Una Gioncada Haldane

Una was born in Benburb in 1892, one of seven children. Her diary, kept from 1941 to 1944, is in the form of letters to her family; letters that she could not post as she was living in Milan in Italy, under the regime of Mussolini.

Una was married to an Italian lawyer, Mario. Her diary is a fascinating reflection of life in war-time Italy covering everything from her thoughts on battles on various fronts, the Allied bombing of Milan, the fall of Mussolini and her never-ending search for a good cup of tea!

She and Mario helped British servicemen who had escaped from Prisoner of War camps to make their way safely to Switzerland. After the war, she retold her story in radio programmes on her beloved BBC which had provided such a lifeline of news from home during a time of censorship and fascism in Italy.

She is a wonderful, feisty woman keen to capture what her world was like whilst also longing to hear from her family and friends so far away at a time of terrible war. It has been an honour to read her words.

Researcher: Bronagh McAtasney

PRONI Reference for Diaries: T2678/6