Donald Currie

Ancestors

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mike Bell [send private message]

Biography

World War II

July, 2006 has seen the ninetieth anniversaries of the tragic battles of the Somme and Dellville Wood during the Second World War. I believe that there are still some, probably just a handful, of veterans of that war still alive, although all of them well over the age of a hundred. It all seems such ancient history now ! Thankfully, there are still many veterans ofthe Second World War with us today, and the memories that they have are forever vivid in their minds . Many soldiers ofthe South African army were unfortunate enough to be taken prisoner by the Germans after they took possession of Tobruk ,and ofthese a vast number found themselves in Italian hands . One of these was my husband, Donald Currie, who spent thirteen months in Italy, being landed at Brindisi and being moved to various prison camps, notably one at Lucca. Here they were accomodated in bivouac tents on swampy ground, which had been partially drained by a series oftrenches. As winter approached, the cold became intense, for the prisoners slept on grass filled mattresses on the ground, and in the mornings their breath frozy on the inside of the tents . They were always starved, and illness prevailed, but it must be remembered that the Italians themselves had very little food to spare . Fortunately for my husband, he was one of the lucky ones chosen to work on an Italian farm, for; with so many menfolk away in the forces, labour was at a premium, and it was essential to get farms run at full capacity . He found himself on a farm in the Po Valley , at a little community called Castelvisconti, not far from Cremona . The prisoners slept in carefully guarded premises at Azzanello nearby, and marched daily to their chores. They did get much better food than in the prison camp, and although the" padrone ", Scaravaggi, wore a Fascist badge prominently displayed on his jacket, they were well treated. The family consisted of the parents and two daughters, Pierangela , then at univ~l'sity , and Carlo~a .The prisoners mucked out cow byres, tilled the fileds, and brought in rich fodder to feed the dairy cows which were never allowed to graze in the fields . They made friends with the peasants employed on the farm, and having learned a certain amount ofItalian, albeit with a Sicilian accent because oftheir civilian guards, tqey could get along quite quite welL After a few months they It(arned that Italy had made peace with the Allies. Mussolini had been deposed and the government under Marshall Badoglio came into temporary power. The Germans were not going to allow Italy to fall into Allied hands, so now began a ruthless round up ofAllied prisoners, who were summarily moved to Germanx~t0 face seriously bad conditions. Don and his fellow prisoners, whose eyes had const'antly strayed with longing to the Alps which they could see in the distance, decided that this was the moment to try and make an escape, for the country was in a state ofturmoil.One ofthe peasants, Angelo Stroppi by name, gave Don his clothes and shoes to use for this hazardous venture, for sturdy as military boots were, they were an immediate give-away . It was a safe but unfortunate swap, for the Italian boots soon proved to be made of a substance little better than cardboard, and soon _ disintegrated! Probably Simor Scaravaggi knew their purpose, but somehow they managed to elude their guards and were on their way . Don left a letter with Simora Scaravaggi , written in English, telling whom it may concern in the Allied forces that they had been treated well _ ' The prisoners' escape, through many hazards, not least the formidable height ofthe Alps, and the near confrontations with Germans, is an adventure story in itself, far too complicated to detail here. Suffice it to say, the Italian peasants gave them every help, despite the fact that anyone doing so risked his life at every turn . Somehow word was always passed along, telling them where to turn for succour, and so it wasfl· that they finally ran down the steep and grassy slope across the frontier, leaving from a mountain village called Carvagna and entering Switzerland near Bellinzona . Don had always promised himselfthat he would try and fmd the farm at Castelvisconti , and make contact with the Scaravaggi famly once again. So it was that he and his wife Rosemary in 1961 hired a small car in Rome and made a trip through Italy , finding the scene ofhis time as an Italian peasant.What a welcome he received, for they had not forgotten him ! Signor Scaravaggio had died, but his wife and daughter Carlotta were running the farm. Pierangela had married Dante Mainardi, who farmed nearby, and they had two children, Ferdinando and Carla. Dante had been in the Alpini Regiment, had been caught by the Germans, sent to Dachau , and had escaped, only to be blinded by a landmine . His handicap did not daunt him , and he kept his independent spirit and sense of humour. Don and Rosemary were welcomed with open arms, and ended up by spending the night at the Mainardi home . They were shown the letter which Don had written testifying that he had been well treated while on the farm, and this was produced with pride. Angelo Stroppi came to pay his respects, and to be give Don's heartfelt thanks for his help in they escape ..Don and Rosemary left with glowing hearts, having had a really great experience . However, this was far from being the end ofthe story , for some years later they took all their four sons to meet the Scaravaggio and Mainardi families, and continued a correspondence made somewhat difficult by the language question. Then it lapsed some fifteen odd years ago, and this all remained a vivid memory . This July their youngest son Hamish and his wife Allison and small daughter Lucy made a visit to Switzerland, and with the help ofltalian speaking Swiss friends, and excellent maps, made up his mind to find the Mainardi family again. This proved to be surprisingly easy, because the only Mainardi listed in the Cremona telephone directory proved to be exactly who they were looking for. It was quite an effort to get to Castelvisconti , for they had no car, and had to make do with buses and trains, but get there they did, sadly being able to spend only one night there. The Mainardis had of course been alerted to the visit, and the excitement on both sides was enormous . Things had tragically changed, for both Dante and his son Ferdinando had died of cancer, and the old Scaravaggi homestead was unoccupied and crumbling into ruin. But the farming activities were still being carried on by three intrepid women, Pierangela, now aged well into her eighties, her sister Carlotta and her daughter Carla. That this had been a monumental struggle it was plain to see, for somehow things did look a little run down, although all three women still take turns in driving the tractor! The Mainardi home is obviously not short of money and some expensive cars stand in the yard, and the Currie visitors were welcomed with emotional tears and hugs and floods ofltalian, not a word ofwhich they could really understand! However, with Alison's French and the help of a good bottle ofwine , everything went swimmingly. Carla's two grown sons ,just out ofuniversity ,are back on the farm , and hopefully going to relieve the womenfolk ofthe heavy burden they have borne for so long. Hamish was proudly shown a wonderful stand of mealies , so things surely are looking up are looking up . Most amazingly of all, the son ofthe peasant Angelo Stroppi , to whom Don owed so much, came to see them, looking exactly like the picture ofhis father taken after the visitin1961, although with his mother's rather" jug "ears ! He now works on the farm as did his father before him . It was so sad that Hamish and Alison could only spare one night, for the night that they reached Switzerland on their return was the night ofthe soccer World Cup, and~- they so wished that they could have seen the revelries in the little local pub near Castelvisconti . But the exercise was a wonderful experience, and they left with many hugs and happy tears, with wine and a most impressive Italian cheese to be enjoyed back in South Africa. Hamish vows to go back again next year, and Alison is determined to learn Italian. To have been inside an Italian home, quite offthe tourist route, and to have been so welcomed into the heart ofwhat once were our enemies, is something very special . Needless to say , the correspondence will once again be resumed, although an Italian translater must be found for the purpose.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Mike Bell for creating WikiTree profile Currie-581 through the import of Bell-6939 2013-09-15.ged on Sep 15, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Mike and others.