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257046 L/Cpl James Caven Rae "Topper" Brown MID British Army 7th Btn Royal Tank Regiment from:Kirkcudbright My father, James Brown, was captured at Fort Capuzzo on 17th of June 1941 whilst taking part in Operation Battleaxe and was handed over to the Italians. He was shipped to Italy and force marched up to Chiavari where he was put to work on a farm. He was well enough treated but must have got up to some mischief as he was listed as a camp scrounger and was Mentioned in Despatches on 8th of July 1941. He was later transported by train to Stalag 344 on the German Polish border and was liberated at the end of the war by the Americans. Through my one time hobby of amateur radio, I got a contact in Chiavari who informed me that the Adjutant to the Camp Commandant was still alive and was in fact the Mayor, so after some time my father and mother went across to Chiavari where the Mayor's car met them at the airport and they were treated like royalty by the Mayor for the whole of their stay. The Mayor told my father that he was the first former POW to visit from the UK. They remained in touch until the Mayor died a few years ago. Please type your message:      We recommend you copy the text about this item and keep a copy on your own computer before pressing submit. Your Name:             Email Address:       @ **Please type the first part our your email in the first box (eg. john.smith) the @ sign is added automaticallly, please type the second part in the second box (eg. gmail.com). Do not enter your full email in each box or add an @ sign or random spaces.**