President de Marco has paid tribute to the Polish airmen and sailors who died during the second world war and are buried in Malta. At a ceremony attended by the Polish community, the President laid wreaths on a number of graves at the Capuccini military cemetery at Kalkara: this followed his recent state visit to Poland.

The President of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, in welcoming the President de Marco in Warsaw, said at the state banquet: "In the years of the second world war, we, together as allies, fought against Nazism and Fascism. Commonly known is the heroic defence of Malta in the years 1940-43 with participation of Polish aviators and seamen. Some of them were forever consigned to Maltese soil as is called to mind by the Polish graves at the cemetery in Kalkara."

Professor de Marco was accompanied by the Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, Brigadier Rupert Montanaro, who also laid wreaths. Other wreaths were laid by Stephen Parnis England, honorary consul for Poland, and by some Polish residents.

The President placed a large wreath on the common grave of a number of British and Polish servicemen who died in the tragic crash of a Halifax bomber of No. 138 RAF Squadron at Zejtun after taking off from Luqa airfield in the early hours of December 17, 1942 - 60 years ago. All six Polish crew, two Army officers, and nine RAF officers and men were killed.

The Polish airmen were Flying Officers K.L. Dubromisski, Stanislaw Pankiewicz and Zbigniev Idzikowski, and Sergeants A. E. Kleniewski, R. Wysocki, and O.F. Zielinski. Also killed were Lord Apsley, DSO, MC, TD (Major Allen Algernon Bathurst), 47, of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars and the Arab Legion, a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Gloucestershire, a former MP for Southampton (1922-29) and Bristol (1931-1942), and president of the UK Pilots Association. He is buried in the same grave as the Polish airmen.

Another Polish airman buried at Kalkara was Warrant Officer Stanley John Kozlowski of No. 37 Wellington Squadron, who was serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. His family was at the time living in Ottawa, Canada.

Kozlowski was piloting the two-engine bomber on take off from Luqa for a raid on Naples when it collided with another Wellington taking off in the dark from the same runway. He and two of his crew were killed as the mines and bombs aboard exploded; four airmen were awarded the George Medal for saving the lives of the other aircrews involved in the mishap.

There are also two Polish sailors buried at Kalkara, both from the submarine Sokol (Falcon) which operated from Lazaretto with the 10th. Submarine Flotilla. She was formerly HMS Urchin. The crew had rented flats in Sliema. Sto. J. Paszek was killed while Sokol was undergoing emergency repairs to her batteries at the dockyard on March 25, 1942 and Ldg. Seaman W.J. Kostuch was killed on September 26, 1943.

Sokol was repeatedly singled out for attacks by the Luftwaffe every time she was in Malta between patrols. She was attacked by two Me109s in Lazaretto on March 9, 1942 and was bombed in the dockyard, and in the Marsa while undergoing repairs.