Z1205/103

Male former brick worker, now living in Italy. b.15.01.1931 (00 mins)Born in Buccino in the Salerno province. His father was in the Carabinieri (branch of Italian police) for 16 years. All lived on the grandparents farm. They had 2.000 olive trees, grew wheat and had a lot of cows. He was one of eight children, 5 girls, 3 boys. They had a nice life, were well off and did not suffer any hardship during the war years. When the British Army landed in Paestum, the Germans were there and there was heavy bombing, they had to run to the mountains. The farm was undamaged but the town got heavy fire. There were 40 dead. He joined the Italian Navy when he was 16 years old. (05 mins)One of his sisters' husbands was prisoner in England. After the war he found it difficult getting a job in Italy and came to work in Bedford at the Marston Valley Brick Company. In 1953 he was invited by his brother in law to come to Bedford. He came with a group of 30 men from different places in the South. It was a shock when he got here. There was snow, it was very cold. He was going to work and coming back in the dark and did not see day light until the week-end. He worked on the press. His mechanical skills were not used. He was going to remain for 3-4 moths, but then a beautiful summer came. He made a lot of friends mainly from the South of Italy and did not go back. He lived with his married sister and there were 7-8 other Italian in the house. It was nice & friendly, sometimes they had Sunday lunch all together. (10 mins)All had different shifts at work. His sister worked in the laundry at the hospital. To go to work at the Marston Valley 7 coaches transported people from Bedford Market Square. At work he met a lot of men from Italy. Looking back he sees those years as some of the best in his life. The work on the press was not hard, just very monotonous. He earned £7 per week. Men who worked in the kilns used to earn more than double by working piece-work. He could go out on Saturday night to the cinema, to dance and still bring home some change from a £1. (15 mins)Each week he gave £2 to his sister for his keep, saved £2-3 for rainy days, the rest spent. To have a new suit made cost him £12-13. He worked only with Italians for the first 4 years. The only English person was his foreman Mr. Smith. There was an Italian interpreter Mr D'Urso. The rapport he had with English workers was always very good, in particular when he went to work in a mechanical workshop. He went for 3 months to English classes run by a Russian woman. He paid 1shilling per lesson. In 1957 at Mander College he started English evening classes, but he only went 3 times. There he met his future wife, she was doing teacher training. (20 mins) He used to go dancing mainly with English girls and a few Italian. The presence of unaccompanied Italian girls in Bedford surprised him. At the time this was not allowed in his home town. He felt that this relaxed kind of behaviour in Bedford was better, it gave young people more freedom. After he left the brickworks he went to work in a mechanical workshop. With his sister's family he moved to Luton where he earned more than in Bedford. Then he got a job at a construction business where he became the foreman of mechanical maintenance. Got married and had a daughter. (25 mins)He had always the desire to go back to live in Italy. It was still difficult to get a job there. His family's land had been split and mostly sold. He had been left part of the house, which he modernised for holiday use. In 1971 met a man from Bologna on a plane who offered him a job selling machinery in England and other countries. He did that until he retired. While he was living in Luton he managed a football team "Virtus" for 16 years. When he left the team dissolved. On retirement he bought an apartment in Cava and now lives there mainly in the winter and Luton in the summer. End of Side A Side B (00 mins)In England he has children and grandchildren to visit. He likes the way of life in England. However the climate is what he likes better in Italy. Also for a pensioner like himself with a very good pension, who does not need anything from the Authorities, he thinks, Italy is the best place to live. When he will not be able to travel any more, he will stay in Italy and hope his children will visit him. He feels England has changed a lot from when he first came, especially the immigration. When he first arrived here there were no coloured people here. Now people have changed, there is too much chasing of money and less time to be sociable. Before, there was much more respect for others. He was never treated badly by any one. Now young people are rude, they have no respect for others or for property. Before houses were never locked or bicycles. In Luton he had his car stolen 3 times lately. (05 min)He was very surprised to see that most of the brickworks have disappeared. Feels sadness at the loss, especially because the brickworks gave a lot of work to people. But he likes the green space that has been created there. He feels grateful that his children have had the possibility in England to study at university without too much hardship for him. His daughter is a gynaecologist and his son has a degree in Business Studies. They are both doing very well and he is very proud of them. End of Interview Original Interview40 mins.

18 February 2003

From: 1930 To: 2003

English. + Italian

item

farms, trees, wheat, cattle, World War Two, British Army, German Army, prisoners of war, snow, brick worker, wages/conditions, cinema, DANCE, immigration, mechanic, Russians, Bedford Mander College, football, theft, SOCIETIES, race issues, University, Buccino, MARSTON MORETAINE, Bedford Market, LUTON, Bologna