Heres my notes for a speech i gave at Hamilton Speakers Club about my familys connection to the Arandora Star The Story Behind the Garden On 16 May 2011 I attended the opening of the Italian Cloister Garden in Glasgow. The garden, which is beside St Andrew’s cathedral in Clyde Street was created to be a lasting monument those who lost their lives when the ship, the Arandora Star, was sunk during the 2nd world war. The Arandora Star had sailed from Liverpool carrying mainly Italian prisoners of war who were being taken to internment camps in Canada. The opening of the garden was a grand event attended by many dignitaries, and included a speech by no less a personage than Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond. I had been invited because my family had made a small donation towards the garden in return for having our parents’ names engraved on the commemorative plaques. We thought that this would be a fitting tribute to them, since the Arandora Star is an integral part of our family history. When Italy joined the war in 1940 the British government were concerned about the risk of enemy aliens resident in the UK and wanted to do something about it. At that time there were more than 20,000 Italians living in Britain. The vast majority of them posed no risk whatsoever to Britain. They just lived and worked here. Most of them were out of touch with politics and events in Italy. There were, no doubt, some hard core fascists and supporters of Mussolini living in Britain. Possibly even a tiny minority of them could have posed some sort of danger to the UK, but the vast majority of Italians resident here were just grateful to Britain for hosting them and helping them to progress. Italy joining the war meant nothing to them. Many Italians living here even had children fighting in the British forces Nonetheless, the British government somehow perceived that the Italian population in Britain posed a problem, and after Mussolini made his declaration of war on the allies on 10 June 1940 Churchill was infamously quoted as giving the order to “Collar the lot”. But what did that mean? Well, in reality Collar the lot meant that rather than trying to identify people who really did pose some sort of threat to the UK, the British government went about arresting innocent Italian men indiscriminately. Collar the lot meant that they arrested people like chip shop owners, and fish friers. People like café owners and ice cream makers. People like my dad. On the day that my dad was arrested he had bought a newspaper. Whichever paper it was had printed a map of Europe showing the various positions of the opposing armies. My dad had the newspaper laid out on the table open at the map when the police came for him. When they took him away they also took the newspaper as evidence that he was an enemy alien. Not that they needed to. It wasn’t as if there was a trial or a hearing of any kind. He was taken to a camp in Liverpool where he met hundreds of other Italians, including three men from Hamilton that he knew. At that point none of them knew exactly what was going to happen to them, but the word going round the camp was that they were to be sent to an internment camp - a prison camp - in Canada. The first ship to sail for Canada was the Arandora Star. The prisoners were assembled and as their names were called they boarded the ship. The three men from Hamilton were all called for boarding but my dad’s name wasn’t called. So he went up to the soldiers and asked if he could go with his friends. But he was told, in no uncertain terms, to get back in line and go where he was told. It was an order that saved his life. On 1st July 1940 the Arandora Star set sail. There were 1,564 men on board. Of these, around 703 were Italian. The rest were either German – both Jewish refugees as well as German prisoners of war – or British servicemen. Early on 2nd July, when it was 125 miles west of Ireland, the Arandora Star was torpedoed by the German U boat U-47 under the command of Gunther Prien. It sank within 30 minutes. Over 700 lives were lost in the tragedy. From the Italian community 446 men were killed, including Giuseppe Del Grosso, Silvestro D’Ambrosio, and Mariano Di Marco – the three men from Hamilton that my dad had asked to be with. The survivors were picked up on 2nd July by the Canadian destroyer, the St Laurent, and taken to Greenock. They were not allowed to contact their families. Of the Italian survivors there were around 64 – 88 men who were hospitalised in Scotland. Most of them were later re-interned on the Isle of Man. But a further 200 men were deemed to be fit enough to travel - and on 10 July, only 8 days after their horrific and terrifying ordeal at sea these men were made to board another ship, the HMT Dunera to make the 55 day journey to Australia. Meanwhile, back in Liverpool, shortly after hearing the news of the Arandora Star tragedy, my dad, along with 406 other Italian men boarded the second ship bound for Canada, the SS Ettrick. On 3rd July the Ettrick set sail. This time it was accompanied by a destroyer escort, and it arrived safely in Canada after 10 days. The prisoners were taken to an internment camp on St Helen’s Isle in the St Lawrence River at Montreal. For my dad the camp became his home for the next three years. My dad spoke often about his time in Canada. We loved listening to his stories about being in the camp. Most of them were funny – or at least he made them funny. When my dad spoke about his internment it was never with any bitterness. Maybe bitterness had mellowed with age. Or maybe he was just grateful to have boarded the Ettrick rather than the Arandora Star. But I think it’s because he realised that in war things happen. And whilst it’s important to learn from them it’s also important to move on, but at the same time –to never forget them. Which is why it is important that even although it took 70 years, Glasgow now has a lasting monument to those who lost their lives on the Arandora Star. So ladies and gentlemen, if you ever find yourself in Glasgow with some time to spare, take a walk down to the garden in Clyde Street. Spend a few moments enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the garden. Have a look at the names on the commemorative plaques. And if you happen to see Johnny and Nettie Di Mambro – say hello!
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 13:29:08 +0000
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