Monument: St Peters Church - WW1 and WW2
Erection date: 4/11/1927
{The body of the memorial consists of marble plaques arranged in 3 columns. The top of the central one is decorated with oak leaves and acorns and a soldier's helmet and sword. It also holds the inscription:}
Non invano moriste,
O dolci figli,
Latin sangue gentile!
G. D'Annunzio
{Translates as:
Not in vain have you died,
O sweet sons,
Dear Latin blood!}
Ali suoi figli gloriosi soldati nell'esercito Italiano col sacrificio supreme consacrando nella Guerra mondiale la fede nella patria la grandezza della stirpe la colonia Italiana di Londra a eternal memoria. auspice l'associazione nazionale combattenti
4 Novembre 1927 - Anno VI
{Translates as:
The Italian community in London will forever remember their glorious soldier sons in the Italian army, who with their supreme sacrifice in the World War consecrated their faith in their native land and the greatness of their ancestry.
The Italian National Association of Combatants. 4 November 1927 - Year VI}
{Across the middle of all three columns are the dates 1915 - 1918 and a Christian cross in a laurel wreath between two fasces (Roman-style torches). The two outside plaques of this top section hold a list of 135 names of the dead from World War 1, alphabetical with 3 added on at the end out of sequence. The 3 plaques in the lower section were added later and hold a list of 40 names of the dead from World War 2.}
{For the list of names see Subjects Commemorated below.}
{On the metal screen in front:
The oak leaves, acorns and the stars are symbols for Italy. The Greek letter omega (in upper and lower case) as the last letter of the alphabet symbolises death. "4 NOV 1927" is presumably the date the memorial was erected.}
2020: Initially 'Anno VI' defeated us but Gianni Patratti wrote via Facebook and unlocked this mystery by introducing us to the Era Fascista calendar. In 1927 the Italian Fascist government named 29 October 1922, the day that Mussolini became prime minister, as day 1 of the Fascist Era, and used Roman numerals to denote the years. So Anno I ran through until 28 October 1923, and the next day was the first day of Anno II, and so on. Thus 4 November 1927 was in Anno VI.
Site: St Peters Church - Arandora Star (3 memorials)
EC1, Clerkenwell Road, St Peter's Church
We visited this site on a sunny Sunday morning - a short bike ride in reality but more like hundreds of miles to a quiet Italian town: the church; the delicatessen next door; three-generation families; dumpy old dears in black; arrogant, chic young people; all socialising before church - the sights and sounds of Italy on a London street.
The two war memorials were erected on 4 November, the date, in 1918, on which the war ended for Italy, when Austria-Hungary surrendered to Italy. They are both in the large porch of the church, with the Arandora Star carving above the war memorial. The plaque about the church can be seen in our photo on the street frontage.
Our thanks to Cathy Surowiec who provided the translations for us.
St Peter's Italian Catholic Church (Chiesa Italiana di San Pietro) website. The annual Procession in Honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has run every year since the 1880s and was the first such Roman Catholic celebration to be allowed following centuries of repression.
