Thanks to the sleuthing skills of her daughter, a 91-year-old Italian immigrant in Bedford has been reunited with the child she looked after in her first job when she came to the UK.
Rosa Viggiano began her life in England in Northampton in 1951, hoping to find fortune and a better life. She arrived aged 19 knowing no one, but after working as a ‘mother’s help’ for an Irish family, she relocated to Bedford and started her own family.
Following a family bereavement in 2015, Rosa’s daughter, Maddalena Monachello, noticed that her mother’s mind would often return to her early years in Northampton when she worked for two doctors.
“After my brother died in 2015 her mind started to wander and the trauma of his death kick-started her dementia,” said Maddalena.
“She would keep talking about when she was young and where she lived looking after the children in Northampton, John Mary and Brian.”
In 2019, Maddalena began her mission to find the family, saying she wanted to piece together her mum’s existence before it was too late.
“Mum did not talk much about them as I was growing up all we knew is that she first went to Northampton before coming to Bedford,” she explained.
“I had no surname or address so contacted the council archives in Northampton. They tried looking for two doctors who were married in 1951 in Northampton and again no luck. I went through my mum’s papers over and over again and could not find anything.”
At the start of the Covid pandemic, Maddalena realised that life was too short and that they would give finding the family another try.
“I decided to have another attempt at trying to find something and I just could not believe it. In a little white envelope out popped her Aliens Order with the name and address of her employers in 1951. I just broke down and cried.”
Now armed with a name, Maddalena took to Facebook to search for members of the Kirwan family in Northampton.
Finally, she found a podiatrist and, feeling nervous and emotional, decided to call to see if he could help in her search.
“A gentleman answered the phone and I thought he was the receptionist,” said Maddalena.
“I started to explain to him the story and I started to get emotional about everything. I asked if the lady podiatrist who went under the name of Kirwan had something to do with Dr Mary Kirwan where my mother lived and worked in 1951.
“The gentleman stopped me and said that I was actually talking about his mother and father and he was their fifth child, born after my mother had moved to Bedford.
“He said he could remember his two elder brothers and sister talking about mum whom they missed and they used to say she had beautiful curly hair, a small waist and she used to mutter in Italian all the time.
“All he knew is that his family were very fond of her and very sad when she left. He told me that he would let his sister Mary know that I had contacted him.”
The following morning, at 8am, Mary rang Maddalena and after speaking for more than an hour on the phone, they arranged to meet up, once Covid precautions permitted.
Finally, in November 2022, nearly two and a half years later and after 70 years apart, Rosa and Mary were reunited.
“After 70 years my mother, at the age of 91, and the little girl Mary – who was aged four when they last met – now aged 74 finally met again at my home,” said Maddalena.
Mary said her brothers would come with her for the next visit.
Maddalena said she feels like she has finally put together the pieces of her mother’s life and despite how difficult and emotional the journey has been, it has been worth it.
“I am so happy I was able to find these missing pieces and reunite her with a family that meant so much to her when she first arrived from Italy.
“My mother did not talk much about this family as we were growing up but as her dementia progressed in 2020 that is all she spoke about and the children she looked after and loved John, Mary & Brian.
“We are a multicultural community in Bedford and the Italians here have sacrificed so much to build a better life and are so grateful to the U.K. in giving them the opportunity to do so.
“My mother has had a very sad and traumatic life and I went on a mission to find this family to piece in the jigsaw of her existence before she was no longer here. Mission accomplished.”
È una storia lunga e piuttosto triste ma, dopo molti mesi di determinazione e lacrime, sono finalmente riuscita a individuare la straordinaria famiglia irlandese che mia madre Rosa dall’Italia all’età di 19 anni nel 1951 venne a vivere e lavorare a Northampton come un ‘Aiuto della mamma’.
Purtroppo il signor e la signora Kirwan sono morti due medici, ma i bambini di cui mia madre si prendeva cura sono ancora vivi E dopo 70 anni mia madre all’età di 91 anni e la bambina Mary di 4 anni che si occupava ora di 74 anni finalmente si sono incontrate di nuovo oggi a casa mia.
