During his three-month internment at Saughton prison his father, grandfather and uncle, who had also been detained, were among the 446 Italians who drowned when the ship carrying them to Canada, the Arandora Star, was sunk by a German U-boat.
Under sin tremånaders internering på Saughtonfängelset var hans far, farfar och farbror, som också hade gripits, bland de 446 italienare som drunknade när fartyget som transporterade dem till Kanada, Arandora Star, sänktes av en tysk ubåt.