Iolanda and Salutari family

A few days after the Armistice, Giovanni, one of Antonio and Mariella Salutari’s six children, who was just twelve years old and tending the sheep, came across two escaped prisoners of war. 

The two British soldiers, William Pusey and Walter Leslie Jagger, came from PG 21 Chieti. After the armistice, when the camp was taken over by the Germans, the recaptured soldiers were first transferred to PG 78 Sulmona and from there sent to Germany. It was during the first part of the journey, near Collearmele, that the two comrades managed to jump off the train, hiding in the surrounding mountains, where they received food and shelter from the local population. Giovanni, speaking about that encounter, said:

He came closer and, using gestures, made it clear that he was looking for something to eat. We didn’t have anything left, as we had already eaten our meal. But we told him he could stay with us, and we took him to the sheep pen where the animals would sleep. We slept in a small nearby hut. William ate and stayed with us. After a few days, he said he had a friend who was still in another part of the mountain and that he would go find him. We agreed, and William came back with Leslie.

The Salutari family lived in Forca Caruso — a few scattered houses near the mountain pass between the Subequana Valley and the Marsica region. The family consisted of the parents and their six children. Seventeen-year-old Iolanda was the one tasked with bringing food to the fugitives, who were meanwhile hiding in a cave. William and Leslie remained in the area for several months. With the arrival of the cold weather, they moved into the Salutari family’s home, staying in the hayloft directly above the kitchen. One day, seeing that the Germans were about to enter the house, they rushed to hide under the bed where sacks full of potatoes were stored. With great courage, Iolanda grabbed one of the Germans who had just entered the house under the arm and told him she knew where the “kamerad” he was looking for was, thus diverting the danger away from the home.

Despite the cold and snow, Leslie decided to leave to reach the Allied lines, having learned about the possibility of crossing the Maiella with the help of some local guides. William, however, was hesitant:

“He told me to wait a little longer before leaving”. After about two weeks, he confessed to me: “Leslie, I’m not coming because I’ve fallen in love with Iolanda”.

Setting out on a journey with Martin, another American soldier who had found refuge in the area, Leslie left the Salutari family and William behind but was soon recaptured. He was transferred to the concentration camp in Rothenburg, Germany, where he remained until the end of the war.

William Pusey, on the other hand, remained with the Salutari family. When, in June 1944, the front finally moved away from Abruzzo, the young man—who had meanwhile learned Italian—stood on a balcony and announced to the people of Castelvecchio that he was in love with Iolanda and intended to marry her. The wedding was celebrated on 25 June 1944, at the parish church of SS. Battista and Evangelista in Castelvecchio Subequo.

William and Iolanda later moved to England. Before his death in 1983, William expressed the wish to be cremated and to have his ashes divided: half to be laid beside the grave of his wife Iolanda, who had passed away years earlier in England, and the other half to be scattered in the mountains near Castelvecchio Subequo, where he had found love and spent what, in his memory, was the happiest period of his life. Their daughters later fulfilled his wishes.

Leslie Jagger returned several times to visit the Salutari family after the war.