Evarist Saliba writes:
Born in Malta at the Royal Navy Bighi hospital overlooking the Grand Harbour in 1909 and buried in a village cemetery in Kent more than a century later in 2010, his coffin draped in the Union Jack and the Maltese flag, Laurence David Ozzard-Low had experienced a varied life reflecting the turbulent times in which he lived. His mother was Maltese and his father English. He was educated at the Malta Lyceum and, later on, at the Royal Military College of Science in Woolwich.
He started his military career in the King’s Own Malta Regiment but retired from the British army in 1955 as a Lt Colonel in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. In between, he saw service before WWII in the Khyber Pass, now often in the news in the Afghan conflict, and, during the war, mainly in the countries around the Mediterranean. His expertise in, and love of, weaponry and explosives never left him and in his 90s he was still taking part in competitions on the Bisley shooting ranges.
After the war, he moved around from England to Burma and Egypt but finally gravitated to Malta, where he worked at Malta Drydocks and set up the first Malta offices of Camper & Nicholson’s (yacht builders).
In 1968, he was appointed Malta’s Ambassador to Libya and took up residence in Tripoli the year after. He was also accredited to Tunisia and Egypt, where he presented his credentials to President Gamal Abdel Nasser, a decade after he had been imprisoned by his regime during the Suez crisis.
The 1969 September revolution in Libya gave a new dimension to Lt Col Ozzard-Low’s responsibilities. He managed to obtain an audience, under heavy military guard, with the yet unkown leaders of the revolution, assuring them that Malta would not be involved in any steps against the new regime. Subsequently, some elements in the Libyan administration sought to utilise his military background and diplomatic status to their benefit, an offer which was declined. The prompt dismissal of all ambassadors considered as political appointees by Dom Mintoff in 1971 brought a sudden end to the Libyan experience and the beginning of another unsettled period for Lt Col Ozzard-Low who no longer felt comfortable in Malta.
He settled in England and, in 1976, he married Mary, with whom he lived in Pluckley, Kent, for 30 years. Malta’s blue sea and sunshine kept a hold on him and, once the political situation changed in 1987, he became a frequent visitor with his wife, who passed away four years before him.
I knew him professionally in Tripoli in 1969 and, through official dealings during my second tour there (1973-5), when mutual respect grew. This led to many friendly encounters on his regular visits to Malta. I felt I had to join his family and friends at his funeral service in the RC church of St Theresa of Avila in Ashford on September 27.