Michael Laricchia interviewed by John Meredith and Rob Willis in John Meredith folklore collection [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 2430343
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Laricchia, Michael, 1920-, interviewee
- Online Version:
- National Library of Australia digitised item
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 1991 Nov. 15
- 1 digital audio tape (ca. 61 min.)
- Series:
- John Meredith folklore collection.
- Summary:
-
Laricchia speaks his birth in Adelphia in southern Italy on the heel, his father in America, the depressed conditions of his early environment, how he was called up for the Army during the War and then sent to Libya, how water was rationed on 2 litres per day, comments on the flies and the lice, the retreat, how he was taken prisoner by Wavell's army and shipped to Egypt & Port Said, later Bhopel in India, later to Australia, first in Melbourne then travelling by train to Cowra, how the Australian people were smiling and waving to their enemies, how the POWs were given a warm welcome in Melbourne, how he fell in love with Australia and Australians, recalls his encounter with the Japanese at Cowra and particularly their rudeness, how he recalled Mussolini's warning to be careful of the flat foots and the yellow race, how they worked in clearing the land, how he was later shipped to Gympie, Qld., recalls his 4 years in prison camps, how happy he was to be given farm work outside the barbed wire.
Laricchia speaks of how a POW was locked out of the camp, he was based in Gympie when the Japanese POWs broke out of Cowra, how the Italian POWs helped round up the Japanese escapees, how they made wine and grappa in the camps, treated well in Australia as there was always plenty of food, he was at Gympie Prison Camp between 1944-46 working as a camp waiter, there was strife between the Fascists and the Communist POWs, how he carried his ID card at all times, POWs wore red uniforms but were allowed out of camp to attend Mass, how his hopes of staying in Australia were dashed as all POWs had to be repatriated, officially discharged and then apply as migrants, eventually he returned to Brisbane and Gympie, his move to Griffith and marriage to an Italian girl.
- Biography/History:
-
Michael Laricchia - Italian prisoner of war at Cowra Prisoner Camp and later Gympie Prisoner Camp during World War II.
- Notes:
- Also available online https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-201876446
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Detailed summary available.
- Subject:
-
- Laricchia, Michael, d. 1920 -- Interviews
- Australia. Army. Cowra Military Camp (1941-1947)
- Australia. Army. Gympie Military Camp
- Prisoners of war -- Australia -- Interviews
- Concentration camp escapes -- New South Wales -- Cowra
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Prisoners and prisons, Australian
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- New South Wales -- Cowra
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Concentration camps -- Queensland -- Gympie
- Prisoners of war -- Japan
- Prisoners of war -- Italy
- Occupation:
- Prisoners of war
- Other authors/contributors:
- Related Records:
-
This belongs to the John Meredith folklore collection.
This collection contains 574 records. - Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2061 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 1991
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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