Nostalgic flashback to a historic event 66 years ago

The toga that will be worn during the George Cross medal awarding ceremony re-enactment tomorrow is the original, belonging to the Chief Justice of the time, Sir George Borg.

The medal from King George VI was received by the Chief Justice, the highest authority in the land, from Governor Gort in Palace Square, Valletta, in 1942.

The Chief Justice's family has offered the toga for the event, and this latest touch to the re-enactment, which is emulating every detail of the ceremony in 1942, is sure to bring it as close as possible to the actual event.

Organised by the Malta Tourism Authority, with the expertise of historical consultant Simon Cusens, photographers could end up with almost identical pictures as those that documented what happened 66 years ago.

The main coordinator, the MTA's Martin Morana, described the one-off event as a cultural and educational spectacle, with an added appeal for tourists, particularly from the UK, depicting "one of the most memorable and triumphant moments in wartime Malta".

During World War II, 3,343 air raids were registered over the island; 15,000 tonnes of bombs were dropped; 1,500 people were killed and 3,780 injured; 9,000 buildings were destroyed, especially in the towns around the Grand Harbour and the military airfields.

The citation: "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", originally issued by King George VI on April 15, 1942, is to ring across the square once again, guaranteed to send a shiver down the spines of those present.

Palace Square will be transported back in years through the faithful re-enactment of George Cross award ceremony, the highest British medal that can be given to civilians for acts of bravery.

Malta is the only country to have ever received the award as a nation, in recognition of the stoicism, true grit and will of the Maltese, which were instrumental in helping the country pull through a horrific, incessant blitz. During colonial times, the George Cross medal used to be paraded on its anniversary. Tomorrow, it would be displayed in the Palace Armoury after the event, which starts at 6 p.m., Mr Morana said.

Mr Cusens explained that the handing over of the medal had actually taken place several months later, on September 13 - the official reason being the incessant air raids. In reality, Mr Cusens said, there were strong reservations to award it earlier because of the dire situation on the island, which was likely to surrender should no convoys make it through.

"The worst thing that could happen was that a monarch would award a George Cross that would end up in the mocking hands of the Axis forces. There was much concern to keep the honour of the award intact. It was only once the Santa Marija convoy got through that the option to surrender was put to rest," he said.

A major public ceremony of the sort was unheard of in 1942, with the island being constantly bombarded, Mr Cusens said of the award ceremony. It was a morale boost for an island on starvation rations, with a capital city that was a mound of rubble.

What happened on April 15, 66 years ago, was that King George VI had issued the citation, dated April 15 and written in his own hand at Buckingham Palace. The announcement was communicated by Governor Dobbie and printed in The Times on April 17.

Tomorrow's re-enactment involves about 300 participants, including the Armed Forces of Malta and the Malta Police Force bands, the Association of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides and the St John's Ambulance.

The Malta Police Force is representing the 1st Coast Battery Royal Malta Artillery Guard of Honour and the AFM is portraying the King's Own Malta Regiment band on that day, Mr Cusens explained.

"We managed to obtain wartime costumes and the AFM and the police were instrumental in making the setting as realistic as possible... The police are wearing uniforms from their museum and wartime RAF uniforms have been loaned by the Malta Aviation Museum."

Even the podium of VIPs, invited on the day, is being recreated. They included Archbishop Dom Maurus Caruana, Bishop Michael Gonzi and Air Vice Marshall Keith Park, among other dignitaries.

The public is invited to witness the re-enactment to celebrate those who lived through terrible times, the MTA said. It will be broadcast live on Family TV.