Ugo Baccanello

Ugo Silvio Baccanello lived at 28 Craven Avenue, Ealing, England and worked as a freight broker when he was arrested on the 11th June 1940.  Born on the 12th April 1900 in Venezia, Italy Ugo had married Kathleen Durkin in 1925.

The Baccanello brothers Marco and Ugo boarded the Arandora Star but Marco died in this maritime tragedy. Marco's body washed ashore at Fanad Head, Co Donegal on the 6th August 1940 and he was buried at Kerrykeel Burial Ground.

Ugo's time in Australia was short. On the 17th November 1941, Ugo together with Giuseppe Salmi departed Tatura Camp 4B, Victoria for transfer to Wayville, South Australia.  On the 20th November 1941 they boarded the Rangitiki in Port Adelaide. He was ‘returned for consideration under the White Paper’ and was re-interned until his ‘release without restriction’ on 15th August 1942.

The only references regarding his time in Australia were that he worked in the camp garden party and he was a friend to Francesco Mattiussi.

Uog was living at 36 Queen’s Gate, Kensington when he died on 28th May 1977.  The Probate Calendar of 1st December 1977 advertised his estate as £96,258.

A 1978 newspaper article hints at a possible link between his work as a freight broker and a freight family business.  ‘International Express’ a freight forwarding and logistics company celebrated its 75th anniversary of operation in 1978.  Owned by the Baccanello family, it had been established as ‘Anglo Italian Express’ in 1902 as a forwarding agent principally between Italy and the United Kingdom with an emphasis on the handling of fine arts and antique traffic. Another reference stated that the Baccanello Fratelli owned the Anglo Italian Express shipping company.

Ugo Silvio Baccanello was born in Venezia and interestingly, the company’s distinctive logo was inspired by the famous lion of St Marco in the Piazza San Marco Venice as is shown below.

Spotlight on International Express

(The Birmingham Post, Thursday February 2, 1978)