Charles Debono, curator of the National War Museum, takes readers back a century to the first few months of 1917 through some of the most significant or poignant wartime stories appearing in local newspapers of the time.

Collections for welfare of Maltese POWs in Germany

Meanwhile, in Malta Mr Borg of The British Central Pharmacy, Strada Reale, Valletta, who was interested in the welfare of Maltese prisoners of war in Germany, collected the sum of £250.6.1 for the ‘Malta Prisoners of War Fund’.

He sent a letter to a local newspaper saying that “…the expenditure for four weeks for those to whom, so far, we are sending, comes to £28.3.0 each four weeks, including an additional charge for the same period of 7/6 for bread for each man.

“We are trying to arrange for macaroni, rice and conserva di pomodoro to be sent from time to time in the parcels…”

More Maltese servicemen volunteer to join the fight

During this period, a number of Maltese servicemen, especially from King’s Own Malta Regiment of Militia, continued to volunteer to fight on the Western Front or other fronts.

They included Second Lieutenant Joseph B. Terreni of the 1st Battalion, who proceeded to Britain in early February, where after he underwent a course of training, he went to the front attached to a British regiment.

Another Maltese to volunteer was Mr Hamilton Rapinet, who went to Britain and enlisted in the East Yorkshire Regiment a few months previously and was transferred to a siege battery as signaler. Mr Rapinet completed his training and afterwards was sent to the front. Another Maltese, Sub-Lieutenant Godfrey C. Schembri, RNVR, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on March 3, 1917. Lieutenant Calleja Schembri joined the Royal Navy as interpreter in November 1915, where he was given a commission with the rank of sub-lieutenant and served as squadron interpreter under Vice Admiral Sir Cecil Thursby and Rear Admiral Mark Kerr.

Call to set up Maltese Labour Batallion for Salonika

At the end of March 1917, a call was issued for local men to join the Maltese Labour Battalion. Five hundred labourers were needed.

The had to be over 18 years of age and had to have good physique. They were required for service at Salonika, Greece. The period of service was six months or less. Their services were required with the option of re-engaging voluntarily for a further term of three months. All were subjected to military law.

Their salary was to be four shillings for leading labourers and two shillings and six pence a day for labourers. There was no separation allowance for families.

Promotions and awards for Maltese servicemen

In early April, Lieutenant A.E. Gatt and Lieutenant H. Briffa, both of the 1st Battalion, King’s Own Malta Regiment of Militia, were given the rank of captain. Among the Maltese ratings serving in the Royal Navy who were awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal were Stoker P.O.S Cardona and A.B.A. Tonna, HMS Egmont; Officers Steward 1st Class A. Zammit, HMS Vivid, and carpenters mate R. Zammit, HMS Blenheim

Maltese lieutenant killed in action in Macedonia

On April 28, Lieutenant Arthur H. Vella, who was serving in Macedonia, lost his life at the age of 22. Previously, he served in the 1st Battalion, King’s Own Malta Regiment of Militia, which volunteered to serve in Cyprus. Vella, together with the late Lieutenant H.W. Huber, who later lost his life while serving in the Dardanelles withdrawal, offered for active service. His offer was accepted and he was attached to the Royal Irish Fusiliers. He too participated in the Gallipoli Campaign, including the actions at Suvla Bay.

After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, Vella proceeded to Serbia where he participated in several engagements. He was invalided home for a short time, after which he returned to Macedonia, obtaining a permament commission in the East Lancashire Regiment, until he was killed.

Another member of his family, his cousin, Lieutenant B.P. Bernard, was also killed in action in France in the first months of the war.

HMS Cornwallis sunk off Malta, survivors rescued

On January 9, 1917, HMS Cornwallis was sunk by a German submarine. It was torpedoed by German submarine U-32 in the eastern Mediterranean, 60 nautical miles east of Malta. About 75 minutes after the first torpedo hit, another did, also on the starboard side, and HMS Cornwallis rolled quickly to starboard. Fifteen men were killed in the torpedo explosions, but all the crew was rescued. It sank about 30 minutes after the second torpedo hit. According to a local newspaper a Maltese rating lost his life.

The survivors of the warship were brought to Malta, and in fact, they were medicated at Bighi Naval Hospital. They thanked the doctors, Sisters and their staff for the great kindness and attention shown them all during their stay there.

News from the Western and Eastern war fronts

At the beginning of 1917, all was quiet on the Western Front. Sir Douglas Haig, commander the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was promoted to Field Marshal.

