News-Info-Alerts

Re: Sailing Into the Past

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Date: August 23, 2002

"model shop restorer tries to trace italian soldiers who built it

A DUNS man who lovingly restored a model ship hidden in a shed for more than 50 years is trying to trace the Italian soldiers who built it, writes DIANA WELSH.

John Pinkerton is appealing to readers of The Berwickshire News to help him track down the families of four soldiers held at a prisoner of war camp in Greenlaw during World War Two.

The model, believed to be based on the ship which brought the prisoners to Britain, was made by four men Sandro, Leuca, Armando and Gigetto held at the camp between 1942 and 1946.

Before being repatriated, the Italians gave the ship to a six-year-old local girl, Elizabeth Cockburn, whose family had become friendly with the prisoners. Elizabeth, or Betty as she is known, had kept the gift at her home in Greenlaw ever since but the years had taken their toll on the paintwork and the boat's intricate parts.

The ship is crafted from odds and ends which the men found lying around the camp and is a real labour of love which would have taken days to complete.

Mr Pinkerton, who lives in Duns, came across the model after he stopped at Mrs Cockburn's house to borrow a hammer. The faded boat was stored in the woman's shed and Mr Pinkerton was so fascinated by the story behind it that he offered to restore it to its former glory.

Now that the model has been repaired, Mr Pinkerton is trying to find out more about the camp and the people who were held there. He wants to know if any records of the prisoners exist or if there is a museum dedicated to the prisoners of war.

He said: "The men gave the ship to Betty as an appreciation of the kindness shown to them by her parents. Although Mr and Mrs Cockburn did correspond with the men after their return to Italy, no trace of their addresses can now be found."

He added that, ideally, he would like to give the model to a museum in the region of Italy where the soldiers came from or, if they can't be traced, he would donate it to a British museum covering the subject or period.
Mr Pinkerton can be contacted on 01361 883252."