A Battle of Britain hero - over Malta

Abstract

Malta, April 25, 1942. The population is starving. Relentless bombing attacks have the island on its knees. Ships bringing essential supplies have to face not only the wrath of the Axis air forces but also U-boats and Italian submarines, E-boats, minefields and the ever-present threat of the Italian Navy. Most of the supply vessels end up at the bottom of the Mediterranean. Hunger leads to desperate measures. Everything is rationed. Every piece of land is tilled, even small patches of shallow soil in rocky areas. Every vegetable grown helps stave off starvation. The farmers work from dawn till dusk, sometimes not even taking shelter during air raids. On April 25, the farmers at Qammieħ, in the north of Malta, were on edge. Usually the daily enemy raids headed south, towards the airfields and ports, but that day the Luftwaffe chose a different target. At 6.40am, German bombers flew low over The King’s Own Malta Regiment Camp at Għadira, 500 metres away from the fields of Qammieħ, and bombarded it. The same happened at around noon.