Every now and then, I go with my family to visit Mdina late in the evening. As we approach Mdina Gate a stream of memories come running to my mind, reminding me of my family’s stay in Mdina as refugees during World War II.

Mdina Gate used to be closed at about 9pm as a security measure.Mdina Gate used to be closed at about 9pm as a security measure.

I was a young boy at the time. My family were living happily in Senglea where my father worked as a Dockyard worker. We lived in upper Bastion Street, just opposite the dockyard.

But the war disrupted our lives, and our happy memories ended when HMS Illustrious was the target of heavy enemy bombings. I remember people huddled together in a shelter, crying and praying to Our Lady to save us from death in those terrible circumstances.

At one point my family could not take it any more. With great regret, my family decided to leave Senglea. Holding some essential belongings in hand, we made it to a meeting point just outside St Paul’s Church, Cospicua, waiting together with other refugees also fleeing Cottonera, for route buses to take us to some safer destination, but no one knew where.

Eventually we boarded a black route bus that disembarked us at Saqqajja Square, Rabat. Our stay at Mdina had started.

As I approach Mdina, I look down a flight of steps on the left-hand side of the bridge that led to a shelter dug down in the rocks on the opposite site. The shelter had a bend to protect against bomb blasts, and it stretched a long way. We sheltered there, together with many others, during air raids.

I remember long Sunday mornings locked under­ground for hours. The place was humid, with streaks of water trickling down the walls. Families took over parts of the shelter for themselves, living there almost regularly, especially during the night.

Palazzo Vilhena, which today houses the Natural History Museum. During the war it was the dreaded Connaught Hospital.Palazzo Vilhena, which today houses the Natural History Museum. During the war it was the dreaded Connaught Hospital.

I do not recall shelters in Mdina. On the left-hand side of the bridge under the main gate entrance, there was a small tennis court where I suppose well-to-do young people practised their sport.

The house of the baronessa opposite the chapel of the Benedictine cloistered nuns.The house of the baronessa opposite the chapel of the Benedictine cloistered nuns.

At the time, we young boys often longed to have one of those white, small, tennis balls to play with. We practically had no toys. Balls made of cloth, some empty tins and hurriedly-made wooden trucks were all we could play with.

As we pass through Mdina gate, we immediately come across Palazzo Vilhena, which today houses the Natural History Museum. But during the war it was Connaught Hospital, and was considered a dreaded place because it housed Tubercolosis patients. Many were afraid of the place and had the impression that few, if any, came out of the building alive.

Due to the poor quality of food and lack of medicines, the hospital was really a dreaded place. We used to look at the patients standing on the upper corridors, waiving to them as a sign of encouragement, but we could do nothing else. Entrance was extremely restricted. Mdina Gate used to be closed at about 9pm as a security measure.

As we proceed further into Mdina, we pass by the house of the baronessa, opposite the Benedictine chapel and the adjacent convent of the cloistered nuns. At the time, Mdina was anything but a silent city. It was full of residents and refugees.

There were two schools, one of them a few doors down from the noble woman’s house. We boys were rather noisy and used to be frequently told by the police to keep quiet. Students from Rabat also attended the schools in Mdina. They used to be told not to come to school earlier than 15 minutes before the start of lessons, especially in the afternoon. At the time, school hours were from 8am to noon and from 2 to 4pm.

As we proceed into Mdina, we come to two places that were very important to us at the time – the Banca Giuratale and Kristinu’s Stationery.

The Banca Giuratale’s rooms and halls were divided into spaces by curtains to accomodate refugee families. It was later turned into a school.The Banca Giuratale’s rooms and halls were divided into spaces by curtains to accomodate refugee families. It was later turned into a school.

The rooms and halls of the Banca Giuratale were divided into spaces by means of curtains to accomodate refugee families. I remember large families – comprising six or seven people – living in part of a hall or of a room. We lived there for some time. Later my family moved to a house in St Roque Street with the Zahras, a very benevolent family.

At this point the great benefactor and gentleman, Sir Philip Pullicino, comes to mind. I remember him distributing milk to us children and adults queueing in a line in front of him with a tin in our hands.

Eventually all families were relocated elsewhere and the Banca Giuratale became a primary school.

Kristinu’s shop was a landmark in Mdina. It was managed by Kristinu and a couple whose names I do not recall but who most probably were husband and wife. The shop remains in my mind for the gentleness of its staff. Another reason is that at Christmas time, there would be stockings hanging at the entrance full of tin toys, which we boys could buy for pennies.

Regarding the Banca Giuratale, the families were eventually evacuated to alternative accommodation, and the building was turned into a school. Some teachers who I remember were Alfred Buhagiar and Mr Stivala. But I remember most especially my class teacher Wenzu Calleja. He was a very amiable person, teaching us as if we were his own children. He lived in Mdina. I remember him teaching us geography, besides the main subjects.

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