George Cross to go on display at Palace

Top Maltese dignitaries gathered yesterday evening in Valletta, accompanied by the Queen’s representative the Duke of Gloucester, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Malta receiving the George Cross.

...a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi used his brief address on St George’s Square to announce that the original medal, currently on display at the War Museum in Fort St Elmo, will now be moved to the Presidential Palace, to remain on permanent display.

Given to Malta by direct decree of King George VI, the medal was awarded to Malta following a month of intense bombing by Axis planes. More than twice as many bombs were dropped on Malta and Gozo between March and April 1942 than on London throughout the whole of the Blitz.

The King’s handwritten note paid homage to the Maltese people for “a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history,” and the George Cross has played a key role in Maltese history ever since.

The Times added the medal to its masthead on April 18, 1942, just three days after it was given to Malta, and it has remained there ever since. The prestigious medal cemented its place in Maltese history when it was later woven into the national flag.

Its inclusion in the flag is not without controversy, with a vocal minority taking issue with the fact that the medal – awarded by the King of Malta’s former colonial ruler – appears on the country’s national flag.

President George Abela made a passing acknowledgement to objections in his address, noting that consensus on the George Cross’s presence on Malta’s national flag was “not necessarily unanimous”.

He, however, likened the award of the medal to the Maltese people’s efforts in defending the island during the Great Siege of 1565 and their blockading of Napoleonic forces in 1800, saying all three events served to “strengthen the identity felt by the Maltese as an unconquered people”.

But there was little sign of contrariness during yesterday’s ceremony, with seated guests dressed to the nines as other spectators looked on from behind specially erected barricades.

A brass band parade was followed by a parade of another sort, as a stream of luxurious saloon cars carried the Brigadier of the Armed Forces, Duke of Gloucester, Prime Minister and President to their seats of honour.

Following an audio-visual run-through of Malta’s travails throughout the Second World War – replete with actors in period costume – the awarding of the George Cross to Malta was then re-enacted.

The expansive commemoration was a far cry from the regard paid to the George Cross in previous years, when the medal had allegedly been left to rot in the office drawer of a presidential secretary, having been discarded by former President Agatha Barbara (See John Mizzi,this page).

Not that the ceremony was appreciated by everyone: seated in the back row, a young boy looked on in bewilderment before fishing out a smartphone from his pocket. He only managed a couple of minutes’ play of Angry Birds before the phone was snatched away from him by his mother.

Although the decision to award the island the medal was taken on April 15 1942, it was not until September 13 of that same year, once bombing had eased, that the actual medal was presented to the people and garrison.

Malta remains the only state to have been collectively awarded the George Cross and until just over a decade ago continued to be the only collective recipient of the honour.

It was joined in 1999 by the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which was awarded the medal by Queen Elizabeth II on the British government’s recommendation.

The Duke of Gloucester paid tribute to the Maltese people’s “exceptional bravery” throughout the war. Earlier in the day, he paid a visit to the War Museum and shelters in Vittoriosa.