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Oral history recording in English with Joseph ("Joe") Moruzzi.. Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Part 1 of 3 (AV 11447-11449)

00.00 Joseph was born in Cardiff on 25th July 1950. His paternal grandfather was Giuseppe Moruzzi from Grezzo in Bardi, who married Joseph’s grandmother in Italy in 1920, and moved to Wales to work for Joseph’s maternal grandfather in the cafe business. Joseph describes his paternal grandmother as formidable; she ran a cafe with his uncle in Caerphilly which he describes. His paternal grandparents moved away from Italy to find work. Originally many Italians went to London and were involved with music. At the turn of the 20th century there was boom in the mining, steel and iron industries. People saw business opportunities for cafes as a social alternative to pubs and chapels.

05.09 The cafes sold a mixture of things, not just Italian food. Ice Cream was something they introduced through Italian cafes. They would sell them in the cafes and in hand carts around the town to local people; often in mining communities so the workers and their families. He suspects it would have been Italian coffee; coffee machines were from Italy. One vivid memory he has if of the steak and kidney pies they would steam with a pipe from the coffee machine which would smell and fall apart. The cafes were always lively and friendly and would be open from early in the morning to late at night to catch the shift workers. They would bring people over from Italy to work in the cafes.

10.23 Joseph and his wife often visit the place where his grandparents grew up where often English is heard more than Italian in the summer evenings as many emigrants go back to visit. Both the Antoniazzi and Moruzzi family worked on the land; the grandfathers were friends as boys and would take cattle into the mountains together. His maternal grandfather moved to Wales to open cafes with his brother, his paternal grandfather then came over and worked for them, then brought one of the cafes to run himself. His maternal grandfather moved to Wales just before the First World War. His maternal grandmother was working in a cafe during the First World War as people congratulated her in the cafe when the Italians joined the British.

13.44 Joseph found out a lot from his maternal grandfather who would tell a lot of Italian folk stories and recall life on the farm. Relations would come over and visit and the whole family would tell stories which he loved to absorb. His maternal grandfather told him about being involved in the First World War in Italy- he took horses up to the front line. His paternal grandmother was born in Sweden and told him stories about Stockholm; the contrast between a modern European city and rural Italy. Her father was very political, he predicted that Germany would invade Sweden and brought his family to Italy around 1914/15. As soon as they arrived in Italy, Italy declared war and his great uncles were called up to war- they survived but it was a tragic story.

18.00 His paternal grandfather was interned during the war on the Isle of Man because he hadn’t taken British Nationality. All ‘enemy aliens’ were interned. He was interned with relatives and friends. The local police came to their house and invited them to the police station. People who ran Italian businesses were suddenly taken away, their families didn’t know what was happening to them. His grandfather in the Isle of Man was very lucky not to have been taken onto the Arandora Star; a ship that took German Italian internees to Canada which was sank by a German U Boat. His grandfather was interned whereas his uncle was in the RAF in a Top Secret Radar for Britain during the war; he sees this as very ironic. The reaction would have been tough to the Italians in a wartime situation. Some Italians experienced abuse, after some time normal relations were restored.

22.30 This first major wave of Italian immigrants to the area socialised a lot; they had Italian dances, sports days, Scampagnata. The second generation would have mixed more with Welsh people. His paternal grandfather came over after the Second World War. His maternal grandparents who came over first had more of a traditional Italian house whereas his father’s parents perhaps were more anglicised and integrated; they had sons who were born in Britain and went to school in Britain. His mother came over when she was 27 and so was already very Italian. He enjoyed going to both houses, seeing the contrasts between both.

26.09 His maternal grandfather and great uncle had cafes in South Wales- they would take it in turns to spend a year in Wales and a year in Italy. When his grandfather was in Italy war broke out so he got stuck there. When the German soldiers came to the area life became very tough. In the Bardi area there was a lot of Partisan activity- Germans would do ‘rastallimenti’, sweeps in the mountains looking for Partisans, sending people to Germany for labour, taking over farms. The SS and Gestapo were there. British soldiers heard that in Bardi there were a lot of people with connections in South Wales- they were hidden and helped to escape. It was a great risk to the people- penalties were severe for harbouring prisoners.

30.00 There was a lot of support for the fascists though Joseph’s grandfather was anti-fascist. He helped the soldiers, he felt he owed loyalty to Britain. Between 1944 and 45 there was a virtual civil war in Italy. He describes the ironic situation of his grandfathers; one interned by the British and the other helping them in Italy. Following the war his maternal grandfather returned to his cafe in Britain. He was getting older and wanted to bring his son over to work in Italy. Immigration laws were strict- he was assisted by George Thomas, a Welsh politician. He was advised to get references from the British soldiers he had aided during the war. They replied and informed the British authorities that he had helped them. He came over in 1955 and stayed there until he died. His mother and that side of the family were in Italy during the war. She had a brother who died during the war. They communicated with his maternal grandfather by letters whilst he was in Wales.