PG 98 - CastelvetranoSheet by: Costantino Di Sante
General data
Town: Castelvetrano
Province: Trapani
Region: Sicilia
Location/Address: Borgo di Buturro - Castelvetrano
Type of camp: Transit camp; quarantine camp
Number: 98
Italian military mail service number: 3550
Intended to: NCOs – Troops
Local jurisdiction: Difesa Territoriale di Palermo/Forze Aeree della Sicilia
Railroad station: Castelvetrano
Accommodation: tents
Capacity: 1000
Operating: from 12/1941 to 09/1942
Commanding Officer: Major. Giulio Oldani
Brief chronology:
December 1941: the camp was established.
March 1942: a dysentery epidemic broke out in the camp.
June 1942: the Italian Chief of Staff decided to move the camp to a better area.
September 1942: the camp was closed, and the command and the administration were moved to San Giuseppe Jato.
Allied prisoners in the Castelvetrano camp
| Date | Generals | Officers | NCOs | Troops | TOT |
| 1.3.1942 | 5 | 554 | 559 | ||
| 1.4.1942 | 1 | 30 | 31 | ||
| 1.5.1942 | |||||
| 1.6.1942 | |||||
| 1.7.1942 | 7 | 30 | 144 | 181 | |
| 1.8.1942 | 23 | 176 | 199 | ||
| 1.9.1942 | 23 | 176 | 199 |
Camp’s overview
In December 1941, after the capture of many British soldiers in Africa, the Italian Chief of Staff suddenly found itself in need of a quarantine camp near an airport, and not too far away from Libya, to ease the transfer of PoWs. The Command of the Sicilian Territorial Defence chose a suitable place in the Buturro district, part of the Castelvetrano municipality, not far from the local airport.
In a few weeks, the camp was erected. However, the area was immediately found unsuitable for a PoW camp, as malaria was endemic and there was no drinking water.
Living conditions were abysmal: there were no sanitary facilities, and the entire camp flooded when it rained. The PoWs were often sick, and some were even made to do reclamation works. Moreover, Red Cross and Protecting Power inspectors were not admitted to the camp.
At the beginning of 1942, a dysentery epidemic broke out in the camp. As it threatened to spread to the nearby town, the PoW office decided that the camp had to be moved to a different place.
When the Chief of Staff learnt that the area for the camp had been chosen without consulting the Health Directorate and military engineers, it took action against the Territorial Defence of Palermo. The commander, General Aniello Iervolino, was also punished for the «slow and ineffective» way in which he had directed the establishment of the camp, which, besides its poor geographical collocation, also lacked infirmary services, fences and lighting.
In the summer of 1942, the Castelvetrano camp was transferred to Traversa, near San Giuseppe Jato, in the Palermo province, roughly 50 km from the Castelvetrano airport. The new camp maintained the same number and command as PG 98.
Archival sources
- Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero dell’Interno, Direzione Generale Pubblica Sicurezza, A5G, II GM, bb. 116, 117, 118 e 140, Verbali e Notiziari della Commissione Interministeriale per i Prigionieri di Guerra
- Archivio Centrale dello Stato, Ministero dell’Aeronautica, Gabinetto, b. 70, Verbali e Notiziari della Commissione Interministeriale per i Prigionieri di Guerra
- Archivio Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, L10, b. 32
- Archivio Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, N1-11, b. 667, 740, 843
- Archivio Ufficio Storico Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, H8, b. 79
- The National Archives, WO 204/2190
- The National Archives, TS 26/767
Henry William Cantle