I thank Joseph Pirotta for taking the trouble to correct my misinformation about the “battle of Paola Hill” on April 28, 1958 (No More Myths, Please, June 21).

We were observing the “battle” from our roof at the top end of Arcade Street – without binoculars we could not distinguish whether the formation moving up Paola Hill were policemen or troops.

What may have contributed to the myth in Paola about the advancing commandos was the fact that Dom Mintoff informed the crowd in Paola Square, in his inimitable demagogic style, that he “had been informed that the Governor was sending commandos”, pause, “are you afraid of commandos?”. Of course, the crowd responded with a resounding “no”. I do not need Ġużè Cassar, or any other former Labour Party official, to confirm this because I was present.

Later, the crowd moved to Tarxien where the police station was ransacked.

Perhaps I may be allowed to deviate to the current “ransacking” of Paola Square, where all the trees have been uprooted. The trees in Paola, and all along Żabbar Road, right up to Fgura, had been planted during an Arbor Day ceremony, in the early 1950s, organised by my father, Angelo Cilia, headmaster, and by headmistresses Dolores Vella and Rita Chetcuti, and attended by the Archbishop and the Governor. The Fgura and Paola local councils have transformed Żabbar Road and Paola Square into ‘lunar landscapes’.

Dubious governance seems to affect all levels of public administration.