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Recordiad sain / Audio recording: Rino Renesto
Oral history recording with Rino Renesto. Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
00.20 Rino was born in Este, province of Padua 13th February 1928 and came to Wales on his own as a young man to work in the steel works. His parents lived in Vescovana in the province of Rovigo. He describes Este and the industries there; mostly agriculture with some small industries. His grandparents were from a farming background which was a hard life; they ploughed the ground with animals. There was a cooperative which would buy their products and distribute them around mills to make flour, pasta and bread. His grandparents worked on the land and then shared 50% of the produce with the landowner.
07.37 Rino knew and got on well with his maternal grandparents. The whole family would get together for annual occasions, for example, the Festa della Madonna. They would visit a sanctuary; there would be a fair to celebrate. The cinema in the town was a big attraction and the only entertainment, after the war they would also have hall dances. He would also go to a music school in his spare time.
15.47 Rino talks about the house and town where he grew up. The community was very friendly and everybody knew everyone within a couple of miles. They had a club organised by the church where the youngsters would meet and play cards, soccer, it was a place where all ages could get together.
22.15 His mother, whose father was a land manager, would look after the women who worked on the farm and his father drove a tractor on the land. They met, married and moved to Este. His father was a mechanic for the farm. Women would carry out manual work, as a lot of staff was needed for that kind of work, for example harvesting the grapes was all manual work. His mother looked after the money in his family. Rino went to school; primary school then on to corso professionale which was more job focused as opposed to secondary school. He talks of his experience in primary school and recalls various teachers and subjects.
31.32 Rino was brought up under the fascist regime though was too young to understand its meaning as a child. Prior to the war Mussolini did a lot of things to improve the quality of Italian life and was appreciated by the people. Rino remembers Mussolini visiting Este where many supporters awaited him; he had built houses and put a scheme into place for support for large families- which he encouraged. He took a lot of land from richer people and gave it to poorer people and promoted the use of machinery in farms. Rino was in school when the war started, around eleven years old. He recalls the shortage of food; everyone had a coupon for food rations, but often there wasn’t the food available. People who had land were luckier at that time and Rino would visit his relatives with land and sometimes bring food from them. Food and clothes shops were empty, and things were sold on a first come first serve basis. If you were the right age it was compulsory to go to war. Those with land allowed a certain amount of people to work the land.
41.35 People saw Mussolini as the saviour of Italy; though there were communists around they weren’t allowed to talk about their political standing. He talks about the Fascist and German army occupation of his town; Rino was too young for military service so he went to work at sixteen for the German army. They had to dig tunnels for the soldiers as they lived near Austrian Italy it was the only route for the Germans back to Germany. The Germans would patrol with guns; teachers and professionals would also be made to dig the tunnels with shovels and couldn’t leave the house unless it was to work. He recalls it as very hard work; though they got paid for the work sometimes they couldn’t find goods to buy.
49.09 He remembers the partisans on the outskirts of the town and an incident his father had with them when he was working for a German Commander. Rino explains their ideals and the good and bad effects they had; some would take advantage of the ‘rebel’ status. He says there was a lot of bravado after the war, there would be a lot of killing. Because of that he tried to detach himself.
53.20 There was not a social life during the war, the cinema carried on and they also went back to the church club. After the war Rino carried out national service near Cuneo where he spent twelve months in clerical work which he describes; sending out the rotas for the squadrons. He enjoyed the work- ‘nice little rest’ he describes it. They had a lot of free time and were quite free.
61.23 Rino decided to move to Wales after his national service; he was on the way to work and passed through the employment office where there was a note asking for workers for Britain. He recalls the move as very well organised, though a year passed before he received a letter on a Friday saying that if he was interested he had to be in Milan by the Monday for a medical. He remembers feeling of enthusiasm, waiting for the coach with a friend in the piazza, not knowing what to expect- the pulling factors being curiosity and the money.
68.32 The workers took a train from Padua, where fifty-three of boys from the area were travelling to Britain to work. He describes the journey; stopping in Zurich station, Rino and his friends went to buy postcards and missed the train. Luckily they were put on another train. They then took a train to Calais to get the boat to Folkestone, a train to London and a coach to Wales.
73.00 They lived in Morriston in a hostel that had been used for American troops, which was now full of workers of all nationalities. They were provided with information on where they were working and how to get there. Many young people left Italy after the war; the main reason was for work. He doesn’t think that Italy missed the man power, but that it created prosperity for the government. Emigrants would have sent back money to their relatives in Italy.
79.12 Rino didn’t spend much time in the hostel, he worked long hours and so slept in his spare time; they got up at half past three to start work at six and did various other shifts. For a year and a half he worked in Port Talbot for the tinplate works though not on the rolling mills which he explains was hard work.
85.00 Rino then went to work in the Iron works as a train driver until 1958. He explains the Iron works in great detail and other strenuous jobs that Italian workers would carry out. Rino had the job of taking away the slag a couple of miles with the train from Briton Ferry to Baglan.
101.08 Rino enjoyed the work as he could work independently. He worked with a lot of Welsh people and learnt English at work. His contract lasted for four years and explains that the employer was responsible for workers during that time.
107.20 After staying in lodgings Rino went to lodge in a private house near his work; he paid for lodging, food, washing, cleaning. He worked six days a week, with one long weekend off out of three, sometimes working all weekend with one day off in the week. The workers didn’t have a lot of time for a social life; he would go out with his friends with motorbikes to different towns, they went to the Porthcawl beach resort and to dances. He remembers buying a Navy suit with one of his first pay checks, it cost about half a week’s wages, about four pounds.