Section 3

Prisoners of War

From neighbour to prisoner, from ally to enemy in one night; the stories of the Prisoners of War, relate how the second world war completely overturned the life of the Italian community in the UK. A difficult transition, but one which witnessed a reconciliation, unique in its kind.

On the one hand, there were the civilians, arrested by the British government as “enemy aliens” but who were, in reality friends, colleagues and part of a community with decades old integration and no interest in taking sides during the war. They were destined to be interned and in part sent to Canada on the Arandora Star, a ship which never reached its destination. Sunk by a German U-Boat, more than half of the 700 Italians on board were drowned.

On the other hand, the African Campaign brought more than 140 thousand Italian prisoners of war in the UK, so they could work in British industry and on the land farms. Surprisingly, the prisoners soon became friends with the locals, starting a fruitful cooperation, which often turned into real friendship and even love. Despite being on opposite sides of the barbed wire, hard work and mutual understanding between Italians and British people was strong and helped lay the foundations for the new post war Italian community. From the Italian Chapel built by prisoners on Orkney to the small gifts kept by many British families, the UK still preserves traces of this story.

Proof of how the two peoples valued friendship and cooperation, even in their darkest times.