Long Journey Home by Katrina Kittel

After her father’s death, Katrina Kittel opens his old Globite suitcase, and finds tiny photos, postcards in beautiful handwriting from a mysterious Swiss woman, and memorabilia from his war.

Katrina Kittel’s father Colin Booth was captured during the disastrous July 1942 attempt to take Alamein’s Ruin Ridge. He was among 80,000 Allied soldiers sent to camps in northern Italy as prisoners of war.

They suffered cruel punishments for petty offences, hunger and illness, and they were used as forced labour on farms. When news arrived of the Italian armistice with the Allies in September 1943, POWs escaped the camps, scattering across the countryside.

Col was among those who headed north, aiming for neutral Switzerland. Life in the camps had been challenging, but not nearly as nerve-racking as life on the run, as they dodged German soldiers, Royalist sympathisers and fascist loyalists, while scrounging for food and shelter, trying to reach the navigable mountain passes before winter set in. Kind Italians shared what they could, but for some impoverished mountain villagers, the 4000-lire German bounty for a captured POW was very tempting.

‘An enthralling read. Kittel’s book sheds new light on a little-known aspect of the war.’ Tom Gilling

‘Captures the rawness, the resilience and the humanity of this little-known theatre of war.’ Susan Jacobs

‘Astonishing stories of courage and survival under the most extreme circumstances-giving voice at last to the forgotten men behind the uniforms.’ Paul Livingston

‘Deeply affecting and profoundly important.’ Tony Albert

‘Rich in personal stories and deeply researched’ Karl James

Captured at Alamein, used as forced labour on farms in northern Italy, thousands of Australian and New Zealand diggers escaped their captors when Italy signed an armistice in September 1943, including the author’s father. Could they make it over the alps to freedom in Switzerland before winter set in?

About the Author: Katrina Kittel is an historian and librarian who currently works in public libraries in the lower Hunter region of New South Wales. For 30 years she was employed in faculty and client service roles at the University of Newcastle, including student advisory, research assistant and librarian. She has been researching the stories of Australian and New Zealand POWs in Italy for over a decade, and was selected for the ACT Writers Hardcopy 2017 program.

30 Jun 2026
 

Long Journey Home: The perilous escapes of Anzac POWs from fascists in wartime Italy by Katrina Kittel ISBN 9781761472701