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Oral history recording with Luigi ("Gino") Vasami. 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 6 (AV 11492 - 11497)

00.12 The prisoners ate Italian food and each person brought a different skill to the camp; cooking skills, electricians, painters etc. They wore a uniform; it was a dark colour and the coat was in a very heavy material- Gino’s mother would put it on his bed to keep him warm at night on the farm. He goes on to talk of his mother’s experiences during the war; in Italy his mother would be brought food by her brothers who were too young to go to war, she couldn’t have survived without them. Only when his father was working in the farm after the war, would he send back money. His mother had no idea what Wales would be like; they had lived in a town- it was a big shock for her when she arrived to the desolate Welsh countryside. Gino’s parents did try to go back to Italy when they were older yet it seemed foreign to them by that time.

14.11 Gino notes the main differences between Italian and British people; one being that, in his area, the rules of society were bent to suit some certain people’s needs. Gino has some memories from when he was a child in Italy; mostly of farm life and the self sufficient lifestyle. In particular he recalls it as very noisy, yet with the natural sounds of the animals and crickets at night. On his journey to Wales he recalls that the family got sick from eating watermelon in Naples and had to go to hospital setting their journey back. The famer was unsure whether they would make it and in fact, when they arrived they were extremely weak.

20.48 Gino talks about his mother; who worked at home so wasn’t involved in the community and so took more time to settle in. He recalls her work ethic and ability to save; which she passed on to her children. He remembers her ‘working hands’. Gino points out again how lucky the family were to be treated so well by the farmer that they worked for. He and his sister had some difficulties at school but things became easier when they learnt Welsh; both of them are Welsh speakers.