Vehicle    From 2/7/1940  To 2/7/1940

Arandora Star

Categories: Tragedy

Countries: Germany, Italy

Deporting Italian and German prisoners of war the cruise ship was between Liverpool and Canada when it was struck by a torpedo from a German submarine. Of the 734 Italians on board, 486 died. Of the 479 Germans, 175 died. Amongst the dead were the father and grandfather of Paolozzi.

May 2009 - The BBC informs that there is a campaign for a memorial to the Welsh Italians who died on the Arandora Star, for the 70th anniversary in 2010. And here that the Teesside-based Italians will be commemorated on a plaque at Middlesbrough Town Hall. There are already memorials in Liverpool, Glasgow and Italy, as well as the one in London.

September 2023: The BBC reported on the recent identification of a body that was washed up on the South Ayrshire coast in August 1940.  ".. the unidentified individual was buried in an unmarked grave in Girvan's Doune Cemetery. More than 80 years later, detailed research has revealed his name - Francesco D'Inverno ..." We find the following story puzzling - it's not clear how, since his grave was unmarked, how this name has been associated with it. 

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Arandora Star

Commemorated ati

St Peters Church - Arandora Star

This carved memorial shows 3 drowning men reaching up to the cross from the w...

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Burns' Day Storm

Burns' Day Storm

Because this storm hit during the day-time it caused more human casualties than the Great Storm of 1987. Then the death toll was 22, compared with 47 on Burns' Day. Under other names (e.g. Daria) t...

Event, Tragedy

2 memorials
Osman Sharif

Osman Sharif

Killed aged 16. Evening Stardard reports an arrest of another 16 year old suspected of stabbing Sharif. Our photo was taken from a framed image at the shrine.

Person, Children, Tragedy

1 memorial
Anthony Marshall

Anthony Marshall

Firefighter. He died whilst fighting a fire in the Wimbledon branch of Woolworth in the Broadway. He was aged 26. Our photograph shows him with his baby son whose first birthday was on the day he d...

Person, Emergency Services, Tragedy

1 memorial
Jonathan Simanjuntak

Jonathan Simanjuntak

Non-British, killed by the Bali bomb.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial

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Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

Erected by East Germany to isolate West Berlin (run by the US, the UK and France) from East Berlin and the rest of the surrounding East Germany (under control of the Soviet Union). It effectively i...

Building, Politics & Administration, Germany

2 memorials