Sunday 15 April 2012

Immigration from Naples

Today I've been searching through the records at the National Archives.


What an interesting day!!

Here is the ship my Grandparents arrived on from Naples, Italy, as displaced persons in 1949, 1219 persons were on board.


It's the General Blatchford and was the first voyage of many that this ship completed in relocating thousands of people from war affected areas in Europe.

I remember talking to my Grandma in hospital about 7 years ago about their time in Italy just before they relocated.

She described it this way,

'I put our name down for America, and Australia, Our name came up on the list for Australia sooner, so that's where we went.'

They departed Naples on 16th October 1949 arriving in Sydney on 11 November 1949. They travelled with my Aunt, about 3 years old.

Having travelled to Naples in 2004 as part of a holiday, it strikes me as a huge coincidence, I didn't know this information at the time but I went to that port. I have a photo of me there.


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