Bravery of the gunners

A few days ago I was introduced to a small Canadian team filming a World War II documentary that will include a small part on Malta's participation.

I took them to my old Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) gun position close to the small Nadur Tower on Dwejra Ridge as there is still enough left of the command post and of the four 3.7-inch HAA gun emplacements to be recognisable as a war relic. The team found the location so interesting that we were there for well over two hours filming while talking about the war.

I think that the gun position should be partly restored and made safe as it could become a tourist attraction; it is towards the western end of the Victoria Lines and has a breath-taking view - even better, in my opinion, than that from Mdina Bastions as the western part of Gozo is also visible.

The gun position also has its own story to tell, including the shooting down of a Ju88 German bomber near Gozo one late afternoon in December 1941 and a Luftwaffe bombing attack on the gun position in April 1942.

It could also become a small monument to honour the many hundreds of Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) gunners who, forming part of the two Heavy AA regiments, one Light AA regiment and a Searchlight Battery, bravely defended their country and their families.

While the majority of Malta, quite rightly, went underground to take shelter from the bombing when an air-raid was sounded, these men - many in their 20s ‒ manned their guns with only their steel helmets for protection.

Many did so three thousand times and more ‒ each time an air-raid was sounded.

They served against great odds, sometimes with no air cover at all and the number of rounds that they could fire at the enemy planes rationed because of shortage.

Some lost their lives when their gun position was singled out by the enemy and bombed. They deserve some recognition.

General Ian Hay in his book The Unconquered Island wrote in 1943: "If it was the Royal Air Force which finally deprived the Luftwaffe of the command of the air over Malta , it was the Royal Artillery which saved the Island during those hectic and critical months in early 1942."

Our gunners eventually impressed even their sovereign King George VI who at the height of the blitz, on April 4, 1942, wrote to the Governor saying he had been watching with admiration the stout-hearted resistance of all in Malta and had decided to assume the Colonelcy-in-Chief of the Royal Malta Artillery in recognition of their skill and resolution.

A few days later, on April 15, 1942, His Majesty awarded the George Cross to the Fortress Island of Malta to honour her brave people and to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history. The George Cross now, of course, proudly features in our national flag.