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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
Oral history recording in English with Raffaele Quaglia. Recorded as part of the Italian Memories in Wales project (2008-10), delivered by ACLI-ENAIP and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Summary part 1 00:01 Raffaele Quaglia was born on the 26th of November 1919, in Rocca d’Aspide in the Salerno province. He then moved to Altavilla Islandina when his father bought property there. Before the war Raffaele worked for a building company, but soon after he returned to work on the family’s land as employment in factories were reserved for those who didn’t own land.
04.19 Thanks to working in the fields, the Quaglia family had a secure food supply which saved them from starvation during difficult war times. He remembers that before the war there was enough work for everyone, but during and immediately after the situation worsened gravely and no work could be found.
Summary part 2 00:01 Raffaele remembers that before going to war, Mussolini created various employment opportunities, but he stresses, you had to become a fascist in order to enjoy them. Fascism also meant that Raffaele could go to school until the third year of primary school because he introduced schools in rural areas, which until then were ignored by the government. Raffaele also has vivid memories of the war, which took the twenty year old Raffaele to Africa; Tobruk and El Alamein, to fight, where more than 10,000 Italians and Germans were killed. Raffaele also carried out military service in Naples and remembers how dangerous the city was as it was constantly bombed by the Allied Forces.
Summary part 3 00.01 The interviewer asks Raffaele to explain the arms used during the war and he recounts that they used various tyes of cannons, whereas the fanteria were specialised in machine guns. Raffaele remmbers that a mines were also used, which were spread across vast areas of land and caused the death of many soldiers.
05.05 The interviewer then asks Raffaele to talk about food supplies and he explains that they weren’t good because they would often be covered in flies and, particularly at night they would eat the flies as well as the food. The worst problem, however, was the lack of water; each soldier only had a quarter of a litre of water per day, which was extremely difficult due to the heat. The situation got better when they were taken prisoner by British forces, who ensured they had sufficient food and water supplies.
10.17 Raffaele remembers that during the night they slept in the desert and would often create a hole in the sand to protect themselves from the cold of the desert wind. In those situations the hygeine conditions were terrible and they would often wake to find themselves covered in flies.
Summary part 4 00.01 Raffaele explains that, in his opinion, Germany and Italy lost the Battle of El Alamein because many Americans fought in the battle, who were much better equipped with modern arms and the most up to date technology. Subsequently, the Allied Forces landed in Sicily and that same year peace was declared. The northern advance in Italy was very difficult for the Anglo-American forces as they were often head to head with German forces, having to fight to the death.
10.45 Raffaele remembers that once the battle in Africa had finished, he taken prisoner by the British and sent on a ship without being told where he was going. He realised that he was being taken to Great Brtiain, their first stop was Scotland. Once they arrived the first thing that hit Raffaele was the climate; it was April and it was still snowing.
Summary part 5 00.01 As soon as they arrived in Scotland they were taken to a prisoner of war camp where 800 other soldiers had been talen prisoner by the British forces. They all lived in the same wooden barracks, but they were treated well and they were sent as a work force for local farms.
05.20 Raffaele explans that he stayed in Scotland for around two months, as the camp in Scotland was actually just a temporary camp. They were then transferred to other farms around Britain. Raffaele was taken to a camp in Wales where he started to work for local farms. He has positive memories of that period, because, he stresses, they were treated well and above all given enough food and water.
17.20 The relations between the prisoners and the farmers were also positive, apart from isolated cases. They weren’t paid very much, four shillings a week, but the camp gave prisoners 35 cigarettes a week. Raffaele had to work for four years without changing his job in order to acquire a residency, so he went to work in the tinplate industry and stayed there for thirteen years.
Summary part 6 00.01 The interviewer asks Raffaele how he learnt English and he explains that he managed to learn it thanks to work in the factory and also outside of work, but not through books or schooling. He met the Italian community mostly through the Catholic church, through which they would organise parties, inviting all the Italian community from the area.
Summary part 7 00.01 In 1946, Raffaele returned to Italy and stayed there for eight years, but due to the economic situation in Italy it was very difficult. Raffaele wrote to his last employer in the factory in Wales and as a result was able to return back to Wales. The itnerviewer asks Raffaele to explain how he met his wife and he replies that they knew each other in Italy but then they wrote letters for about two years because he had to uphold his work contract in Wales. Subsequently he went to Wales to marry her.
10.00 The interviewer asks Raffaele to explain jobs he has had in Wales. He explains that after working on farms, he joined a brick company and then went to work for the Iron works, which was a very hard and difficult job. However, that opportunity allowed him to integrate with the Welsh community.
