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I joined the army in 1939, I have no recollection of feeling scared about war, we all knew war was coming. I was in the 56 London Division and I remember us going to Hyde Park for our training. From there we went down to Kent, and onto Eastbourne and Essex. I was a cook, and so once I went to a unit I was in charge of cooking. Later I was made a sergeant in the Royal Army Service Core Unit, we moved all over the world. From Scotland we moved overseas on a liner called ‘The California’, we thought we were going to Amsterdam but ended up in Cape Town! Later we moved onto the ‘New Amsterdam’ liner; that took us up the Suez, from this point we were all dispersed to different locations including Baghdad, Cairo, Sicily and many other places. Upon arrival in Milan I was put in charge of Milan Central station. It was my duty to ensure that troops coming into Milan were fed and clothed before being dispatched. My troops and I were supplying 500 meals a day at the peak of the war!

Despite the chaos and uncertainties of wartime living, I managed to find love whilst in Italy. I married my Italian wife during the war and we lived in the hotel outside the station. By the time war ended I hadn’t been home for five years, I left Italy independently and was soon after followed by my wife. We settled in England and raised our family here, but made regular trips back to Italy.

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