Veteran scouts prepare for WWII commemoration

Grand Harbour will double as a magnificent backdrop next year to two World War II fighter planes that will fly into Malta in what promises to be a thrilling commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of the war.

The two fighter planes will be flown from Duxford in the UK, where they are based, through France and Italy and then on to Malta to take part in the Merlins over Malta - The Defenders Return anniversary celebrations.

The Merlins tag refers to the Rolls Royce Merlin engines that Spitfires and Hurricanes were equipped with.

The breathtaking event will also be marking the return of about 500 war veterans to Malta and the inauguration of the Battle of Malta Hangar at Ta' Qali.

Speaking to the media at the Aviation Museum, in Ta' Qali, yesterday, one of the members of the team behind the Merlins over Malta campaign, Howard Cook, said all the funds needed to bring this idea to fruition were being collected in the UK and other European countries.

"We will be bringing in money to Malta not taking it out although we hope to find sponsors here for us to be able to take part in the Malta international air show," Mr Cook said.

Mr Cook, one of four pilots who will be flying the airplanes to Malta, said hundreds of people, including children and grandchildren of war veterans, would be travelling to Malta next year to witness the event that is being described as "twice in a lifetime".

Twice because the veterans that serves in the 1942-43 siege of Malta by the Axis will next year have the opportunity to get together again in Malta. Mr Cook acknowledges that next year's may indeed be the last time a gathering of so many veterans commemorating such an anniversary will be possible.

Mr Cook is in Malta with the other members of the Merlins over Malta team - Clive and Linda Denney and their son Glenn - who met the minister of education and of tourism.

Clive Denney, who will also be one of the pilots to fly the aeroplanes to Malta, said it will take the pilots three days to get here "because the planes are exhaustive to fly and were not meant to flown over long distances at any one time".

Mr Denney, who has close connections with the Aviation Museum - together with his family members he is involved in the restoration of a Hurricane at the museum, said that soon after he came up with the idea of bringing the two fighter planes to Malta he realised the magnitude of the operation especially with regard to raising the funds required that amount to £85,000, or about Lm53,000.

Mr Cook said that a Spitfire and a Hurricane last flew together over Malta during the shooting of the film Malta Story, starring Alex Guinness and Muriel Pavlow, who played the part of Maria, a Maltese girl. Among others the cast included Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel and Flora Robson.

Now in her 80s, Ms Pavlow is expected to be among the war veterans next year.

The Malta Story is available on CD.

www.merlinsovermalta.com