; Pippo
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”. She remembers people used to congregate in a field to watch the bombing of…
Tags: bombing; childhood in wartime; home front
Interview with Silvana Zerbini
Silvana Zerbini (b. 1924) remembers the bombing of the San Lorenzo neighbourhood in Rome and the concern she had for her husband’s fate. She recalls the attempt to move her grandparents to a safer place out of the capital and remembers American…
Interview with Maria Luisa Verniconi
Maria Luisa Verniconi (b. 1930) recalls her youth in wartime, describing how difficult it was for her mother to look after the family. She recollects adults listening to Radio Londra while the youths were on lookout. She recalls the violent behaviour…
Tags: bombing; childhood in wartime; evacuation; home front; round-up