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An interesting piece about Malta on the military channel today. It said that most of Parliment wanted to abandon it except for a few exceptions, one being Churchill. The usual british resolve along with the U.S. carrier Wasp & U.S. tanker Ohio saved the day by bringing in the Spits to defeat the Luftwaffe & the much needed petrol for the island. This led to the ultimate defeat of Rommel in N.Africa. Quote from an RAF pilot who participated: "If we hadn't held Malta there would have been no El Alemain."

Tommy

The carrier USS wasp made two trips to Malta on the first trip a canadian Spitfire pilot Called Smith jettison his long range fuel tanks in error finding himself with insufficient fuel to get to Malta. all pilots had been ordered to in the event of mechanical problems to bale out. Smith refused he waited until all the other Spitfires were airborn he then made two attempts to land and was wave off by the US Deck officer. The third attempt he landed jamme on his brake and came to a halt 15 feet from the end of the the flight deck. He thus was the first pilot to land a Spitfire onto a carrierand one of those rare pilots who landed with out a tail hook.

The men who remember war

For bravery: Medals earned in naval campaigns



By Dominic Casciani BBC News Online in Malta

As our talk turns increasingly to war, a group of old men gathered elsewhere, perhaps for the last time, to remember the horrors of conflict, and their courage, saving one small but important island 60 years ago.

When they stepped up for the group photograph, not all of them did it without the aid of a walking stick or a relative on their arm.

But the medals on their blazers were polished so that the Mediterranean sun bounced off them and winked at the tourists wondering who these 100 old men were.

"It makes me feel proud," said one relative as she smiled at her dad. "No, it makes me feel humble."

Operation Pedestal veterans
Honoured: Awarded citizenship in Malta
These men, most in their 80s and gathered together in Malta, were among the servicemen who gave their all at one of the most important battles of the Second World War.

Sixty years ago the direction of the southern end of the war changed when Operation Pedestal involving 80 battle and merchant ships, succeeded in supplying the strategically vital Malta, then on the verge of starvation and surrender.

Against all the odds and despite the loss of 400 men and 13 ships, a third of the convoy got through.

The Mediterranean, declared Churchill, did not belong to the Axis powers. Within months, the Allies turned the tide in the north Africa campaign and were preparing to invade Italy.

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: Remembering Malta

Veterans tell their stories in sound and pictures

Today Malta, awarded the George Cross in 1942 for the bravery of its civilians, is a tourism destination with a curious mix of Mediterranean culture and left-hand driving, a legacy of the British Empire.

Valetta Grand Harbour, Malta
Malta: Tourist destination
The islanders have not forgotten the events and for the 60th anniversary, they tracked down as many of the men as possible so they could say, one last time, "Grazzi Pedestal, thank you".

And so last week, the former servicemen, including some from North America and New Zealand, arrived to receive honorary citizenship.

The modern Royal Navy sent its own tribute in the form of HMS Ark Royal and HMS Southampton.

The week had seen many emotional moments as old shipmates met again.

Seeing these gentlemen brought tears to my eyes. I remember my parents telling me what the British did for Malta

Christopher Bonello, Valletta resident
The climax was a harbour-side re-enactment of the arrival of the heavily damaged oil tanker SS Ohio which limped past the medieval battlements into Valletta's Grand Harbour, held afloat by two warships.

As the men walked to their seats, they were greeted by local people dressed in the clothes of the 1940s.

But when the children began running up and shaking the hands of the old men, few could hold back the tears and the memories of 1942.

The 1942 Malta Convoys
Click here for the full story

Alan Siddle, 79, survived the sinking of HMS Eagle on the first day of the convoy.

As for many of the men, it had been a hard decision to make the trip.

A veteran with a walking stick
Age and infirmity: Only 100 of 250 found attended
"Over the years you hear about reunions and a lot of them you don't want to go to because they are sad affairs," said Mr Siddle.

"But this has been something different because it's involved the Maltese who have been so kind to us. It's made all the difference."

Christopher Bonello, was one of the Valletta residents who had taken part in the re-enactment.

"Seeing these gentlemen and what they did for us brought tears to my eyes. I remember my parents telling me about Pedestal and what the British did for Malta.

"I think these men are part of us and we are part of them."

Meeting the enemy

Among the servicemen at the commemoration were Georg Voegerl and Alfred Partzsch, two former Luftwaffe pilots who bombed both Malta and the convoys.

Georg Voegerl, former German Luftwaffe pilot
Georg Voegerl: "Honoured to meet the British"
They too had been invited by the Maltese government.

