I refer to the letter (November 3) by Norman E. Grech, who ought not to have said he was still a puppy compared to us, old people who went through the war. Not everybody in his age group or even younger, would necessarily agree with his opinion - for what it is worth!

I am proud that the Maltese flag carries the George Cross, which is simply a symbol like the sign of the cross for Roman Catholics. The George Cross represents and reminds the younger generations of the sufferings, fear, tension, hunger, deprivation and what not, that today's elderly people then went through for the generations that came after them, to share with them and live comparatively peaceful and halcyon days. It is history and no one can erase it. The George Cross on the flag is a permanent reminder of the real thing for present and future generations to be always aware and proud of.

I do not care who awarded the George Cross to Malta but I do care and I am prouder still that I am one of those who still bear a minimal portion of that honour, if for nothing, for almost losing my life, because of typhoid, and for almost losing my father who was a casualty while earning a living for the family, through the war. I am most thankful to Malta, my country, and to all the people who died or lived through that war period to make this country proud and fit for me and all those who will follow me.

I do not feel insulted or "become irritated by the way many British imperialistic elderly people refer to our island, as the 'George Cross island'". Has it ever occurred to Mr Grech that many foreigners who have heard of Malta's existence, sometimes followed by a visit, know of the country thanks to the good and free publicity of the George Cross on the flag? It is a free advertisement for Malta (it is a wonder that it has not already found itself in the Guinness Book of Records!).