Italian and German servicemen reburied

An appeal was made two months ago in The Times by Alan Keighley who wished to know what became of the graves of Italian and German pilots shot down in World War II over Malta.

I am able to confirm that nearly all the Italian and German servicemen were buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries, a number of them in Pembroke cemetery. Then in April 1960 the Italian navy rescue and salvage ship Proteo arrived at Malta to collect the remains of around 200 Italian and German war dead.

Each man's remains were placed in a small metal coffin and transported to the Parlatorio Wharf where the ship was berthed. Guards of Honour were provided by the Royal Navy from HMS Forth, and the Italian Navy.

Aboard the Proteo Fr Alphonse Sammut together with the ship's chaplain gave absolution and recited the requiem service, while Canon H. R. Colton of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral read the service for the non-Catholic war dead.

The ship left Malta bound for Cagliari, in Sardinia, and on board were members of the Italian and German War Graves Commission who had come to Malta to supervise the return of their nationals for re-burial in the Italian and German war cemeteries in Sardinia.