At age 98, Dennis Brock's dream is
to find the Italian lieutenant who saved his legs.
This is why the British army veteran, who is also considered
the oldest bell-ringer in the world, launched an appeal in the
Daily Telegraph to find the officer - if he is still alive, or
at least his family members if he isn't - to thank them.
Brock, a resident of Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey, was
imprisoned by the Germans in North Africa in June 1942 and ended
up in a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy, where he suffered from
malnutrition. At one point in 1943, he was at risk of losing his
legs when he met an Italian lieutenant who used a groundbreaking
treatment to save his legs, injecting a serum into his lymphatic
gland.
Brock told the Daily Telegraph that "he did an experiment,
with my agreement. He said 'you'll never walk again if it
fails', but it didn't fail. I climb up bell-tower stairs and I
can still drive a car."
He only remembers the officer's name, Antonino Alessi, his
age (25) and that he was deployed in the Ferrara area.
Brock tried unsuccessfully to contact the hospital where he
was hospitalized after the war and then asked the British press
to help spread his request and convey it across Italy as well.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
