World War II still lives in the collective memory of those who went through the misery and pain of that terrible time.

More than six decades ago, like the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, Luqa was heavily bombed by the Italian air force and the German Luftwaffe.

Luqa was one of the most dangerous villages to live in at the time because of the military aerodrome only a stone's throw away from the village core. The aerodrome got the brunt of the enemy's fierce barrage between 1940 and 1942.

Over half of the houses in Luqa were completely destroyed.

The parish church was the target of a Stuka strike on April 9, 1942. To shield from enemy bombs, 19 public shelters were excavated in the live rock by pick axes.

World War II, Luqa's Pain, Destruction And Recovery is the name of an exhibition that will run until Monday at the Union Band Club in Luqa giving visitors a glimpse of the horror of war as experienced by Luqa residents. The band club is in Triq Sant'Andrija, the road leading to the village church.

The exhibition coincides with the liturgical feast of St Andrew, which is organised by the youth section of the band club. This year, the feast falls next Monday.

The exhibition is divided into three sections.

A brief introduction about WWII consists of an audiovisual presentation. Twelve information boards feature photographs showing the extent of the damage the village sustained. Some of the photos are being displayed for the first time. The premises of the Union Band Club were hit during a German air raid. Salvaged artifacts pertaining to the band form part of the display. Among them is a sketch book containing drawings of air attacks as they happened; the work of Karmenu Montebello, who is 86 years old.

The information is in Maltese.

The exhibition will open daily between 6.30 and 9.30 p.m. Monday to Friday. On Sunday it will be open between 10 and noon and from 6.30 to 9.30 p.m.

Admission is free.

www.unionbandmalta.org