Browse Items (632 total)
Sort by:
Interview with Leonardo Gravina
Leonardo Gravina describes his early life in the rural district of the Puglia region, near the towns of Foggia and S. Giovanni Rotondo. He remembers seeing formations of aircraft taking off and landing from an airfield nearby and speaks fondly of an…
Interview with Leontina Giovanetti
Leontina Giovanetti (b. 1913) reminisces about her early life with three sisters, her father who was a typographer and photographer and her mother a house-wife. Describes musical training at the Milan conservatory, stressing the demanding attitude of…
Interview with Lidia Barberis
Lidia Barberis (b. 1934) remembers her early life in Turin and Piedmont under the constant threat of bombing. She describes her father being taken away by the SS, the daily chores and a precarious trip by horse-drawn cart. Describe the postwar period…
Interview with Lidia Fabris and Alfonso Fridiani
Lidia Fabris and Alfonso Fridiani remember 'Pippo'. Alfonso Fridiani recalls how his truck was saved from one of 'Pippo’s' attacks by a partisan. Lidia Fabris remembers the fear she felt when 'Pippo' fired off flares. She describes an incident in…
Interview with Lidia Vendramin
Lidia Vendramin reminisces her childhood in Sacile including details on her primary schooling, family, and town life. Contrasts the public manifestations of joy the day the war was declared, with the shock and dismay of her parents, whose lives had…
Interview with Liliana Kucic Podda
Liliana Kucic Podda recalls her early years in Fiume, describing a serene childhood playing with her friends. She recalls a severe bombing raid that hit the Whitehead torpedo factory and the ROMSA refinery - the latter burning for days - and mentions…
Interview with Lillian Grundy
Lillian Grundy was born grew up in Ancoats, Manchester. Upon leaving school, she worked in a local mill winding bobbins, and the Hall Brothers Toffee Works wrapping sweets. Grundy met George in 1939 and they were engaged in Easter 1940, however, he…
Interview with Livio Ponte
Livio Ponte remembers his wartime life in Monfalcone. He describes the frightening moments when the alarm sounded, usually at night and people rushed to the shelters for safety. He mentions different attitudes: his parents going to a shelter whereas…
Interview with Lucia Muratori
Lucia Muratori recalls her early life in Bologna in the family of a well-off foundry owner. Stresses that she had less traumatic war experiences compared to many other people at that time, the only disturbing episode being eye-witnessing the killing…
Interview with Luciana Cella Guffanti
Luciana Cella Guffanti (b. 1932) describes the role played by officers of the Unione Nazionale Protezione Antiaerea during the bombings of Milan, especially when they had to persuade reluctant people to go to the shelters. She describes an occasion …
Interview with Luigi Cabrini
Luigi Cabrini describes his daily life in a rural community, stressing the labour-intensive nature of farming in wartime. He tells of Pippo bombing at night and reminisces about an interrupted schooling history in Pavia and Voghera, due to strafing,…
Interview with Luigia Colussi
Luigia Colussi (b. 1925) gives a short account of her wartime life and describes how she persuaded German troops to release her father. Stresses the contrast between the attitude of adults (who prayed and were generally worried by the situation) and…
Interview with Mafalda De Luca
Mafalda De Luca (b. 1939) recalls how her father moved to Fiume during the D’Annunzio occupation, where he met her mother. Remembers the blackout curtains at the windows and mentions underground shelters. Gives a brief account of a small bomb (or a…
Interview with Margaret Givens
Margaret Givens grew up in Coventry and witnessed the bombing of the city. She and other children sat on the bricks of the destroyed cathedral to attend a service. Her house was bombed and while she and her brother was staying with her grandmother…
Interview with Margaret Hodgin
Margaret’s family lived in Fiskerton and her first memory of war time, when she was seven and her brother four, was of her father digging a shelter in the garden. The children would walk or cycle to Reepham school.
Margaret was about eleven when…
Margaret was about eleven when…
Interview with Margaret Irene Maxwell
Margaret was almost 12 years old and living in Romford, Essex at the outbreak of World War Two. She remembers the announcement being made by Neville Chamberlain on the radio on 3 September 1939. Margaret recalls being issued with a gas mask, and how…
Interview with Margaret Ottaway
Margaret Ottaway lived in Louth, the sixth of seven children, and tells of her childhood there. Tells of an air raid shelter they had in the house. Witnessed, as a seven year old, an enemy air raid on 19 February 1941, which caused damage and…
Interview with Margaret Saint
Margaret Saint was employed by Airworks Limited as a civilian office worker throughout the Second World War, and met her future husband, Trevor, an air gunner, who she married in June 1945. Daughter of a Welsh miner, the family moved to the Cotswolds…
Interview with Margarete Meyer
Margarete Meyer (b. 1936) describes the 13 February 1945 Dresden bombing and recounts how her mother reacted to the alarm. She rushed to the shelter and took some belongings, including what she thought was her confirmation dress. Explains how her…
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 Maria Caterina Siccardi
Maria Caterina Siccardi (b. 1924) remembers attending the funeral of a young soldier and her fear of being bombed. She also describes the makeshift shelter her grandfather built and how she rushed to take shelter in it every time an aircraft…
Interview with Maria Domanovszky
Maria Domanovszky (b. 1937) recounts how she threw herself into a swampy ditch when under fire and how she lay down praying and hoping to get back home safely. Describes German soldiers with torn and dirty uniforms escaping from a burning forest.…
Interview with Maria Luisa Verniconi
Maria Luisa Verniconi (b. 1930) recalls her youth in wartime, stressing 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 stresses the violent behaviour…
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 Maria Teresa Boazzelli
Maria Teresa Boazzelli describes the bombing of Frascati on 8 September 1943 and provides an account of life inside an improvised shelter: people praying and screaming after explosions. She explains how the Germans had been expecting the bombing and…