Tangible and intangible cultural heritage are essential factors that determine the national identity of a people. Heritage is an expression of the national ethos and constitutes the historic memory of collective experiences that bind individuals into an identifiable community giving it the chrism of nationhood. That is why governments, worth their salt, go to great lengths to ensure the conservation, preservation and study of their national cultural heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.
Cultural heritage, as an intrinsic element of civilisation, is a source of national pride and international prestige. This explains the existence of declared national monuments and sites, national collections and national museums whereby the product of the nation's tangible and material experience is manifested to a wide local and international public.
Certain items, because of their unique intrinsic and historical associations, have acquired the sacred status of national relics or icons. Such is the Coliseum in Rome, the wreck of the Vasa in Stockholm, Stonehenge in Great Britain and the collections in the Smithsonian Institute, Washington. All iconic objects rise above historic significance and possess a "spiritual" national meaning unrelated to their size, material, artistic or monetary value. The little wooden hand of Capitain Danjou is sacred to the French Foreign Legion and French military tradition. It is the specific responsibility of national museums to safeguard and display national collections and above all those items revered as national icons and as such part of the national regalia.
The value of a national icon or relic is incalculable and cannot be qualified in terms of monetary value or otherwise not even as any other historic object. Of its own nature a national icon is a relic which must be conserved and preserved in the state resulting from its historic passage. Any accretions and enhancements would only serve to diminish, if not obliterate, the national iconic significance of the item concerned.
Nobody would ever dream to rebuild the ruins of the Parthenon to pristine condition for such an act would be tantamount to sacrilege let alone falsifying history.
The Republic of Malta is the smallest country in the European Union and is internationally recognised as a sovereign independent nation. But what really makes Malta a nation are its people, history and full cultural baggage. Malta possesses an extraordinary concentration of cultural materials including objects which through the accident of history embody the national genius and mark the nation's finest hours. Surprisingly a wealth of material evidence has survived the passage of time in Malta but only a handful of items constitute a synthesis of national feeling, spirit and determination.
The Gloucester Gladiator "Faith" symbolises the suffering and resilience of an entire Maltese valiant generation, who against all odds, withstood the onslaught and ravage of war thus contributing towards safeguarding national identity, liberty and democracy. No other World War II relic, except the George Cross, has the evocative power to move and awe Maltese collective memory than the "Faith". The name "Faith" by itself is charged with emotive significance and a healthy sense of pride and patriotism. Hence the Gloucester Gladiator "Faith" has all the trapping of a national icon and must be exhibited within an environment that reflects the collective war efforts of those who resisted and defended Malta. Only within the broad national context of the National War Museum would the "Faith" make sense as a relic of national importance.
The National War Museum itself bereft of the "Faith" would not only lose its prime exhibit but also its poignancy and effectiveness in complying with its mission and remit that is of remembrance and gratitude and to educate and inspire the upcoming generations and present a convincing showcase to visitors illustrating the role by Malta during the crucial and eventful years of World War II. Without the "Faith" the National War Museum would simply fail to be truly national.