PG 12 Candeli / Vincigliata

Candeli is part of the municipality of Bagno a Ripoli in the province of Florence, Italian region of Tuscany.

PM 3200

There is conflicting information with regards to the exact location of this camp.

According to the Royal Army General Staff Prisoner of War Office, camp list dated 31st December 1942, this camp was located at Candeli and came under the territorial jurisdiction of Florence. It was operational from September 1941. As at 31st December 1942 there were 36 officers at the camp. As at 31st March 1943 – 35 officers.

It should be noted that on these lists the Royal Army General Staff Prisoner of War Office perhaps describe some camp locations by the nearest main comune/town/municipality.

The location of the camp is described elsewhere as Castello di Vincigliata. The castle at Vincigliata was just under 6 miles (9.6km) from Candeli.

In this link, NZETC (page 119) indicates that the officers’ camp was “a modern country villa near Florence”.

https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Epi-c5-WH2-1Epi-i.html

According to the Vatican Secret Archives, the camp was located at Villa La Massa, Candeli.

It is interesting to note that on this NZETC link, the camp is described as “a castle-like villa”:

https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Pris-_N78986.html

More Information about this camp here:

https://campifascisti.it/scheda_campo.php?id_campo=333

Translation for the Campi Fascisti main page:

Candeli – Prisoner of War Camp No. 12
Candeli, part of the municipality of Bagno a Ripoli (Florence) – Italy
Camp type: Prisoner of war camp from September 1941
Source: DPG27
Note: Research on Italian prisoner of war camps is still ongoing (November 2012). The information reported here is taken from some documents conserved in the Historical Office of the Army General Staff and concerns only the period from March 1942 to March 1943. The data on this sheet are therefore incomplete and still to be verified.

In the PG field No. 12 of Candeli 18 generals of the former Yugoslav army (Serbs), 8 British generals, 2 South African generals (whites) and 2 New Zealand generals are interned. In addition to the captured generals, in Candeli, as in all camps, P.G. intended for senior officers, there are non-commissioned officers and simple soldiers with the task of waiting under the orders of their commanders. The PG field no.12 has been in operation since September 1941 (see DPG27) and, formally, has a capacity of 38 places (probably referring only to higher grades).

From information found on the web (Vatican Secret Archives. Vatican Prisoners of War Information Office), the Candeli camp is located at Villa La Massa-Candeli.

Report of an escape and capture of two British generals in PGCN01.

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PG abbreviation

The full title is ‘Campo Concentramento di Prigioniere di Guerra’ (prisoner of war concentration camp). They were not concentration camps in the normal sense of the word. Camps were normally prefixed PG, but could be referred to as CC, Campo or Campo PG. The exception was the 2 Dulags and 1 Stalag within Italy, which were German controlled transit centres for POWs being transferred to Germany. The camps were originally known by their place names, and numbers were not introduced until early 1942. There are some camps with no numbers, perhaps they closed before early 1942?

PM abbreviation

Camps in Italy were divided into postal areas, each area designated ‘PM [number]’. PM translates to ‘Posta Militare’, meaning ‘military mail’. The number indicated the central postal reception area for the camps’ mail.