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. 

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

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...

Read More

Other Subjects

Robin Blair Larkey

Robin Blair Larkey

United Kingdom citizen who died in the terrorist attacks in America on 11 September 2001. Robin Blair Larkey was born on 24 December 1952 in Ilford, Essex. He was the son of Blair Kenneth Larkey (...

Person, Tragedy, USA

1 memorial
Felix Dearden

Felix Dearden

Felix Sara Felicity Dearden was born on 11 January 1955, a daughter of Norman Peter Dearden (1924-2002) and Joan Kingston Dearden née Richardson (1920-2010). Her birth was registered in the Stockpo...

Person, Tragedy, Germany

1 memorial
Dinah Fryer

Dinah Fryer

Born in 1954, Dinah Fryer was an Australian history schoolteacher at Golden Grove High School in Adelaide, South Australia, who was on her first overseas trip with her husband Chris Fryer and their...

Person, Education, Tragedy, Australia, Southeast Asia

1 memorial
Bounds Green Station air raid

Bounds Green Station air raid

During the London blitz, people sheltered on the platforms of many underground stations. At Bounds Green, they also slept on the stairs between the escalators. No records were kept of how many peop...

Event, Tragedy, Belgium

1 memorial
Robert Bell
1 memorial