GIUSEPPE SATORNETTI

My father died in 1956, when I was only eighteen months old, Giuseppe married my mother, Joyce, in 1969 when I was fifteen years old and they lived at 19 Surrey Road in Peckham, south London. He did not talk much about his past but we know that he was one of seven brothers and sisters: Cesario (1918), Carmine (1920), Anna (1925), Giuseppe (1929), Paolo (1930), Michela (1932) & Maria (1939). Their father, Nicolino (1893), was a farmer and he grew olive trees. They had some land a short distance from the sea where they built their house. It had his father's name painted in white across the front and the date 1948. Vasto is in the province of Chieti on the Adriatic side of Italy.

Giuseppe served in the army during the fifties. He was a border guard and his regiment, 114 Reggimento Fanteria, was stationed in Gorizia on the border of which was then Yugoslavia. He lived for some years in France where he worked down the mines. He learned to speak the language and liked to ride around the country on his motorbike. He came to England in 1956 and amongst other jobs his Certificate of Registration says that he worked at the Royal Marsden  Hospital  in Fulham Road and as a glass inspector at the Key Glassworks  factory in Cold Blow Lane, New Cross. Later he worked as a supervisor for London Transport at the New Cross bus depot.

Giuseppe was brought up in the Catholic faith. He preferred to practice his religion privately instead of go to church and carried a picture of the Virgin Mary and the Madonna of Punta Penna in his wallet. The image of the Virgin changes into one of John Bosco, the patron saint of young people, depending on which angle it is held. The  Madonna is much revered in his home town. Every year, on the second Sunday of May, a procession is held in Her honour on the promontory of Punta Penna. It leaves from the small church in Via Madonna Punta Penna and goes down to the port where the participants, holding the statue of the Madonna, put to sea in fishing boats. This must have made an impression on him as a young man.

In 1970 Giuseppe took us in his Austin Morris 1100 car to stay in Italy for three weeks. On the way we stopped for one night at a hotel overlooking Lake Como in Switzerland. Nicolino still lived at the family home with Giuseppe's sister Anna. We spent a lot of time on the beach and swimming in the sea but we also explored the town which has many historical buildings and went to see the small church at Punta Penna. Sometimes the dry heat of the day was very intense and we would have to retire for a siesta. Lizards and snakes slithered around in the grass. Giuseppe did not like reptiles. I'm not sure why. He was not arachnophobic like me though! Anna cooked all our meals. At night it was cool and we would sit outside the house listening to the sound of the crickets and looking up at the stars. At the time of our visit, Nicolino did not own a clock. He didn't need one. He could tell what time of day it was by looking at the shadow of the sun as it passed along the doorstep!

Giuseppe told me he nearly got into trouble once during the war. The German army supply trains used to stop nearby on their way to the south of the country and together with friends they stole some leather boots. Had they been caught it might have had serious consequences!

My step-father was very house-proud and always liked to keep his home clean and tidy. He enjoyed working in the garden too. Perhaps it reminded him of when he worked on his father's land in Italy. He was very good at DIY and built his own garden shed with bricks and mortar. He also constructed a lean-to so that if anyone needed to go out to the shed for provisions they would not get wet if it rained.

He loved animals and his tortoiseshell cat, Marnie, followed him everywhere he went. At night, she would curl up next to him on the bed. A vixen once made a den underneath a neighbour's shed and had a litter of cubs. Giuseppe would put scraps of food out for them and sometimes left over cat food. He liked to go for a stroll in Peckham Park which has one of the largest colonies of parakeets in the country. It was there that he occasionally met up with two friends, an elderly man from Turkey and a woman from the West Indies.

In the evenings, after his walks, he would come home and prepare his meals. He enjoyed cooking. One of his favourite chefs on television was Aynsley Harriott. Most of his meals were based upon traditional Italian dishes, but he liked to improvise and experiment with different ingredients. Whenever I picked blackberries in Nunhead cemetery we would eat them with some ice cream! He enjoyed watching his favourite television programmes, especially soaps, game shows, documentaries and football matches at the weekends. He was a keen Chelsea supporter. His favourite films were Westerns.

The passing of my mother in 2003 affected him very much. They were very close. Although she had been ill for some time with diabetes and other complications, it still came as a shock to us all. Despite this, he continued to lead a relatively active life and always had time for his neighbours. My brother Luciano, who is interested in the military, sometimes took us out to air-shows and we also went on one occasion to the naval dockyard at Chatham.

Although we kept in touch by telephone, I visited him in London every two months. Sometimes we went out for a meal to the Wing Tai Chinese restaurant at the Aylesham Shopping Centre or the Crossways Cafe in Evelina Road, Peckham. It was good to be able to stay at his flat whenever I went to London. It meant that I could catch up with my friends at the same time.
 
Giuseppe had a stroke and was rushed to Kings College Hospital in Camberwell, South London, but did not regain consciousness. We arranged for a Catholic service to be held at Honour Oak Crematorium. It was attended by about twenty people and a eulogy was read out by the priest.

A friend of the family living in the same road kindly volunteered to take in Marnie and she seems to like her new home. She also has a spacious back garden to play in.

Giuseppe's sister Anna and brother Paolo are in a retirement home for the elderly (Casa di Riposo) in Vasto. It is an annexe of the old convent of Saint Onofrio.

My half-brother Luciano currently lives in Sidcup and works as a Shift Maintenance team leader and my step-brother Nicholas, Giuseppe's son from his previous marriage, is a poet and lives in Wandsworth.

* I read elsewhere on the internet that "the saturnetti" were goodlooking young men and women who participated in the old Roman festival of Saturnalia. This was held in mid-December to honour the god Saturn with feasting, gift giving and role reversal.

'Joe was a lovely man and his garden was a real inspiration to us.' - Casey and Emma

'Joe, may God keep you in his Peace.' - Rebecca

'I was so sorry to hear that Joseph had died. He and your mother were very devoted to each other and thought the world of their sons.' - Jean

'So sorry to hear the sad news.' - Mim

'Our thoughts are with you.' - Lil, Ian, Neil, Jeannie, Ryan, Karli, Alfie & Margie

'I was very sorry to hear this happened.' - Nellie

'When Joseph died a part of me went with him.' - Chris