Readers’ letters once again highlighted the presence of the George Cross on Malta’s flag. In a couple of letters, Henry Pace referred to the document revealing how the British monarch commended the medal to be placed on the Maltese flag in 1943. That was when Malta was a colony.

The Independence and Republic constitutions retained the George Cross in another form, with Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, in 1974, making the removal of the medal from the flag subject to a simple majority in Parliament.

Pity that some Maltese, including Vincent A. Galea (October 29), make erroneous statements such as “Malta was never colonised”, as if the Treaty of Paris of 1814 was never signed.

This shows our failing as a society to tackle the teaching of history properly in our schools. Our collective memory is so distorted that colonial products still survive in abundance.

May I take this opportunity to invite Mr Galea and others to seriously read researched history books, especially those written by Maltese scholars, and follow media series like the current one, which is sponsored by the Strickland Foundation on Campus FM radio L-Ewropa u l-Imperu (Thursdays and Saturdays at 10.06am), wherein Henry Frendo expands on Malta’s past during colonial times.