Katrina has been writing about POWs since 2012 including articles for Sabretache (the journal of Military Historical Society of Australia), the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Our Mob Serving Country website as well as websites and print publications by military unit associations.
On 30 June 2026, Long Journey Home: The perilous escapes of Anzac POWs from fascists in wartime Italy, will be released by Allen & Unwin.
Katrina Kittel attended The University of Newcastle where she completed a degree in history and a Master degree. During her 25-year career at The University of Newcastle, she was employed in administrative, research assistant and librarian roles. At Charles Sturt University, Katrina undertook postgraduate studies in Library Science. Katrina is a member of the Professional Historians Australia.
Gunner Col Booth NX60337 never spoke to his adopted daughter Katrina about his war. Katrina knew Col had fled a prison camp and hot-footed it to Switzerland. Family legend spoke about Col’s esteemed POW mate Peter Erickson. He’d saved Col’s life, somewhere in Italy, by killing someone about to kill Col.
In 2011, Katrina’s son readied to wear his grandfather Col ‘s war medals for Anzac Day. What could Katrina tell him about Col?
Seeing some of Col’s small black and white photos on a website authored by former POW Bill Rudd (pictured), Katrina contacted Bill. What followed was an eight-year research collaboration and friendship between Katrina and Bill. Interest in two POWs- Col Booth and Peter Erickson- stretched to two thousand POWs, the Australian POW cohort in Italy.
Seeing some of Col’s small black and white photos on a website authored by former POW Bill Rudd, Katrina contacted Bill. What followed was an eight-year research collaboration and friendship between Katrina and Bill. Interest in two POWs- Col Booth and Peter Erickson- stretched to two thousand POWs, the Australian POW cohort in Italy.
Since the death of Bill Rudd in 2019, Katrina acts a research team member for of Bill Rudd’s website.
She was invited in 2016 to write preface for an Italian edition of Australian Partisan by Ian Sproule and Lynette Oates.
Katrina enjoys providing research assistance to others. She assisted Dr Jackie Huggins and Ngaire Jarro to obtain sources about their father in Japanese captivity 1942- 1945 for their book Jack of Hearts QX11594 released 2022 by Magabala Books.
Shooting Through: Campo 106 escaped POWs after the Italian Armistice was her first book, self-published in 2019.
Katrina was selected for ACT Writers Centre’s Hardcopy 2017 program for emerging non-fiction writers. Katrina was awarded the Sabretache journal’s Emerging Writer prize for 2013.
She is also writing children’s picture books, and has completed Australian Writers’ Centre’s course in writing picture books.
Katrina is employed in public libraries. She enjoys swimming at her favourite beaches or searching the shelves of vintage and op shops.
Katrina Kittel 