The school project led her to explore the life of a World War I soldier, delving into online archives and analysing historical documents.

The soldier happened to be Brooke’s maternal ancestor, Paolo Sulfaro.

“I learned a lot of interesting things about my great-great-grandfather, Paolo,” she wrote in the assignment she presented to her Italian teacher, Floriana Torelli.

“I didn’t know I had an Italian relative who fought in World War I.

“I enjoyed discovering my family history.”

Thanks to a chat with her grandmother, who hails from Sicily, Brooke learned about her great-great-grandfather’s departure for the war and his death on the Front, for which he received a medal.

This surprise discovery sparked her interest in that historical period.

She analysed the different documents her family had kept, including many published on a blog by a relative.

Among the documents she came across was a certificate signed by the King of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele, as well as Paolo’s birth certificate and papers relating to his military service.

From these sources, Brooke was able to determine the physical traits of her great-great-grandfather, the names of his relatives and details of his death.

Paolo’s name was also carved into a commemorative plaque dedicated to World War I soldiers, which still stands in a church in the Sicilian town of Giardini.

An extract from Brooke’s project, originally in Italian

Age at enlistment

Paolo enlisted on October 23, 1916; he was 34 years old.

Enlistment details

Paolo had been deemed unfit in 1902; he had not been accepted because he had thoracic insufficiency syndrome and oligaemia.   

Paolo was declared fit and enlisted on October 23, 1916.

Paolo arrived at the Front on February 9, 1917.

Position in the army

Soldier on the frontline – 149th Infantry Regiment.

Service locations

Tenth Battle of the Isonzo against the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Injuries/illnesses

Thoracic insufficiency syndrome – a chest wall deformity that interferes with lung function and development.

Oligaemia – a condition in which the total blood volume is reduced.

Did he survive the war?

Paolo was officially declared missing on May 22, 1917.

He fought and died on Mount Vodice in the Tenth Battle of the Isonzo, in Gorizia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Interesting details

On August 9, 1908 at 11:15 am, Paolo married Gaetana Sterrantino.

Paolo was a farmhand.

He couldn’t read or write.