They did not know about each other’s existence for more than 70 years: now two half-sisters from England and Italy meet for the first time. This was made possible by a daughter who researched her grandfather’s story and reached out to her mother’s relatives via social media.
The Italian newspaper Liberta reported that Clare’s grandfather, Renato Labo, had gone to Egypt from a small village in Emilia Romagna during World War II. There the soldier was taken prisoner of war by the British and after the armistice he had to work on a farm in the English county of Somerset. On the farm, he fell in love with the owner’s daughter, Clare’s grandmother. She had a daughter named Gin, but Renato never heard of her existence as he returned to Italy after the war. Gin’s mother decided to raise her daughter alone and forgot about the Italian prisoner of war. Only her sister kept a photo and remembered his name.
search took years
Still, Clare’s years-long search for possible relatives of her mother was complicated because she had little information. With the help of the Red Cross, she obtained a list of those interned at Camp Motcombe 47 and discovered that only two people bore the name Renato. After asking the Facebook group of the residents of Sarmato in Emilia Romagna for information, she was referred to Eugenia Labo, her mother’s half-sister. She recognized her father in photos and recently met Gin for the first time in the northern Italian city of Piacenza.
communication about family members
The meeting had been planned for about two years but was postponed due to the pandemic. The two ladies could now see that they looked alike and celebrate their meeting with a visit to a restaurant. Since Gin doesn’t speak Italian and Eugenia doesn’t speak English, communication was through relatives.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
