Anna Sapio was born in Naples in 1927 the youngest of four sisters.
Her mother married a successful businessman who imported and exported timber and owned a beach complex.
Life was very good before the second world war for the family; they lived in a villa a St Giorgio Cremano and had servants and a horse and carriage.
However the family fortunes changed from June 1940 with Mussolini declaring war on Britain. Her father’s business slowly collapsed and he died a few years later.
By October 1943 after bombing by Allied forces and the Germans destroying communications links the population of Naples were starving. Luckily my grandfather had an orchard and my mother said she ate tons of apricots and figs to keep her alive. No wonder she had beautiful skin!
With the British army in Naples my mother managed to get a job at the “Lamey Camp” in the Naffi; she was a cashier.
My father,Wilfrid,who was a cook on the base soon noticed my mother and in order to get into her good books gave her flour eggs, corned beef to take to her family. Soon he was part of the family and their saviour!
My father wanted to marry my mother in Italy before returning to England after the end of the war in Europe. However my Italian grandmother wanted my father to wait one year to test his love but my grandmother did say to my mother that if she did not marry Wilfrid she would.
My father returned the following year but there was a problem. The church would not permit him to marry unless he was baptised into the Catholic Church as he was an Anglican. To cut a long story short they eventually married at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii on the 17th October 1946. Later it was found that this date was equivalent to our Friday the 13th.
On arriving back in England my grandfather a devout Anglican was not best pleased that his son had abandoned his church. However he soon came around to welcoming Anna into the family. They named the place where they lived as “Villa fly” nothing like Mum’s villa in Italy; it was a poky room at top of a house in Elm Grove.
Soon Maria was born followed by Edmund, Anthony, Richard and John.
By the time the youngest had been born we were living in a new council house in Craven Road and our local church was at St John the Baptist Catholic Chapel with all her sons being servers at mass.
We were a slightly unusual family when it came to the food we ate. For example on a Sunday we started with an Italian dish such as meatballs in tomato sauce, which my mother prepared, followed by my Dad’s roast dinner and a pudding or fresh fruit.
My mother was a housewife when we were young and later on worked as a playground assistant at Whitehawk School. After this she worked promoting products at shops and supermarkets.
In her forties she took to teach Italian at The Friends Centre and at The Connaught Centre for adult students. She did so well that she was given a grant and attended a training course at Perugia University and Venice Italy.
After my father retired they kept busy throughout the year by hosting foreign students in their house. Unfortunately the students were confused with the English diet as because they were served a mix of Italian and English dishes.
After my father died my mother joined a bowling club for a few years and although she was not a good player it was good therapy after her loss of her husband.
With the house being too large she moved to a very small flat at Brighton Marina. Being a gregarious person she had no problems making new friends and even baby sitted for her new neighbour.
Even though in her later years she relied heavily on her daily visits by her carers she, until the end of her life, cooked her own meals.
Throughout her life in England she suffered every year with sinusitis; the English climate really did not agree with her. Secretly she hankered to return to Italy but by now she had many grandchildren and great grand children.
How would you describe my mother?
In one word “Italian”. Sometimes expressive and volatile like Vesuvius in Naples. The remedy for this was always to make her a good cup of tea.
Her thoughts, actions and attitude to life were positive based on her deep religious conviction and family loyalty.
She did not plan for the future but lived for the day.
She was not afraid to speak her mind and give good advice.
A loving kind and generous mother she was not selfish.
She will be missed as the focal point of the family.
Arriverderci. Mama