Pardon me if this is the wrong sub for it, I came across these two Italian POW letters from camps in Bombay. It would be great if someone could translate it! [Tried Google translate, wasn't helpful]

These two are from two different individuals.

Thanks in advance!

by IndianLegion

3 comments

  1. Second letter:

    *P.O.W. No. 116.904*

    *Name. Cavallo Nicola*

    *Rank: Medical Second Lieutenant*

    *8 October 1942 Mine* (he means “my letter”)

    *Your last one is still from 31/05 and the last one from Felicetto is from 30/05. The other ones have received letter from August.*

    *How are you my dear?*

    *I’m healthy, trust me. Felicetto, can you send me the last edition of the Dermatology by Radauli(?) and the medical grammar fedioca(?) by Bossi and french with little vocabularies. My little dear, write me only letters.*

    *I constantly think about you with affection.* 

    *Best regards* (he says kisses to you, I dont know how to translate it to english),

    *Nicola.*

  2. First letter:

    *December 20th, 1945*

    *My dearest Rina,*

    *Yesterday I received you postcards from October 1st, 2nd and 5th and the mail from september 23rd, 25th and 29th. It was already a month that I had not received anything, and you can’t understand how joyous I was in reading and re-reading what you wrote and in particular your expressions regarding me that went straight to my heart and show how deep and rooted are your feeling, just as mine are. You are a treasure, my love, the desire to see you again is enormous; that of being close to you and hug you is even bigger. Here in the [PoW] camps we live days of, I’d say, high tension. Some days ago I group left, the strongest until now, of about 800 officers [that were] sick, about 50 years old, [unclear], so pitiful. In line, they were already ready to depart [unclear] and then, at the last moment, the counter order, like a icy bath. It is hoped that they will be able to depart soon and then, after this echelon, according to rumors, the return home should begin in order of time spent in prison and thus you can understand the electricity that there is in the hope of being free soon, after 5 years of grey, monotonous life without any vitality, and far from [unclear] and the exterior world. Among those that left, there is the Lieutenant Bertini, among those about to leave there is Malfemmi, Foresti, Lieutenant Colonel Parltrineri and Captain Ciancarielli: maybe they will bring my dearest greetings. I hope that after them, I will be able to bring my dearest greeting, the expression of my feelings and my love myself. Be brave my dear, our struggle is about to end and Baffino (maybe a sweet nickname that she used for him) will be able to give you happiness and the joy denied for a long time.*

    *A loving hug for all your family, a greeting to Ester, Maria, Zora and Mina and for you many sweet kisses.*

    *See you soon my love,*

    *Giorgio.*

  3. The italic/cursive of the first letter is very difficult to read. Moreover, the person is using complex words and a way of talking that we don’t use anymore nowadays, so it’s difficult to guess the words. Even if I was able to understand all of them, I don’t think my english knowledge is enough to translate them.

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