Plaque: St Peters Church - Arandora Star
Erection date: 4/11/1960
In Memoria dei periti nell'affondamento dell'arandora star
2 luglio 1940 . . . . . il ricordo che é vivo nel cuore dei parenti, dei superstiti e colonia italiana
4 Novembre 1960
Translates as:}
In memory of those who perished in the sinking of the Arandora Star, 2 July 1940 . . . Their memory lives on in the hearts of their relatives, the survivors, and the Italian colony.
4 November 1960
This carved memorial shows 3 drowning men reaching up to the cross from the waves/shroud on which is inscribed the text. It was erected 20 years after the disaster, on the anniversary of the end of WW1 in Italy.
Site: St Peters Church - Arandora Star (3 memorials)
EC1, Clerkenwell Road, St Peter's Church
We visited this site on a sunny Sunday morning - a short bike ride in reality but more like hundreds of miles to a quiet Italian town: the church; the delicatessen next door; three-generation families; dumpy old dears in black; arrogant, chic young people; all socialising before church - the sights and sounds of Italy on a London street.
The two war memorials were erected on 4 November, the date, in 1918, on which the war ended for Italy, when Austria-Hungary surrendered to Italy. They are both in the large porch of the church, with the Arandora Star carving above the war memorial. The plaque about the church can be seen in our photo on the street frontage.
Our thanks to Cathy Surowiec who provided the translations for us.
St Peter's Italian Catholic Church (Chiesa Italiana di San Pietro) website. The annual Procession in Honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has run every year since the 1880s and was the first such Roman Catholic celebration to be allowed following centuries of repression.
