938 where is grumilina please

I did a little search on internet - could it be the name of the camp is Grumellina? - If so than it looks like it would be in Lallio which is near Bergamo.

I really have no idea but it could be...
good luck!

There's reference here ([url]http://www.lomb.cgil.it/spibg/archivi.htm[/url]) to it being near Bergamo, so it seems like kellytree has hit the nail on the head.

There are also several POW family associations that you might want to try:
[url]http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/worldwarii/worldwar_history.htm[/url] or [url]http://historyonfile.com/mailman/listinfo/ww2[/url]

Good luck on your search!

[QUOTE=sian]Buon giorno
I am planning a trip to Italy to visit the sites of the POW camps that my grandfather was held in during WWII. He was in pg 68 at Vetralla, pg 70 at Monturano, pg 62 at Grumilina and pg 75 at Bari. I have found Vetralla, Monturano and Bari on the map but I can't find Grumilina on any maps. Can anyone help me please.
Grazie[/QUOTE]

With reference to Vetralla, come soon as building is still there, but not sure for how much longer.

There is also a separate activity going on to log the recollections of the war so it might be valuable to record his memories for posterity as you never know what they may generate!
The memories site is at [url]http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/pow/pow.html[/url]

You might also like to try [url]http://www.ww2talk.com[/url] as this has a range of message boards that you might want to contribute to.

[QUOTE=sian]Buon giorno
I am planning a trip to Italy to visit the sites of the POW camps that my grandfather was held in during WWII. He was in pg 68 at Vetralla, pg 70 at Monturano, pg 62 at Grumilina and pg 75 at Bari. I have found Vetralla, Monturano and Bari on the map but I can't find Grumilina on any maps. Can anyone help me please.
Grazie[/QUOTE]

The web site:

[url]http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-pow-camps-in-italy[/url]

and several other sources name PG 62 as Grumilina, and it's also made clear that it is near Bergamo:

[url]http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N91870.html[/url]

[I]Numbers of Allied escaped prisoners as well as Italians made their appearance on the Swiss border almost immediately after the armistice. The British were mainly from Campo PG 62 at Bergamo,4 which had been thrown open by the Italian camp authorities, and they reached the border near Chiasso. A first party of 70 was admitted by the Swiss frontier guards without demur, but the news that many thousands were also making their way there caused the Swiss Government to delay further parties at the frontier while they considered the consequences of admitting all and sundry.[/I]

A reference on an Italian web site seems to clarify that PG 62 Grumilina was actually Grumello al Piano just outside Bergamo by the A4 autostrada since it refers to the same incident, possibly the anglo-american prisoners of war couldn't get their ears around the name "Grumello" or possibly Grumilina is local dialect, which can be very different from Italian.

[url]http://www.isc-como.org/Pagine/Sportello_scuola/001.htm[/url]

[i]Dopo l’8 settembre si rifugiano in Brianza molti prigionieri di guerra angloamericani, fuggiti dal campo di concentramento di Grumello al Piano (Bg). Molti militari abbandonano le caserme e sfuggono alla cattura dei tedeschi nascondendosi presso i loro paesi o sulle montagne del triangolo lariano.[/i]

And I think the link to "Grumellina" is here:

[url]http://www.bergamoestoria.org/lavori/mascheroni/Eroismi_senza_chiasso.htm[/url]

Where a website documents the efforts of a local priest to save prisoners of war and jews held at the camp.

I don't know if you are aware of this painting, but it may help to understand what your grandfather experienced:

[url]http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/artwar/artworks/ld_16315_british-war-prisoners_e.html[/url]

Sorry I can't find a definite reference to the location of the camp, but I suspect from this scrap that it was at Lallio:

[url]http://www.ideaperlallio.it/storia.htm[/url]

[i][b]Campo di concentramento[/b]

Nel periodo della seconda guerra mondiale a Lallio esisteva un campo di concentramento per i prigionieri sotto la responsabilità del colonnello Turco. Il caseggiato, isolato naturalmente dal corso d’acqua detto Oriolo e dominato da un’alta ciminiera in mattone rosso, era chiamato "La Centrale".[/i]

Lallio is on the Via Provinciale SS525 through Grumello del Piano. It's clearly visible on Autoroute if you have access to a copy.

I hope this helps.

Apparently there was a prison called "la Grumellina" near Dalmine, which is about 4Km southwest of Lallio.

You could try contacting the Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai in Begamo which holds historical archives.

[url]www.bibliotecamai.org[/url]
[email]info@bibliotecamai.org[/email]

tel 0039 035 399430

Thanks for all your help. I would have spent a month of Sundays looking for that information, obviously you just need to know where to look. I have started documenting my grandfathers life (which is what inspired me to plan a trip to see for myself) and have been amazed by his incredible experiences. I now urge everyone to talk to their older relatives about their lives, once they're gone so are their stories.
Again, thanks for your input, much appreciated.
Sian

Is your grandfather still with us? If he is, the commandant at the camp at Lallio was Colonel Turco, if he can recall this name it would confirm that it is the one where he was interned. He may also recall the mass walkout to Switzerland when the armistice was signed in 1943.

With searches of this nature, speaking (some) Italian is a big help because a lot of the documents are in Italian and also it helps to be able to guess what a British soldier might have interpreted a name to be.

Sian

Hope you are still visiting Forum.

I have some more information about “La Grumellina”

The camp occupied factory premises (the factory was known as “La Centrale” and originally produced buttons, although it later switched to armaments). Today it produces paper and can be found in the Comune of Lallio.

There is a small town called Grumello del Piano (it used to be part of Lallio), which is situated near the factory but it now comes under Bergamo, although the factory actually sits inside Lallio territory.

The camp wasn’t actually called “Grumellina” as the name was used to refer to the locality because it was close to Grumello del Piano.