The air in Woburn Walk must have been good because the children came thick and fast. In 1905 came Marie, in 1906 Amelia Josephine, in 1908 Antonio, in 1910 Luigi, in 1911 Andrea and in 1914 Alfred (my grampa). In the meantime, Nicola had converted to fruiterer and greengrocer - there is a rumour that he sold his ice-cream business to Francis Rossi's family but I've absolutely no proof of that.
Poor ol' Nick had to get up in the middle of the night and trapse down to Covent Garden with his hand-barrow to buy his fruit and veg for the day and get back to Woburn Walk to open at 9 o'clock.
The kids looked for all the world like Italians but they had dumped their exotic names for prosaic English Equivalents - Charlie, Julie, Marie (no change there then), Millie, Tony, Lou, Bob and Fred. Behind the front door they were Italian through-and-through but once they stepped out that front door they were pure Londoners. Life was good.
It wasn't all fruit 'n' veg though. In May 1914 Charlie died. Died in Western Hospital in Fulham of diptheria and pneumonia. His early death ensured that in the years to come he would acquire an almost legendary status - he would have been the brightest, the best, etc. cut down well before his time.
The Great War appears to have left the English end of the family largely unscathed. The boys were too young, Nicola was too old and, at least on this occasion, the Italians were fighting on the right side.
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