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Anita, but she had her lohnny and her
children and she made the best of it.
Then 1939, with the' advent of
World War 2, came really bad times.
The older children remained at home.
Rita was working, Bruno was about to
start work. Lidia was in Italy on one
of the Ballila holidays. Pino, Olga,
Ines and Remo were sent to Wooton
Basset in Wiltshire under the schools'
evacuation scheme~ Anita remained in
London ,with the two youngest, Maria
and Dorina. The first year Passed
Lidia who bad left the main party to
stay with relatives in Vernasca didn't
know what to do. She was only
thirteen and as it began to look, as if
Italy was going to join in the War,
she was determined to get home. She
ffound a woman who was coming back
to London and she, persuaded her to
bring her back. Fortunately there was
no bombing in the first year, but soOn
there were traumas going on in
Wooton Basset with Olga and Ines.
They were unbappyand in bad billets.
lohnny hurried down to Wooton Basset
and brought the two little girls
home. Then it all·'happened. Italy
came into the War. They started to
intern all the men. They came for
Johnny. He 'packed his case with his
wife and children crying round him
but for some reason' after investigation
they sent him home. Pietro Was
sacked from'liis job at the Connaught
Rooms where he had worked for
many years. He was heartbroken.
Johnny lost his job, a job that he
loved; he had made a n3rne for
himself in his trade and had a reputation
bar nonel He took great pride in
his work. An those years went' for
nothing. In the midst of all this Anita
was incinta yet again, and the fact
that the bombing had started turned
their lives into tunnoil.
Anita took Ines and Olga doWn to
Wales, where her mother, Maria, and
sister Elisa were staying in a house
belonging to a friend. She left the
girls with her sister and returned to
London to be with lohnny, but the
bombing had got so bad that she, with
Maria a toddler, and Dorina stin a
baby, had to be eVacuated once more.
So it was back to Wooton' Basset,
where at' least she would be near
Remo and Pino who had remained
there. She was billeted' in a small
cottage and it was there that she had
her last baby' Giovanni (young
Johnny) with even less home comforts
than Victoria Dwellings. Meanwhile,
Johnny stayed in London and went to
work as a cook for his sister Maria
(Oddi) who with her husband had a
cafe in'Hammersmith. He got on with
it, but he was a skilled worker and he
never really recovered from the
change. The family were dealt another
devastating blow. Quite early in the
war, when the bombing was at its
height, Pietro (Nonno), who was terrified
of the air raids, spent his nights
Sleeping down in Chancery Lane
underground station. One morning as
he was returning home on the bus
with one or two friends, be was sitting
next to his neighbour Mrs Belli. when
he put his head on ber shoulder. She
thought he was joking and tried to
remove him when she realised that he
had passed away. Poor, Mrs Belli,
what a terrible shockl The family was
devastated. Most of them were still
evacuated. .
1946 and after the devastation of
the war years, financially things were
improving. Brono. Rita,
Lidia and Pino were working,lohnny
(papa) stayed in
the job at the cafe in Hammersmith.
Gradually the
children returned. The family
had increased, so they
rented another flat in Victoria
DWellings. Little Maria,
who was now eight years
old was sleeping with her
Nonna Maria in the rooms
in Liecester Place. She
woke up one night to find that her
Nonna hadn't come to bed. She found
her sitting in the armchair and couldnot
rouse her. So the little girl called
a neighbour then ran up the road to
call her parents. Nonna had slipped
away as she dozed. Maria remembers
clearly to this day, running as fast she
could along the ill lit turning. Little
Saffron Hill. it could only have been
a three minute walk but to the little
girl it seemed like a mile. Poor Anita,
her beloved motherl She mourned for
a long time. They had been through
so much together.
The war had also had an effect on
Lidia, when at the age of eighteen,
American Gl's were spending their
leaves in London. Many of these
young men were Italian Americans
and when' they realised that there
were a considerable number of young
girls around the area who were of
Italian extraction, they would make
themselves known by calling out "Eh!
Paesana". Lidia brought several of
these young men home, where Anita
would give them a plate of pasta and
make them feel at home. When the
war ended, Lidia would settle for
nothing less than to go to America.
Her' father lohnny was against it, but
Anita who understood the desire to
beller oneself, backed her uP. and off
she went.
The sad days weren't over for
Anita. Her beloved lohnny had been
unwell for, a short while, and he
developed, cartenoma and died, leaving
Anita a: widow whilst still in her
40's. The resilience of Anita was
amazing; unfortunately, I, have to
condense our stOlY, because it would
need a book'to cover, everything that
happened. Four of the girls followed
Lidia out to the States where they all
married Americans, the first to return
home for a holiday was Lidia,
Nine years had elapsed and she
came home on the Queen Mary with
three of her children. Can you imagine
the exciteinent created by this
visit. The' tears, of happiness, this
time. Anita, once her children were
all gro'Ml, began' to live. She went to
the U.S. numerous times, where she
Zia Eliza with the chaperone
would be treated like a Queen. I will
never forget the first time she went.
Bruno took her to the ship. his mother
always sociable. a good mixer was
soon chatting'to her cabin mate. He
waved goodbye to his mamma who at
the time was soberly dressed looking
every 'bit the Italian, m,!",ma. She
stayed six months with her daughters.
On her return Bruno and I went to
meet her at Victoria Station. When
she alighted from the train, there was
this smart young· woman with a
modem hair style, red shoes and red
hat - well! Dark pink nail polish, she
looked fantastic. From that day on,
Anita's life took on a new dimension.
She flew back and forth to America
as if it were Brighton. Trips to Italy,
the mountains and the seaside pretty
often. Always a wonderful mother and
nonna to' her children's children. Her
last years, when she lived with her
daughter Olga in Highgate were good
years for her. Her daugliters from
America made frequent visits and no
invite to a party was tUrned down.
Anita returned' from a party one
night. said to Olga that she Was tired.
sat on a chair in the hall and left us -
what a sad day for her children and
for her family, but what a lifel And
~hat lovely memories she left behind.
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