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Recordiad sain / Audio recording: Gennaro Autiero
Oral history recording with Gennaro Autiero who was born in Naples in 1931 and moved to Wales in 1956. Part 3 of 4 (AV 11342 - AV 11345). 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 Gennaro recalls that name days were celebrated in Italy more so than birthdays, Gennaro was the patron Saint of Naples. Baptisms, first communion and weddings were also big occasions. Gennaro continues to talk about being a child during the fascist regime and the difficult and chaotic political situation after the war. He was unlucky regarding his schooling and finished middle school at sixteen only because he was too old to continue. When he finished he worked as a waiter. 09.09 Gennaro describes his experiences on National Service- one of the best times of his life. He travelled extensively and spent time in Trieste working as a radio transmitter during conflict between the Italian and Yugoslav areas, where he finished his National Service. He goes on to talk about the rules, social life and people he encountered. After National Service he was unemployed for some time. 22.03 Gennaro initially applied to emigrate to be a waiter and didn’t undergo any application processes. He describes the application process, interviews and medical examinations he underwent the second time he emigrated. They gave him a book describing life in Wales: weather, culture and manners. His first impression in London was that it always seemed foggy because of the coal used. He recalls the journey and his arrival in Swansea. 29.53 Gennaro lodged in Morriston the second time he emigrated, and worked in the tinplate industry with a contract before he left Italy including housing and work. He travelled around always working steelworks: every time they changed their address they had to go to the police station which is evident from his scanned documents. There were many Italians in Swansea. He describes how different the surroundings were and talks about the food yet they had to accept what they found. 36.28 At Morriston the workers stayed in an ex army barracks, conditions were very simple with a canteen but possibility of cooking for oneself. There were Polish, German, Greek and Turkish workers who got on well. If they caused trouble they would be sent back home. He describes work in the tinplate factory in Gorseinon; he describes the processes and describes the atmosphere as inferno. Gennaro moved on to work for a steel company in Cardiff when that closed. 43.45 From Cardiff, Gennaro was sent on to Middlesbrough where he worked in a steel company where it was less physical work. He describes shift work: six days a week- starting Sunday night, finishing Friday morning, eight hour days. It was obligatory to be part of the union for which they had to pay a certain amount a week. He describes differences between the places he lived though finds it difficult to pin point differences in people. Gennaro talks of his social life in Swansea: Italians would go to cafe bars (Salvatore’s) whereas the English went to pubs (The Metropolitan). He describes their different looks- the teddy boys and the Italian boys, they didn’t clash very much. In response to asking if people liked the Italian culture he says there are always people who like you and who don’t, good and bad people. 59.47 Before he moved to North Wales, Gennaro worked in the railway in Chester. He met his wife in Middlesbrough- in a coffee bar in Stockton, Rossi’s where they went often, and they were married in Middlesbrough in 1958. They then moved to Wrexham in September 1958 where he worked in a slaughterhouse then in the lager brewery until 1982. Maria had an uncle in Wrexham and there was a big Italian community there with whom they would organise dances and trips. Gennaro was the chairman of the association that organise these trips.