Relative appeal

Robert was not married. His birth was registered in Chesterfield and the family moved to Rotherham between 1925 and 1931. His father, also called, Robert died in 1934 and his mother re-married and became Mrs Doyle, and lived at 50 Nelson Street, Maltby.

Robert was captured at Tobruk in June 1942. Taken prisoner, he was transported to Italy and held in POW Camp PG 54 at Fara in Sabina, to the north of Rome. He died of wounds on 23 02 1944 in hospital in Mantua and is buried in Padua War Cemetery.

On January 28 a prisoner of war train which was taking him and about 800 others from camp PG 54 to another camp in Germany was bombed by the American airforce as it crossed a bridge at Allerona, near Orvieto, in central Italy. He was taken to Orvieto hospital suffering from broken ribs and emphysema but on February 7 was transferred by hospital train to Mantua hospital where he died.

Recently a mess tin bearing his name and number has been discovered near to the site of the incident by Italian engineer Fabio Roncella who would like to get in touch with his family.

The family should reply through the contact page of my website bombedpowtrain.weebly.com

Janet Kinrade Dethick, researcher into World War 2 in Umbria, Italy