Ohio crew member donates flag to Maltese community in Victoria

A flag with connections to the Santa Marija convoy tanker SS Ohio has been presented to the Maltese community in Australia.

The gesture was made through the good offices of Mgr Joseph A. Grech, bishop of Sandhurst in the area of Bendigo, Victoria.

Ray Morton was a member of the crew of the Ohio as an 18-year-old. He used to live in Bendigo and has now moved to Brisbane in Queensland. Last year, he was invited to Malta to attend the special celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Santa Marija convoy. It is understood that the organisers of the celebrations donated to Mr Morton a Maltese flag which had been flying during the celebrations as a gesture of thanks and as a reminder of his part in Malta's history.

Mr Morton's health has deteriorated and he wrote to Ted Richardson telling him it was his wish that the flag be preserved as it meant so much to him. He said that it has been his desire to pass on the flag to the Maltese community as a sign of gratitude for all that the Maltese have done for him. In the letter, Mr Morton said he appreciated it all and the fact that the Maltese never forgot whatever he did during the war, even if this was his duty.

He recalled the instance when an 80-year-old Maltese woman went to embrace and kiss him when she learned he was on the Ohio. She was also grateful he had returned to visit them in Malta.

After blessing the flag, Mgr Grech passed it to the president of the Maltese Community Council of Victoria, Edwidge Borg, during a Mass at the Centru Malti in Parkville to commemorate the events of September 8. In her turn, Ms Borg presented the flag to the president of the Maltese Ex-Services Association of Victoria, Emmanuel Spiteri, charging the association with its safe-keeping in custody on behalf of the Maltese community.