A gong for Malta
It was 66 years ago this month that King George VI of England awarded the George Cross, the UK's highest civilian award for valour to the entire Maltese nation. The citation that accompanied the award read - in part: "To honour the brave people I...
It was 66 years ago this month that King George VI of England awarded the George Cross, the UK's highest civilian award for valour to the entire Maltese nation.
The citation that accompanied the award read - in part: "To honour the brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history." Although the George Cross was awarded to Malta on April 15, 1942, the actual presentation took place on September 13 of the same year. It was presented to the Chief Justice at the time Sir George Borg, by the then Governor and Commander-In-Chief, Lord Gort.
The ceremony will be re-enacted once more this month on April 15 at 6 p.m and again in Palace Square.
It is worth recalling just why Malta was so honoured all those years ago. Our islands had undergone some of the most intensive carpet-bombing ever seen. It is a fact that more Axis bombs fell on Malta between 1940 and 1943 than fell on London during the whole of the blitz. Several areas were completely flattened; the three cities and Valletta were particularly affected. Accounts of night and day bombing by first the Italian air force and then by the Luftwaffe, speak of the skies over Malta being black with falling ordinance. Then, when the all-clear siren sounded, the survivors of that particular raid would climb out from their underground shelters and bunkers and get on with life as best they could.
By the end of the siege, virtually the only target left untouched was the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta, which the German Field Marshal Kesselring had earmarked as his official residence after, what he thought would be, the inevitable Allies' surrender. But as we now know, the Field Marshall was just a tad previous in his expectations. His aspirations were thwarted by a combination of the allied forces determination and the Maltese population's fortitude and downright bloody-mindedness. It was this collective heroism that moved the king to decide to award the medal to everyone in Malta, rather than singling out individuals.
Initially, Malta's air defences were virtually non-existent, served by just the famous three Gloster Gladiators and obsolete Fairy Swordfish bi-planes.
And the ground defences were almost as bereft of firepower. Malta's armed forces comprised less than 4,000 men in arms to protect against an Italian invasion, indeed one whole company of the King's Own Malta Regiment was made up of boy scouts. It has been rather cruelly suggested that, judging by the performance of the Italian forces in North Africa, the boy scouts alone would have been more than a match for Il Duce's army.
These days few people are aware just how near Malta came to surrendering to the Axis forces. The population in 1942 was continuously under siege and literally starving. Cue the famous Santa Maria convoy, led by the US oil tanker SS Ohio, which staggered into Grand Harbour on August 15 of the same year, to effectively lift the second great siege of Malta.
This month's re-enactment is being organised by the Malta Tourism Authority, who invite the members of the public to attend this historical re-enactment to experience one of Malta's most glorious moments. Everyone is more than welcome and admission to the ceremony is free of charge.
A delegation from the Royal Society of St George from the UK will also be attending. And as an added attraction, the original George Cross Medal and Citation will be on display in the square. The actual George Cross may also be viewed after the ceremony.
The citation that accompanied the award read - in part: "To honour the brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history." Although the George Cross was awarded to Malta on April 15, 1942, the actual presentation took place on September 13 of the same year. It was presented to the Chief Justice at the time Sir George Borg, by the then Governor and Commander-In-Chief, Lord Gort.
The ceremony will be re-enacted once more this month on April 15 at 6 p.m and again in Palace Square.
It is worth recalling just why Malta was so honoured all those years ago. Our islands had undergone some of the most intensive carpet-bombing ever seen. It is a fact that more Axis bombs fell on Malta between 1940 and 1943 than fell on London during the whole of the blitz. Several areas were completely flattened; the three cities and Valletta were particularly affected. Accounts of night and day bombing by first the Italian air force and then by the Luftwaffe, speak of the skies over Malta being black with falling ordinance. Then, when the all-clear siren sounded, the survivors of that particular raid would climb out from their underground shelters and bunkers and get on with life as best they could.
By the end of the siege, virtually the only target left untouched was the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta, which the German Field Marshal Kesselring had earmarked as his official residence after, what he thought would be, the inevitable Allies' surrender. But as we now know, the Field Marshall was just a tad previous in his expectations. His aspirations were thwarted by a combination of the allied forces determination and the Maltese population's fortitude and downright bloody-mindedness. It was this collective heroism that moved the king to decide to award the medal to everyone in Malta, rather than singling out individuals.
Initially, Malta's air defences were virtually non-existent, served by just the famous three Gloster Gladiators and obsolete Fairy Swordfish bi-planes.
And the ground defences were almost as bereft of firepower. Malta's armed forces comprised less than 4,000 men in arms to protect against an Italian invasion, indeed one whole company of the King's Own Malta Regiment was made up of boy scouts. It has been rather cruelly suggested that, judging by the performance of the Italian forces in North Africa, the boy scouts alone would have been more than a match for Il Duce's army.
These days few people are aware just how near Malta came to surrendering to the Axis forces. The population in 1942 was continuously under siege and literally starving. Cue the famous Santa Maria convoy, led by the US oil tanker SS Ohio, which staggered into Grand Harbour on August 15 of the same year, to effectively lift the second great siege of Malta.
This month's re-enactment is being organised by the Malta Tourism Authority, who invite the members of the public to attend this historical re-enactment to experience one of Malta's most glorious moments. Everyone is more than welcome and admission to the ceremony is free of charge.
A delegation from the Royal Society of St George from the UK will also be attending. And as an added attraction, the original George Cross Medal and Citation will be on display in the square. The actual George Cross may also be viewed after the ceremony.