The adventure of Radio Londra starts on September 1938, in the midst of the crisis of Monaco, when the minister Chamberlain transmitted the speech at the nation also in French, in German and in Italian: that was the date of birth of European BBC services.
An year later, when the Second world war began, broadcasts in Italian were intensified: from that moment Radio Londra had the difficult task of providing Italian citizens a news service alternative to the fascist one. The spirit that animated him can be summed up bringing the words pronounced on the 22 April 1941 by Harold Stevens, well known as Colonnello Buonasera, one of the leading voices: “Good evening, (…) we know that Italy has a thirst for truth and common sense. You cannot remove from the water the lips of thirsty “. Radio Londra is a history of information and clandestinity.
Fascist government, considering Radio London a vehicle of enemy propaganda, took measures to prevent the hearing. A report drawn up at the end of June 1944 by the Republican National Guard said: “The enemy propaganda is increasingly taking the soul of the people, so it would be very appropriate seize the radio station or lock them in a single Italian radio station”.
But it was too late, the Italians had begun to trust Radio Londra and partisans in struggle against fascism used it to transmit important messages in code. In fact, with the development of the war special messages for the forces of resistance multiplied. Marked by the speaker, very important information -as troop movements or sending of weapons- were masked under enigmatic sentences, often contrasting with the ironical sense that they affected. For example phrases as “The rain stopped,” “My beard is blond “,”the hen has laid an egg”, ” The cow does not give milk” were incomprehensible to the majority, but contained valuable information for the forces of the Resistance.
Despite the severe penalties for those who listen to Radio Londra, after sunset, when the listening was more clear, ears approached the speaker and hands turned the knob. “Tu-Tu-tu-tuum. Tu-Tutu-tuum”. It looked like Beethoven’s Fifth, and perhaps it was. But it was above all a morse signal: three dots and a line. V as Victory. Radio London came in Italian homes materializing the index and middle fingers of Winston Churchill for a message of hope.
Radio Londra’s voices become familiar. The most popular was Colonel Stevens, Colonnello Buonasera whose comments always introduced programs. He wasn’t neither tall nor blond, but people imagined him so. His mother left him a nice Neapolitan accent that contributed to make his tone unmistakable. He was so popular than when Allied troops landed in Sicily, saw, on the back of a hill, in giant letters: ” W Colonel Stevens”.
However the reception of Radio Londra was not always perfect. Somebody gave suggestions to eliminate the hiss. I wonder if it actually worked. Certainly Radio Londra worked, constituting during the war a point of reference for Italian citizens and a fundamental means for the Resistance.