The YCW movement

I refer to Michael Bonnici's appeal (September 24) regarding scattered/lost documentation connected with the now defunct local civic committees of the 1960s to say that I have embarked on a similar initiative. I had been an active member of the Young Christian Workers movement in the 1950s and 1960s; I had been president of its Valletta section and later its national secretary for about six years.

Lately, a university student reading for a Ph.D., while preparing his dissertation, called on me asking for my help. He asked whether I could supply him with any of the movement's documents related to those turbulent years when the YCW movement was a powerful force in the country.

To my great disbelief and disgust, this student informed me that he could find nothing of the sort at the archives of the headquarters of the movement in Floriana. Fortunately, he further informed me that he found a number of such documents deposited with the national archives in Brussels (nothing to do with EU). These archives must contain a wealth of information for future historians.

In view of the foregoing, for this last year I had embarked on an effort to try to retrieve and collect any such documents from past YCW members, officials and chaplains. My aim is to deposit these documents collectively in safe hands, say, at the cathedral archives in Mdina, or another safe place.

Much to my great dismay, although I found a lot of understanding and encouragement, only one ex-chaplain, that of Cospicua, came forward with some precious documentation and photographs of that period.

I take this opportunity to appeal to all former members, officials and chaplains to contact me on 2143 6503 should they still possess any such documents, literature or photographs and wish to join this initiative. The period under review has not yet been researched objectively and this would help present or future historians and students to delve objectively into this turbulent, yet interesting episode of Maltese history.