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Oral history recording with Mario Subacchi. 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 2 of 3 (AV 11487-11489)

00.20 Mario’s parents left money when they died and the government used it for educational purposes. Mario still knows people in Bardi; mostly just by name apart from some of his family who he calls them ‘Christmas card relations’. He has a strong desire to go to Italy but always looks forward to returning to Wales. He likens this desire to a bottle of wine that his daughter’s father in law gave him fifty years ago; he never wants to open it but wants to keep it for sentimental value (even though now he knows it will have gone bad). He has been back to Italy to visit and has also taken his children which they enjoyed. When Mario arrived in Wales his younger brother was already here; he remarked that everyone had long faces, his brother replied that it was because of the lack of sun. When he arrived at the station in 1949 he found people reserved. It was a Sunday, which in Italy is a feast day, whereas in Italy everybody wore black, he thought they looked like penguins.

10.30 When he left Bardi for the first time at 7 years old, Mario and his brothers were split up according to their age and sent to boarding schools. At the age of 12 they were split into different classes and Mario, good with his hands, went into woodcarving. He left in 1939, worked for a year and then joined the army when war broke out. He was taken prisoner in Tunisia and an officer arrived at the camp and told them that Italy had changed sides and asked if they wanted to join them. Mario raised his hand as he wanted to get out of the camp; luckily the war ended in his favour. In 1949 he came to Wales to work on a farm. He married and went into his wife’s family’s Fish and Chip business and has now been retired for twenty years. They have five children who all have successful jobs.

17.06 Mario has five brothers. His brother Italo was about to be ordained as a Parish priest, however during the war there were SAS raids around Bardi. The priests would look out for the SAS and ring a warning bell for the people of the village, however, the SAS found out and shot him. The other brothers were partisans in the surrounding area but couldn’t do anything to help. His other brother was a school teacher in French, German and English. The youngest brother had his education was interrupted by the war and he emigrated to Wales before Mario. Mario talks of how each brother went into their chosen profession in the collegio they went to. The school was very disciplined but good, though he recalls that he was a trouble maker and fondly remembers times when he would run away. He talks in detail about the discipline in the school and the games they would play as children.

34.45 All schools in Italy were Roman Catholic, he explains. He goes on to talk about school and the importance of religion within their education. He goes on to talk about the war; many atrocities were committed in Italy and in Bardi. He describes Cremona in detail which is known for its craftsmen and instrument makers. His school prepared children for professional life, teaching; woodcarving and shoemaking. They were taught that if they learnt a craft they would never be in need of bread and butter. He took it up again when he retired and explains how he finds inspiration and how he carries out the work. He would love to teach the craft to younger generations.