Browse Items (635 total)

  • Tags: home front

MCarterRH[DoB]-150629-080001.jpg
Notes that children had shared hardship and should be proud of their effort. Signed 'George RI'. On the reverse 'Important War dates' with table of dates fro 1939-1945.

PBirelliG1701.jpg
Giuliana Birelli remembers growing up in a family of farmers in Tuscany, at a time when German soldiers raided houses searching for food and harassing women. She tells of various episodes: partisans’ actions; time spent in a makeshift shelter her…

ADelfinoG171029.mp3
Giovanni Delfino was first evacuated to the Cremona area, where he could see the glow of the distant bombings. He then came back to Milan, only to witness a bomb nearly missing his house and killing factory workers. He describes the gruesome sight of…

PMuratoriG160314.JPG
Gino Muratori (b. 1929) recollects three Rimini bombings that occurred in November 1944, one of which was aimed at the Ausa river bridge. He mentions his grandmother losing two relatives when their boarding house was destroyed, and recalls how, on 26…

APaganoA170712.mp3
Andreino Pagano (b. 1934) remembers his wartime experiences in the Pavia province. He explains how a parish church provided a good shelter owing to its thick walls. He recalls various stories: resorting to the black market; the bombing of the Voghera…

MBubbGJ1477939-160323-09.jpg
Sheet of green 30 gram cheese ration stamps in eight rows of ten.

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PBubbGJ16010079.jpg
Propaganda booklet about total war containing photographs quotes and text about bombing.

PBubbGJ16010017.jpg
At the top a postponement of calling up for service document with G Bubb service number name and address. Dated 21 MAy 1941. States that recipient should report when ordered, In the meantime will remain in the reserve without pay or allowances and…

EGrayHMGray[Wi]440703.pdf
Opens by expressing concern over wife’s health issues. Goes on to give news about upcoming leave. Mentions crew outing to Scunthorpe. Provides details of tenth operation which was a successful daylight operation. Mentioned that the crew had now…

PAmbroseBG1601.jpg
28 Home Guard personnel sitting front row and standing in two rows behind. Troops are all wearing battledress with side caps. In the background a brick building. Captioned ‘Lance Cpl, Lance Cpl, Cpl, Sgt, Major, Captain, Cpl, Cpl’. Basil…

EBoldyLMBoldyS450913.pdf
L Boldy writes to her husband and son Steve; she has transcribed the letter she received from the Director at the Air Ministry and included copies of newspaper cuttings concerning the trial of Warrant Officer Raymond David Hughes, in the hope of…

EBoldyLM[Recipient]450826-0001.jpg
Letter from David Boldy’s mother to the Adjutant at RAF Depot, Uxbridge regarding articles in newspapers about a man on trial who mentions a man with a similar name to her son.

PWoolgarRLA1616.jpg
Group portrait of personnel and civilians at a social gathering at the City of Lincoln pub. Reg Woolgar and his wife are far right back row and Dorothy Scott, the landlady, is in the centre of the back row. Participants are of different genders and…

ABianchiM170912.mp3
Marisa Bianchi remembers her wartime years at Sesso, a rural hamlet in the Reggio Emilia province. She talks about the abundance of locally farmed food and emphasises how billeted German troops were friendly and supportive, even if she and her family…

PDelCortoD170926.jpg
Delia del Corto (b. 1932) remembers daily life in wartime Tuscany, living in a family of ten. She provides details on rural life, especially home bread making, and stresses the difficult co-existence with feared German troops. She tells many…

AVischiS160806.mp3
Stefania Vischi recalls her wartime life in the Monfalcone area and recalls how she spent long hours alone inside a shelter, frightened by explosions and tremors. She contrasts the horror of being at the receiving end of the bombing war and the…

ABisioG-MascherpaT170308.mp3
Gabriella Bisio and Teresa Mascherpa recollect the bombing of Pavia and give a vivid description of its immediate aftermath. They describe food shortages, resorting to eating potatoes with milk and queuing up for a portion of salt. Gabriella tells…

PDiBlasG1602.jpg
Guido Di Blas (pictured on the left) and Ilario Bolletti (pictured on the right) recount wartime memories associated with the town of Monfalcone and the surrounding area. They describe a severe night of bombing, recalling the ominous sight of target…

ARaffinE161210.mp3
Ettore Raffin describes his early life in wartime Cordenons, his father being in America and his brother at Friedrichshafen. He remembers watching masses of aircraft heading north enroute to targets in Germany, maintaining that bombers took off from…

AMagnaniT170303.mp3
Tullio Magnani remembers his wartime years in the Pavia province. Although his father was blacklisted as a subversive communist, he did not have any trouble at school. He recounted his role as a young resistance helper smuggling food rationing…

AAn00974-170413.mp3
The group remembers wartime hardships endured near Pavia and Piacenza. They recalled several stories, such as a farmhouse being thoroughly searched for partisans; children questioned; people injured by shell splinters; a makeshift dugout used as…

AVaresiP170308.mp3
Pietro Varesi describes wartime life in Pavia, focussing on the Borgo neighbourhood. He mentions the Ticino bridges as primary targets for bombers; recalls bent shop shutters and debris on the streets; stresses the limited accuracy of bombing and the…

PVentrigliaS1701.jpg
Sara Ventriglia, the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, recalls her early life in wartime Milan. She describes the alarm being sounded and she and her family getting quickly dressed to reach a nearby shelter. She recollects moments…

PBergomiF1701.jpg
Ferruccio Bergomi recalls his early life as a street urchin in the Precotto neighbourhood in Milan - describes monkey business, horseplay, fierce rivalries, melees, pilfering sundries and street games with friends. He gives an eyewitness account of…

AMazziG170420.mp3
Giglio Mazzi (b. 1927) recalls his early life in Reggio Emilia, born into a family with strong anti-fascist sentiments. He describes his first job at the Reggiane works, then at the local labour inspectorate, where he was attached to a debris…
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