Commemorative medal

I would like to refer to the letter from Fr Emmanuel Agius (June 18) in reply to mine (June 8).

The only point I take issue with is the insistence by Fr Agius that government officials are to blame for Sq. Leader Bamberger's failure to receive the medal.

In the first place there seems to be a misunderstanding as to what is meant by "application". The relevant legislation speaks of applicants having to "complete the official application form as set out in the schedule to these rules".

The sending of a letter enquiring about or requesting the award of the medal could not be considered an "application".

Replies to such letters, as in the case of the Sq. Leader, would have explained that an application form had to be filled, documentary evidence supplied, and the form certified as eligible by the GCIA.

Initially, such forms were provided by the High Commission but in order to expedite matters, because of the huge number of letters received, this procedure was amended as described in Fr Agius's last letter.

That the relevant application form was not submitted would seem evident from the Sq. Leader's own statement that "he never received the documents" (i.e. the application form), which I had indicated he would be receiving from the GCIA. And this, it would appear, is where the problem lies.

Either the GCIA for some reason did not send the application form or they did send such a form but that for some reason, perhaps postal complications as happened in some cases, it did not arrive. It is only in this context that the "loss" could be explained. Naturally a replacement would have been sent had either the High Commission or the GCIA been alerted.

Irrespective of the above, however, there can be no doubt that Sq. Leader Bamberger did initiate the application procedure by the stipulated closing date and that therefore the intention to submit the necessary application form was certainly there.

That he did not receive such a form was not his fault. Neither can there be any doubt, from what I have read, about the Sq. Leader's active service in the defence of Malta during the qualifying period.

Given these possibly exceptional factors, I hope that the nominations committee would consider it appropriate to interpret the regulations as generously as possible and thus be able to recommend that in this case the medal be awarded.