Z1205/209

Female. Immigrant Italian. Brickwork telephone switchboard operator. b. 25.04.1949 SIDE A (00 mins)Born in Limatola, Benevento, Italy. Paternal grandfather, a cabinet maker, died before she was born. Paternal grandmother came to England and died here. Brought to England when she was about 7. Has two brothers and a sister. One brother born here; the others came over about 10 months after she and mother came here. Father came over here in 1953. (05 mins)Childhood memories of the journey to England. (10 mins)Came over in September 1956 and Mother went to collect the other two children 10 months later. (15 mins)Family rented one bedroom and a shared kitchen with an Italian woman called Assunta, married to a Pole, in Ridgmont. (20 mins)Thought the meals at school were strange. Wouldn't eat salads. Didn't know what gravy was. Moved to Aspley Guise Hill for a couple of years. (25 mins)Dad used to have a 250cc motor cycle. (30 mins)There were Italian children ay Aspley Guise and at Ridgmont. (32 mins)End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)4 children. Moved to Castle Road, Bedford, then to a cottage in Lidlington. Eventually got a brickwork's house in Stewartby. (05 mins)Gantries ran passed house, taking clay from Brogborough pits to the brickworks. Remembers seeing some of the brickwork chimneys being demolished. (10 mins)Didn't return to Italy until after she got married. Simple childhood toys. (15 mins)Cycling. Left Stewartby School at 15. (20 mins)Her father had three brothers in England and one in Belgium. No family left in Italy. Her mother still had some family there. (25 mins)She got job on the switchboard at Ridgmont brickworks then transferred to Stewartby. (30 mins)Tannoy system for public announcements to workers, to call drivers and so on when there wasn't a telephone. She and another Italian woman, Connie, were the only Italians in the office. (32 mins)End of Side B.CONTINUED ON CS209C2 SIDE A (00 mins)The only women were working in canteens and offices in the brickworks. (05 mins)Her husband came over from Italy to work in the brickworks. (10 mins)Her mother didn't want her to have a long engagement. Her fiancé lived close to her. She was aged 16 years 8 months when she got married. Now married for 38 years. She had less freedom prior to that, because of her Italian mother, who kept a tight rein. (15 mins)When she returned to Italy, after 10 years, everything seemed smaller and people didn't remember her because she had been only 7, whereas she remembered them but they looked a lot older. Has to see all her relations when she visits Italy but would like to see it as a tourist and visit the sights. (20 mins)Sometimes she was asked to translate telegrams which might come to the office in Italian for the workers. Brothers and sisters spoke in English to each other but Mother and Father spoke to them in Italian, with a few English words thrown in. (25 mins)She feels Italian and 0not English. Her children still think of themselves as Italian even though they were born in England. Her Father got close to retirement and decided that he would like to return to Italy to retire there. He Mother wasn't so keen. (30 mins)They had a look around there when they visited Mother's family in Italy but when they came back, he'd changed his mind. He retired 18 months before his 65th. birthday and died just before his 68th. birthday. (32 mins)End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)Father kept himself busy in the garden and doing odd jobs. He built himself a greenhouse. She worked at Stewartby from 1966/7 until 1971 when she was away for 18 months when she had he son, John, then returned to work. (05 mins)There were 3 full-time telephonists but when Hanson took over, everyone was made redundant and had to re-apply for jobs. There was a terrible atmosphere with everyone's job being threatened. She decided to take the redundancy and left. (10 mins)She was able to nurse her Father in his last 6 months. Then she joined Box Clever in Ampthill Road, Bedford and has been there 17 years. Ridgmont and London Brick at Stewartby used to be very friendly places, full of atmosphere and family ties. People stayed for a lifetime and their children came after them. It is very different where she works now. The use of computers has been the biggest change in offices and then the use of mobile phones. (15 mins)End of Side B ORIGINAL INTERVIEW 105 mins.

20 February 2003

From: 1945 To: 2003

item

London Brick Company,
Marston Valley Brick Company Limited,
Hanson Brick Limited

brick worker, immigration, Italians, schools, motorcycles, employment of women, married woman, gardening, computers, Benevento (Province), LIDLINGTON, RIDGMONT, ASPLEY GUISE, Bedford Castle Road, STEWARTBY, Bromborough, Belgium, Italy