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Upon our arrival in Servigliano we faced challenges trying to find the group on the first evening and missed the opening speeches at the Casa della Memoria, a former train station, where the arriving prisoners were supposedly deloused. According to my dad, the treatment must have been ineffective because he told numerous tales of the discomfort he endured from lice and bedbugs during his six months in the camp!
(7 pm) with dinner to follow at 20:00 hours (8pm). Fearing we were a bit late, we rushed to the hotel only to find it dark with one or two staff in the foyer. Since we didn’t speak Italian and they didn’t speak English, communication was a challenge. We did get the words “reunion” and “piazza” accompanied by pointing so we headed out to find the town square inside the city walls. There were a few locals at the cafe near the war memorial, but no “reunion”. A kind man in the nearby convenience grocery drew a map to show us where the former camp, now a sports field, was located outside the gates. We said “grazie” and he appeared pleased to say “don’t think about it” in English. We headed off and saw a sign that included the words “centro sportivo, il parco della Pace” and figured that must be the place. After a few false starts we approached an old lady, who upon seeing photos on our smartphone from Dennis’s website, told us to keep going straight.
Photos taken by Ian McCarthy from Casa Della Memoria Website
Our rudimentary Italian and
the photos bore fruit and we approached the former Camp 59. Isn’t it great that
this place that was a prison camp during the two world wars, later a
deportation camp for Jews and finally a refugee camp, is now used for sports
and rock concerts? The Park of Peace! I was surprised that I didn’t
feel sad upon seeing it, but wished I could time-travel back to 1943 to see
conditions in the camp for myself. It is impossible to imagine what it was
like. I wondered if my dad, had he returned here, would have experienced the
post-traumatic stress reported by some of the soldiers who did, in the Camp 59 Survivors
website. I believe he would have enjoyed coming back to see the family members
who helped him and wonder why he never mentioned their names. I know he did
tell me the name of the village when I was younger but to my chagrin, I don’t
recall any specific information.
It took us about 15 minutes to walk inside the perimeter of the brick
camp walls. Three-quarters of the way around we recognized the repaired hole in
the wall indicated by Keith Killby used for the escape on September 14, 1943
and we saw the broken glass that remains on top of some of the walls to remind
locals of the camp’s history. Local youths were using the park as a
meeting place but there were no others present. We exited by a side gate and
saw the Casa della Memoria, but we didn’t know about the change in plans, so we
walked by a few people gathered outside. The Hotel San Marco was still dark but
at 20:30 (8:30 pm) a few likely candidates began drifting in. Colonel Mike
Davidson from ELMS introduced himself and assured us the others would arrive
shortly and that our friend, John and his daughter would be among them. We were
happy to meet Anne Copley and David Runciman for the first time. Dennis Hill
asked that we seek them out and remember him to them.
Repaired Hole in the Wall Where Many Men Escaped
John Simkins and Katie appeared next and we enjoyed meeting
others from ELMS and San Martino Trust.
There were no more speeches, just a fine meal with lovely wines and lively
conversation. We made it back to Agriturismo Contrada Durano in the dark with
gracious help from Anne by about 11:30 p.m. How would we ever survive the first
day of hikes?
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