Association President

ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT, JUDGE JOSEPH GALEA DEBONO.

National Council Meeting Held In Malta.

For the first time since 2015 the National Council of the Association met in Malta last October in the course of a visit to Malta by the National Chairman Ray Wrigglesworth, his wife Jean who had the proxies of other British members of the Council, Pat Scott, the National Secretary and the Treasurer Alex Saint. Malta Branch was represented by Mr. Peter Robinson MBE, Branch Chairman and by Mr. Liam Barlow, Vice-Chairman. I was invited to attend in the role of Honorary President, another first.

The Council ratified the amendments to the Association’s Statute approved by the membership earlier and decided on other administrative matters and discussed next year’s Annual Reunion programme.

In the weekend I had the pleasure of giving the visiting U.K. members a guided whirlwind tour of Gozo.

Armistice Day.

As in previous years Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, the Maltese Heritage Trust, headed by Mario Farrugia hosted the usual poignant commemoration of the 1918 Armistice on the 11th November.  For the first time this function was attended by the outgoing President of Malta, Dr. George Vella and Mrs. Vella. The U. K. High Commissioner, Her Excellency Ms. Katherine Ward, the Ambassador of France, Madame Agnes Von Der Muhll, the Ambassador of Turkey and representatives of other diplomatic delegations accredited to Malta laid wreaths at the foot of the plinth erected for the occasion. A guard of honour was mounted by a section of USA Marines.

I recited the Exhortation and Mr. Robinson read out the Kohima Epitaph. At 11am sharp the gun roared heralding the start of the two minutes silence, only broken by the bark of the second gun and the sounding of the Reveille. A sizeable crowd watched proceedings from the viewing gallery at the Upper Barracca Gardens above the Saluting battery.

Commemorating French Casualties.

My wife and I and Mr. Robinson were then invited by the French Ambassador to attend a short but poignant commemoration of a number of French servicemen who lie buried in the Military Section of the Addolorata Cemetery. There, wreaths were laid by the Ambassador and Mr. Robinson. 

This was followed by an invitation to lunch at Her Excellency’s residence in Zebbug, preceded by a tour of the attractively laid out mature garden, to the delight of all guests.

The Official Celebrations

The National official celebration was held on Sunday 12. November with High Mass celebrated by Malta’s Archbishop, Dr. Charles J. Scicluna at St. John’s Co. Cathedral in Valletta. It was attended by the President and Mrs. Vella, the Speaker of the House , Dr. A. Farrugia and the Leader of the Opposition Dr. B. Grech as well as a great number of dignitaries. The archbishop had strong words for those who wield power and do nothing to prevent the spread of conflict if not indeed foment it by their actions and decisions.

Mass was followed by the commemoration at the Floriana War Memorial, attended by the President of Malta, the Chief Justice and other dignitaries. The President inspected a guard of honour of Royal British Legion veterans. Detachments from the Armed Forces of Malta and the Malta Police Force took post around the Memorial. Proceedings were brought to an end by a poppy drop from an Armed Forces of Malta aircraft.

Once again, at the Cenotaph in London, the commentator of the live transmission on TV had words of praise for Malta’s resilience and heroism during WWII when the Maltese High Commissioner, Dr. M. Mallia was proceeding to lay his wreath, referring to Malta as THE GEORGE CROSS ISLAND.

“The War in Malta As I Saw It.”

Heritage Malta has recently published an unusual book containing the transcribed diary kept by Leading Aircraftsman Bernard (Ben) Jinks during his posting to Malta in the most difficult days of the second great siege.  The work was published on the initiative of Colonel David Vassallo L/RAMC, an active member of the George Cross Island Association, who also edited it.

Jinks opens his narrative in January 1942 during the second blitz by the German Luftwaffe and gives a blow-by-blow account of the myriad air raids and dog fights he witnessed overhead from his slit trench at RAF Luqa. He experienced near misses by bombs, serious injury from bomb blast and was plagued by sleepless nights when attacked by fleas and sandflies. He often complained of hunger and poor-quality food. He was not the man to suppress his feelings about higher authority when things often went awry.

A newly married man in his late twenties he says that he was kept going by the desire to be reunited with his young wife Olive whom he mused about in his saddest and most harrowing times.

Though in parts the diary becomes somewhat repetitive, the publication is livened up by the copious insertion of graphic reproductions from photos taken by Jinks at the time and others lifted from the vast collection of Heritage Malta at the National War Museum at Fort St. Elmo. These illustrations printed on top-quality paper greatly enhance its presentation.  Though in his day-to-day account of air battles, the aircraft losses of the RAF and the Axis may appear to be somewhat inflated at times, any inaccuracy is rectified by the copious marginal notes inserted by the editor, who gives the wider perspective of events taking place all over the besieged Island far from Jinks’ slit trench at Luqa or elsewhere in his other postings. Jinks spent a good stretch working at RAF Ta’ Qali and at the seaplane base at Kalafrana.  Jinks had donated his diary, assorted snap shots and cuttings from Maltese newspapers to Heritage Malta in August 1994 and in his research Colonel Vassallo came across this treasure of information, warts and all, and edited it reproducing the text faithfully.

The Editor’s Introduction is followed by a Preface written by Group Captain (retd) Paul McDonald OBE who served in Malta after the war in the RAF, flying Canberras, and who is himself a writer. Selling at 35 Euros, with 290 pages and scores of illustrations, it is certainly a good buy not only for collectors of Maltese military history but indeed for the general readership.  Links below to videos of the book launch, etc.

https://heritagemalta.mt/about/volunteer-with-heritage-malta/

https://facebook.com/HeritageMalta/videos/662803295975127

https://issuu.com/heritagemt/docs/ben_jinks_diary

Christmas Greetings

As yuletide fast approaches I wish all the members of the Association a serene Christmas in the company of their loved ones and pray that in the new year a measure of peace will be restored in this troubled world of ours.