© 2010 Paul Forte

Aunty Mary recently told me this story about Nonna Filomena

Mussolini Busts

There is little doubt that, in pre-war days and before his involvement with the fascist regime, Mussolini was highly regarded by many Italians.  He was known for putting Italy back on its feet, for bringing order to the country, for the reclamation of huge areas of swamp land and generally for modernising Italy.  Trains ran on time and children went to school.

It was therefore not uncommon for Italian families to display pictures or other memorabilia of the man. An uncle of mine, amongst others, was involved in selling replica busts of Mussolini and two of them found their way to the mantelpiece at the Hove Shop, where my grandparents and their children lived in the 1930s.

On the day that war was declared in 1939, it was clear that Italy had allied itself to Nazi Germany and nonna Filomena turned to the two busts and, as if talking to Mussolini himself, said "You've let us down - how dare you do that!".  She picked them both up, took them out to the garden and, in a rage, smashed the two heads together.  The force used must have been significant, as I have heard from other sources that several people struggled to even dent the busts, but in this case so great was her fury that nonna Filomena smashed them into thousands of pieces with relative ease. 

Little did she know, however, that a Jewish lady, who had regularly visited the shop to give the children Italian lessons, was on her way to the police to report the family.  The police arrived the following day but soon left, satisfied that everything was in order.

It is sad, however, that during the early stages of the war, the Italian community received a considerable amount of abuse.  Many were interned but thankfully grandfather had naturalised the whole family in 1928, although ill feeling against the Italians remained.  During the blackout, my grandparents would put a sign up outside the blackout blinds saying "We are naturalised British Citizens".  Nonna Filomena was often heard to say "I'm not Mussolini's brother and my children are in the British forces", when faced with people questioning their nationality.  Regular customers at the Hove Shop were reduced to tears as they were so upset to see how the family was treated and how nonna Filomena was forced to justify their allegiance to Britain.

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