Unity Mitford Diana was married to Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists. Unity Mitford was the fifth of seven children born in London, England to David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife, Sydney (1880–1963), daughter of Thomas Gibson Bowles, MP. She was conceived in the town of Swastika, Ontario, in Canada, where her family had gold mines. Her siblings were Nancy (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), Pamela (25 November 1907 – 12 April 1994), Thomas (2 January 1909 – 30 March 1945), Diana (17 June 1910 – 11 August 2003), Jessica (11 September 1917 – 22
Unity Mitford forward among the sisters and in the family, she decided that she was going to form a personality against everything". It has been speculated that Unity turned to Nazism as a way to distinguish herself within the family. As Dalley states: "I think the desire to shock was very important, it was the way that she made herself special. When she discovered Nazism and discovered that it was a fantastic opportunity to shock everybody in England she’d discovered the best tease of all." Her younger sister, Jessica, with whom she shared a bedroom, was a dedicated communist. The two drew