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Oral history recording in English with Antonio Marchesi. Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

00:00:01 Antonio Marchesi was born in 1923 in a small town called Padria in the Sassari province. His grandparents died before he was born, together with his father. His mother remarried and Antonio found a father figure in his stepfather who he called papa. Until 1933 his family managed to create a small business from shops and land, but that year his stepfather decided to immigrate to Australia to seek his fortune. The whole family was to follow him but due to the rules of the fascist regime they weren’t able to leave the country. As a result they didn’t hear from him throughout the war period, during which Antonio fought in Russia. Due to the death of his mother he decided to abandon his military career. He returned and met the woman who was to become his wife.

00:05:18 When the interviewer asks Antonio to talk about memories of his hometown, he can’t give much information as he lived there for only three months before the family moved to Sassari. He returned to Padria as an adult, with his brother, and seeing his birthplace for the first time brought really touched him. The only memories he has of his natural father, he gained through his brothers and sisters; he doesn’t even have a photograph of him. He has very fond and happy memories of his stepfather however, who brought him up as his own son.

00:10:15 He remembers his mother vividly, describing her as a woman of steel. He recalls that she would ride a horse with a gun like a man. Used to hard work, she wasn’t scared of anything and in their most difficult times, when their stepfather was in Australia, she managed to take all responsibility and make many sacrifices for the good of the children. He still remembers the last time his mother slapped him; at twenty years of age. At the age of eighteen he went to military college. His mother worked in a dairy shop, grocery store and in a restaurant, all owned by the family. But once she was on her own she had to make the decision to sell all but the dairy shop which she then made into a grocery store. All of his brothers, including the ones from his other’s second marriage contributed to the wellbeing of the Marchesi family, particularly working hard during the war years.

00:16:20 His memories of wartime are very painful; rationing meant they would throw nothing away, not even potato peelings. When he is asked to expand on the work in the countryside, he explains that the land was owned by his mother’s family and when she married his father they tried to rear special breeds of animals. From a story told by his mother, Antonio learnt that his father died from being bored by a bull that he had bought in Genoa and was transporting back to their home. His mother then met baba Andrea, Antonio’s stepfather, he was her childhood sweetheart but left to buy a gold mine in Australia and became bankrupt. At the end of the war the children managed to get in contact with their stepfather again, who was in New Zealand ready for the family to move over. Unfortunately, on hearing the good news, his mother became ill and died. As a result only his stepsister Teresa and his brother Egido decided to join their father in 1950.

00:22:13 Talking about the fascist regime he recalls that he was a Balilla, Avanguardista and finally a Premilitare- all different stages the youth had to go through to became a fascist. Furthermore, he doesn’t completely condemn Mussolini who, in his opinion, did a lot of good for the people of Italy; he helped the farmers, provided education and created employment.

Summary Part 2 00:00:01 When the interviewer asks Antonio to describe his experiences he talks about the Balilla, and about how proud he felt going on marches and holding a wooden gun. Even more when he became an avanguardista he felt as if he was almost a man and having to carry out training made him gave him sense of strength and importance. When he left the country for Russia, he understood how difficult the military life was and how difficult the relations were between the fascist army and the King’s army. As a child, however, he saw Mussolini as a sort of Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. He was a superman for Antonio and he gave give the possibility to go to school and escape from being illiterate which happened a lot to the youth of that time.

00:08:33 The interviewer then asks Antonio to talk about the first time he met his wife. He saw her for the first time crossing the road and immediately wanted to meet her. However, in those days he first had to write a letter of introduction to her family in order to meet her. He did so with the help of his sister in law. After eight months they were married and in order to support his new family Antonio decided to go and work in the mines.

00:14:07 He remembers it as a difficult and straining job, which he endured for around three years. He subsequently returned to Sassari to be with his wife and after trying various jobs, he started to work as an electrician. However, even then things didn’t go to plan and so he applied to emigrate to Switzerland and Great Britain for work, and would take whichever offer arrived first, which in the end was the British application in 1951. That’s when his adventure started. For the first nine months he lived in Maltby in Yorkshire where the climate was completely different from the Sardinian climate; cold and snowy. He started English classes there and then moved to Scotland where he started his first job in Britain. Unfortunately he didn’t get on well with the Scottish people or the climate and eventually his boss recommended a transfer to South Wales where he could work in the mines and carry out a mechanics course. He then started to work for the tinplate factory in Swansea.

Summary Part 3 00:00:01 As a result from working in the tinplate industry Antonio was able to bring his family over to Wales. In the first years they lived in a cottage without lighting or gas, when their second daughter was born. They then bought the house where they have lived to this day. Antonio worked for a number of years in the mines which he enjoyed. Unfortunately due to health problems he had to stop and started working a factory. ‘All emigrants leave with a dream, with a suitcase full of dreams that are very very difficult to realise’ is the phrase that Antonio uses to express his aspirations and his dream to be able to work in Britain for a few years, save some money and then return to Italy. However, this dream remained in that suitcase and never came true. But, overcoming the difficulties they faced, his family managed to succeed and integrate into the Welsh community.

00:23:29 When the interviewer asks Antonio to talk about his journey to Britain he remembers going to Milan, and then, after the first selection, they took him to London. He explains how difficult it was getting used to the food; completely different to the food he was used to in Sardinia, but with time he managed to get used to eggs for breakfast and tea with milk.

Summary Part 4 00:00:01 Antonio talks about the Welsh people he met at his workplace, who talk him to speak Welsh and as a result he started to forget English. The more time he spends in Wales the more Antonio and his family integrate within the community. They went on to create an Italian community in Wales as more Italians moved to the area, with which they organised trips, events with the Italian immigrant community in Wales.

Summary Part 5 00:00:01 Antonio is very traditional and really enjoys celebrating Italian traditions in order to keep his Italian identity intact and remind his children of their origins. Even today they produce wine with grapes that are sent over from Italy. He also keeps a vegetable garden and makes tomato sauce made in the Italian style.

00:04:48 Antonio and his wife return to Italy often, and when he arrives at his homeland he still feels reborn. However, he also feels betrayed by his country and he was made to leave to make a living. However, he maintains that despite everything he still feels Italian and if he ever had to choose between the two countries, he would choose Sardinia.

Summary Part 6 00:00:01 Antonio is very traditional and really enjoys celebrating Italian traditions in order to keep his Italian identity intact and remind his children of their origins. Even today they produce wine with grapes that are sent over from Italy. He also keeps a vegetable garden and makes tomato sauce made in the Italian style.

00:04:48 Antonio and his wife return to Italy often, and when he arrives at his homeland he still feels reborn. However, he also feels betrayed by his country and he was made to leave to make a living. However, he maintains that despite everything he still feels Italian and if he ever had to choose between the two countries, he would choose Sardinia.