Survivor of the SS Waroonga
- Joanne Tapiolas
- Jul 18
- 1 min read
Giuseppe Crolla was born in Picinisco (Frosinone) Italy on the 3rd January 1889. A wholesaler/confectioner from Burnside, Scotland he was arrested on the 10th June 1940.
Major Layton had in July 1942, forwarded to the Home Office, Giuseppe’s request for return to the UK to appear before the Italian Advisory Committee. On the 29th September 1942, the response from the Home Office was that Giuseppe Crolla was not given permission to return.
Giuseppe was in time, approved to return to the UK for appeal and he departed from Sydney, NSW onboard the SS Waroonga on the 29th January 1943. The SS Waroonga was destined for Liverpool, England via Panama and New York, USA. On the 4th April 1943, the SS Waroonga was torpedoed in the Atlantic Ocean. Survivors were transferred to SS Joel AR Poinsett and arrived in Londonderry, Ireland on the 9th April 1943.
UK Italian internees Giuseppe Crolla, Giovanni Gazzano, and Alessandro Pacitti survived the sinking of the SS Waroonga as did UK German internees Stefan Vajda and Jakob Steinhof. Internees Hans Baer, Louis Biber, Ludwig Gelles, Lazarus Ressler and Max Koenigsberg perished.
Giuseppe’s British record noted that he was taken to the Isle of Man on the 13th April 1943. He was authorized for release on the 20th May 1943 under Category 3 of the White Paper: being infirm or invalid. Giuseppe, his wife Serafina and family lived at 193 Brownside Road, Burnside, Scotland.
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