Dennis and Teresa Alderson tied the knot at St Patrick's Church in Sliema on October 20, 1956. They had only been married five days when the HMS Jamaica, on which Dennis was serving, was recalled to the Suez Canal following the British government's decision to invade Egypt.

The couple are members of the Lascaris Malta Association, some of whom are back in Malta on holiday to reminisce on days gone by.

They yesterday paid a visit to Whitehall Mansions, where Wrens (Women's Royal Naval Service) used to serve, and were greeted by British High Commissioner Nick Archer.

The association seeks to reunite former members of all branches of the British services who at some time served ashore in Malta.

Teresa recalled yesterday that it had been her and Dennis's wish to marry in a church in Republic Street, Valletta. However, the Archbishop had refused permission because Dennis was not a Catholic.

Dennis recalled that on the day of their wedding, his ship's chief yeoman hoisted a garland at the masthead to indicate that a member of the ship's company was getting married.

After their wedding, the couple went on their honeymoon to Tigné Hotel in Sliema but their happiness was short-lived. Dennis was called to duty and had to leave his sweetheart alone in Malta.

As the ship sailed out of Grand Harbour, Teresa was with other Maltese wives at Senglea point waving and crying.

They had not even opened their wedding presents, which were still wrapped at their home in Senglea. Eventually, these were shipped to them in England.

The couple reunited a year later and Teresa recalled that she could barely recognise her husband because he was so tanned.

They returned to Malta and lived in Gżira and Msida between 1963 and 1965. Since then, they have returned on holiday several times and still love the place.

Asked if they preferred the Malta of the past to the Malta of 2008, they were quick to point out that they loved a bit of both.

"The roads, traffic lights and hotel accommodation are much better now... The people are still lovely and helpful.

Unfortunately, the younger generation do not know much about Malta's history and young bus drivers are as grumpy as the old ones. They never give the correct change and they never say thank you or grazzi.

"We also prefer the buses as they were in the past - all in different colours depending on the locality they served."

The association's visit to Malta was organised by Garnett Little, who served here between 1961 and 1963 and is now here with his wife Margaret. One of his children was born here and the whole family, including their two sons and four grandchildren came on holiday 20 months ago. It was then that Mr Little started thinking about organising this trip. Hopefully, he said, it will be repeated next year.

Another member of the group is Polly Booth who served here from 1962 to 1963 and between 1969 and 1970.

So did she have any Maltese boyfriends?

"I had many Maltese friends - boys. We went swimming together and stuff like that," she said.

She recalled a taxi driver whom she and her friends used to call Mr Mozzy after his miniature chihuahua dog which he carried everywhere with him.

"Whoever sat at the front had to sit with Mozzy," she said.

As during her last stint here she was a Wren officer, she had permission to live away at weekends. Together with some friends she rented a flat in Senglea where they used to live from Friday to Sunday nights. She loved Senglea so much that she returned to live there in 1971.

Mr Archer welcomed the group at the High Commission and said it was great having them back in Malta. "By remembering the past, we have a much stronger basis for the future," he said adding that the best way of learning about the past was by listening to people who returned and were willing to talk about their past.

The group arrived last Tuesday and is leaving on Tuesday.