Newsletter July 2026
Welcome to our July newsletter, which updates you on our activities since our last issue in January. As you will read in the Chair’s message, by Prof Phil Cooke, we have been very busy!
This year, half of the 40 Italian students we are welcoming to the UK are descendants of brave families who protected escaped PoWs and other refugees. In one of the articles, we tell some of their stories.
We look forward to welcoming as many of our supporters as possible at the annual lunch at the RAF Club on November 18th. Invitations will be sent out in September. Our next newsletter will follow in January 2027. Please give your feedback here.
John Simkins and David Kettle
Chair's message
In his Chair’s message, Phil Cooke summarises progress in the different spheres of MSMT activity.
Leaving and joining our board of trustees
Nermina Delic
As she steps down from the board, Nermina Delic – who began her involvement with MSMT as a student – picks out the special moments that have given her both enjoyment and a sense of achievement.
Laura Terrell
The Trust is delighted to welcome Laura Terrell onto the board. Here she explains her deep interest in Italy and the Trust, sparked by the stories told her by two uncles who were prisoners of war.
Features
Success! Locating PG 98 San Giuseppe Jato, Sicily
Trevor Dunn tells the thrilling story of how his search for a PoW camp’s location in Sicily inspired two American families to combine with him in pinpointing it. Their own accounts are embedded in Trevor’s report.
Selecting the sources
Ruth Murphy, a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Cambridge, reports on progress in her research, funded by MSMT, into prisoners of war.
Brave Italian families
John Simkins asked seven of this year’s student bursary winners for permission to print their accounts of their families’ bravery in helping escaped prisoners of war and other refugees.
Some of this year's bursary students
Maya
Luca
Riccardo
Lucrezia
Alma
Claudia
Mildred Schutz - Obituary
Rog Stanton remembers supporter Mildred Schutz, who served with the Special Operations Executive in wartime Italy
Build the Future
Our study bursaries are a way to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of the Italian people who rescued so many Allied servicemen on the run in World War Two. Demand for the bursaries currently far outstrips the number we can offer. We want to expand the programme so we can help transform the lives of more young people.
A real success story
In the life of the Trust, we have awarded over 800 bursaries. Many of our alumni have used the experience to further their education and professional careers.
Demand for bursaries far outstrips the number we can offer annually. We are currently able to offer bursaries to approximately 40% of the excellent applicants.
The standard of applications improves every year, making selection harder!
We are building new and effective partnerships in the US, UK and Italy, to gather, curate and publicise the thousands of personal stories of POWs and Italian helpers, so theirs is not a forgotten story.
What's next?
We plan to increase the number of bursaries we offer.
To meet our growth ambitions, we are launching a Fundraising Campaign. We are lucky to have committed and energetic Trustees – all volunteers – ready to lead and deliver that programme.
Please tell the Editors, John Simkins and David Kettle, and Design Consultant George Mitchell, what you think about this newsletter.
Give your feedback here
Newsletter July 2026
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