Giacomo Peretti

Giacomo, with his wife, Ornella, and their two daughters, lived in Corridonia, where he managed a construction and painting firm. He aided escaped PoWs in the area since the Armistice and until the area was liberated, «giving invaluable service to the Allied Cause». Jimmy Martin and George Isitt (known by their helpers as ‘Giorgio and Giovanni’) were among the first to benefit from the Peretti family’s hospitality, as they hid in their home for about fifteen days:

We were well cared for by him until the situation became too dangerous for us to stay. He then assisted us to get away from the town to some friends a short distance away. From that time on, his whole interest was in contacting ex-prisoners of war, helping them to evade capture, and so to return to Allied lines, until he was taken prisoner by the Germans, badly beaten up, and sentenced to a period of imprisonment

Indeed, Giacomo had been arrested at the end of September 1943, but proofs of his culpability were scarce, and thus he was released after a couple of days. He soon returned to his rescue activities, but to avoid endangering his family, he left his home. 

In December 1943, he guided a group of escapees to Civitanova Marche. The former PoWs were trying to cross the frontline by boat and reach Bari. However, the boat they were expecting never arrived. Nevertheless, this trip gave Giacomo the chance to meet a few officers of the A-Force who asked him to cooperate with them. In the following period, Giacomo helped more than two hundred escaped PoWs, who were escorted to the seashore and evacuated by boat. 

In January 1944, the Allies sent a large number of airdropped supplies for the area’s escapees near Fermo, but the drop was intercepted by the Fascist militia, and hidden in a shed near Montegranaro. To recover the ‘treasure’, Giacomo put together a squad of 19 former PoWs. The group launched an armed assault on the shed, successfully raiding it.

In May 1944, Giacomo was eventually captured by the Fascists, brought to the Macerata prison, tortured, and sentenced to death. However, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he later managed to escape in June. He spent the rest of the time before his area was liberated in hiding.

This man has shown outstanding courage, loyalty and fortitude under appalling conditions. It is undoubtedly due to his efforts that many escapers were able to regain their freedom.