Dugald wrote:You say this was a British tragedy. I can only agree with that. But can you give me one good reason why, out of Britain's countless WWII trgedies, that of the Andorra Star should receive special treatment in Glasgow? Shall we ignore the Athenia, the Lancastria, the Empress of Britain, the Royal Oak, the Exmouth, the Hood, the Prince of Wales, the Repulse, et al? No we can't reasonably be expected to build memorials for all of these disasters, that is why we build town, shire, and national memorials. Is there some reason why the Italian victims of the Andorra Star should receive special remembrance? I don't think so.
For me, this gets to the root of the issue. Britain lost around 450,000, mainly men, in WW2. Tragedies were everywhere and you cannot single each one out for special treatment. The Arandora Star was a tragedy but it was just one of many.
I disagree that the Italian community were treated appallingly. They were treated as enemy aliens and in accordance with accepted standards of the time. Just as Britain interned Italians and Germans, so the Germans interned British civilians.