By contrast, in the Eastern Front, there was stubborn fighting in the Carpathian Mountains on the Moldavian frontier. The Germans and the Austro-Hungarians made slight progress at various points.

On January 3, the first units of Portuguese Expeditionary Force landed in France.

SS Saint Laurent catches fire in harbour, sunk by HMS B11

The French freighter SS Saint Laurent arrived in Malta on February 4, 1917, and moored across the entrance of Lazzaretto Creek, with anchored bows and stern moored by ropes to the shore of the Ta’ Xbiex headland. Among the freighters cargo there was a quantity of ammunition.

In early morning of February 5 there was an explosion onboard in Hold No. 1 (the forward-most hold) that killed an undisclosed number of French soldiers who were onboard. Very soon the hold caught fire and attempts to extinguish it failed because the conflagration was in the bottom of the hold and could not be reached without unloading part of the cargo.

However, due to the presence of the ammunition cargo, it was deemed too dangerous to wait until the cargo was removed for fear that the fire could spread into the hold that held the ammunition cargo and explode the explosives.

To avert the explosion of the ammunition it was decided to sink the ship as quickly as possible in order to submerge and extinguish the fire.

The Royal Navy submarine HMS B11, which at that time was in Malta, was tow­ed to sink the SS Saint Laurent.

The submarine had a successful career. HMS B11, along with HMS B9 and HMS B10, had been deployed to Malta in 1912. After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, HMS B11 was sent on patrol off the Dardanelles.

On December 13, 1914, HMS B11, commanded by Lieutenant Norman Douglas Holbrook, entered the Dardanelles and torpedoed the Turkish battleship Mesudiye. HMS B11 then had to pass under five rows of mines through then uncharted currents. Passing through the minefield took about five hours. It took eight hours for the submarine to escape initially, with any attempt to use the periscope resulting in heavy fire.

Lieutenant Holbrook was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the first for service in a submarine, his First Lieutenant, Sydney Winn, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), and every member of the crew was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM).

The submarine was relocated from Malta to Venice, where it arrived on October 28, 1915. Later in the war, HMS B11 returned back to Malta, where in 1917 it was converted to a surface patrol craft by raising the deck level and removing the electric motor. In addition, the conning tower was replaced by a wheelhouse.

After the explosion on the SS Saint Laurent, HMS B11 was hurriedly towed to Marsamxett and placed off the west coast of Valletta. (where there is now the Excelsior Hotel). From there, shortly before noon of February 5, 1917, the submarine fired a torpedo at the French freighter, hitting it on the starboard side under the bridge. This flooded one of the forward holds, as well as both the boiler-room and the engine-room.

The SS Saint Laurent sank by the bows after a few minutes, safely placing the ammunition cargo under water.

Enrico Mizzi found guilty of sedition, sentence commuted

A predominant politician at this time was Dr Enrico Mizzi. Mizzi was first elected to the Council of Government from Gozo in 1915 as a member of the Comitato Patriottico.

While Mizzi was striving to obtain a liberal Constitution he was arrested at his residence on May 7, 1917. He was court-martialled on charges of sedition under the Malta Defence Regulations for his writings and statements against the British. He was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment without hard labour, the loss of his civil rights and the withdrawal of his lawyer’s warrant.

The sentence was commuted by Governor Paul Methuen to a “severe censure”, while his civil rights and warrant were restored following the cessation of hostilities in 1918.

More support for Maltese POWs

During this time, publicity was given to the philanthropic work initiated by the Baroness D’Amico Inguanez, wife of Colonel A.C. McKean, in support of the Maltese interned in Germany as prisoners of war.

In a letter addressed to Mr Edward Borg, Central Pharmacy, Strada Reale, Valletta, enclosing the statement of accounts to date, the Baroness, who at the time was residing in London, paid a warm tribute to Mr Borg’s devoted co-operation  representing the mission in Malta.

From the total of £267.1.10 collected, £211.2.6 was forwarded to the Central Prisoners of War Committee for parcels containing necessities and comforts. “This is money well spent and will assuredly have been the means of lightening, in some measure at least, the suffereings of our unfortunate countrymen in cruel servitude at the hands of the merciless Hun,” she wrote.

“There are at present 21 Maltese confined in German camps, for whose maintenance in ordinary necessaries and comforts, the sum of £2.3.6 each per month is required.”

To be concluded.