my world war story

MY WORLD WAR II STORY

I spent the war in Malta. My father was regular R.N. and was serving aboard the aircraft carrier Glorious in the Mediterranean when the war broke out.
My earliest recollection of the war aged nine was on the 10th June 1940 when we had our first air raid together with the telegram telling us that my father had been killed when the Glorious was sunk off Norway on the 8th June.
My mother had to take a job, initially with the Naval Cypher Staff in Fort St. Angelo. I was boarded at school, The Sacred Heart Convent, and spent the summer holidays there, just me and the nuns. They were very good to me and built me a wigwam in the grounds and let me play with home made bow and arrows.
Initially when the Italians raided us they flew very high and dropped their bombs anywhere and which fell mainly in the sea. When the Germans came into Italy and took over it was a very different matter and became very frightening.
At school when there was an air raid we all went down to the shelter which had been dug out in the rock, and to take our minds off the dreadful sound of the Stukas diving and the bombs dropping, Mother Campbell read aloud from the Just William stories. She was an excellent reader and we quite looked forward to the next air raid to continue the story.
As the war continued everything became much worse. I never boarded in the holidays again and I remember being terrified one day when I was in the garden and a German plane passed so low that I could see the pilot’s face.. Things became very unpleasant in Malta. In the middle of the Mediterranean Malta was a strategic post and the Germans were determined to capture it. The air raids grew ever worse, in fact they often continued all day as waves of planes came over. The Germans were in bases in Sicily and were able to keep planes over Malta all day and night long. The noise of the guns and bombs dropping down was horrific. It’s amazing how one got used to the incessant noise.
By then we had so many air raids that in order to continue our lives we only took shelter when the dive bombers were about. On the palace in Valletta there was a signal tower manned by the Royal Navy and they hoisted a red flag when the bombers were about. By this time my mother was working in the palace, still with the Royal Navy, and in the holidays I used to hang about there. I wanted always to go up the signal tower but never did. Playing on the roof below was as near as I got. One day they dropped a flag and I picked it up, but didn’t have the courage to enter the tower.. Most of the English children had been sent home and I was a very lonely child.
The food situation got terrible. The island was unable to grow much and imports were essential. The enemy blockaded the seaways and thousands of Merchant and Navy seamen were lost when convoys were sunk on the way to the island.
At one time we were bombed out of our house and were staying in an hotel, and I remember aged 10 and 11 playing cards with some of the survivors of various ships who were billeted there. Of course I did not then realise what hell they had been through.
Food was very low. We had ration books but the shops did not have the rations to give us. They started a ‘Victory Kitchen’ where we were given the days food. It comprised one cup of baked beans and one slice of bread! If we were able to get any meat it was labelled goat — but all the cats on the island disappeared. There was a black market of course and I remember my mother getting me an egg and paying two shillings and six pence for it (30 pence) the proper price should have been one penny. My mother also found a packet of porridge oats that was very old and full of weevils and meal worms. We started by picking them out but found it impossible and so made the porridge and ate the lot. This has left me unable to throw food away. Luckily I have a dog that clears everything up.
There was an outbreak of typhoid, I think it was in 1942 which I caught. I remember being in bed and a pilot who was friendly telling me ‘cold’ stories while they put endless covers on me to make me sweat the fever out. Then I was sent to hospital for what seemed a long time. I was astonished when I finally got out of bed to find that I couldn’t walk as my legs were so weak.
We lived in Tigne opposite to Manoel Island in the harbour. It was there that destroyers and submarines were berthed. The Island was covered with anti aircraft guns. To the back of us there was Tigne Barracks, more guns. When there was a raid and they all fired the house seemed to jump into the air. We were in the shelter in the barracks the night the E boats came over and blew up one of the entrances to the Grand Harbour.

Statistic: in August 1942 a convoy left Gibraltar for Malta. There were 13 Merchant ships and 1 tanker. They were protected by 24 destroyers, 4 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, and 7 cruisers. On the way to Malta 1 aircraft carrier was sunk, and 2 damaged badly, 2 cruisers sunk, 2 damaged, 1 destroyer sunk, 2 damaged and of the 13 Merchant ships only 4 reached Malta plus the badly damaged Tanker, the rest were sunk with considerable lives lost. I remember the joy that greeted the ships coming in.. I didn’t know then but if they hadn’t come we would have had to surrender.
On the 15th April 1942 King George V1 awarded the Island and inhabitants of Malta the George Cross. “To honour her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island fortress of Malta, to bear witness to a heroism and devotion to duty that will long be famous in history.
On the 20th June 1943 the King himself visited us! I remember standing on our balcony to see him go past and as we raised a loud cheer he looked up at us.

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