"I thought quite hard about coming, but I wanted to meet some of the men who we had engaged with," said Mr Voegerl, who now lives in Berlin.

"There are many difficult issues for us at an event such as this.

"The English have a sense of having a lot more to be proud of. We returned home believing we had done our duty and served our country in the armed forces, only to find that this was apparently not the case.

"But all these years on, it has been a great, great honour to meet these men."

Enemies at war, philosophical in peace, they found a gentlemanly way to get round the awkwardness of the moment.

"Are these the Germans?" asked Tim Foster, a 79-year-old veteran of HMS Sirius. "Tell him I don't recognise shooting at him from our ship."

"And I don't recognise shooting at you from our plane," came the reply via the translator.

"Well let's sit down and have a photo," laughed Mr Foster. "They won't believe this when I show them."

Captain Dudley Mason GC and the tanker Ohio

The SS Ohio was "Pedestal's" most significant survivor. The 12,000 tons of oil the American tanker supplied amounted to 80% of the fuel delivered. This was achieved despite crippling damage, which required the ship to be handsteered without a compass, and then towed for the final hundred miles of her journey. Vice Admiral Leatham's report described the passage of Ohio as a 'feat of seamanship, courage and endurance of the highest order'. The Ohio's Master, Captain D W Mason, was subsequently awarded the George Cross for his gallant conduct.

Tanker Ohio

Arnie, the George Cross was mentioned in the piece by the Military Channel. Said it a high honor to be given to civilians. Where does the OBE stand in that regard?

Order of the British Empire was instituted in 1915. I think this will explain the Order it comes of course after the VC and GC. The MBE and BEM could until recently be awarded to acts of gallantry whilst not on active service The MBE ( Gal) came in front of the Distinguished Conduct Medal making it the second highest honour after the VC and GC.The BEM (Gal) came before the Military medal and was therefore the third highest award for a soldier.

Order of the British Empire

WWI was lasting longer than anyone expected and King George V had no suitable way to reward services to the war effort by civilians at home and servicemen in support positions. The answer was to create the Order of the British Empire, originally with only one level, but then divided into Civil and Military in 1918.

Eventually the OBE evolved into a system of rewards with five levels. The first two (Knight Grand Cross Order of the British Empire and Knight of the Order of the British Empire) confer knighthood, the three lower levels are Commander [top left], Officer [top right] and Member [bottom left]. The order was created mainly to award non-combatant services to the war and included women, whom most orders excluded. It was conferred for services to the Empire at home, in India and in the Dominions and colonies, and at any level could be awarded for gallantry as well as for service.

The medals of the order were changed considerably in 1937 when the insignia was redesigned and the colour of the ribbons were changed. The Commander has a blue enamelled cross, the Officer has a gold cross and the Member has a silver cross. After January 1958, gallantry awards were recognized with silver oak leaves.

The sad thing about the Order of the British Empire is that it has become somewhat devalued in recent years. It seems that literally thousands are awarded each year to almost anybody. Some say it started when the Beatles were given them in 1965.

You mention the RAF helping to stop reinforcements and stores etc.reaching he Africa Korps

I think that we should also metion the Royal Navy Submarines based on Malta. The 10th Submarine flotilla operated in Malta throughout the siege. At times submarines was the only way to resupply the Island.

There was never more than 14 subs on the island some were of an obsolete type. Never the less they sank over a million tons of Axis shipping inc 3 cruisers, 30 destroyers, numerous Torpedo boats and several Axis Subs.

HMS Upholder had an incredible record with over 130,000 tons sunk In fact she was the top scoring Sub of WW2 in any Navy

An other story comes from the Malta siege.When the war in Noth Africa had ended and the pressure was off the island. Troops from the garrison went and captured the Italian island of Pantelleris, an island even smaller than Malta. Making the first Italian home territory to be captured. Later the Americans mined the old city on the island and blew it up. The Explosions were filmed and later edited with scenes of USAAF aircraft. The film was shown back in the US to show the folks back home the USAAF attacking Italy

Did you mention that he Island was awarded the Gerorge Cross and is shown to day on the Maltese Flag

Arnie, yes the fact that the George Cross was awarded to the inhabitants of the entire Island & is on the flag was mentioned. Along with the fact it had to be supplied from Gibralter to the west & Alexandria to the east. An area of considerable distances with convoys including subs. It gave details of one convoy of 17 ships being reduced to only 3 which made Malta. Hideous loses inflicted by the Luftwaffe & U Boats.

Hideous indeed but we had being suffering losses at sea in that sort of scale since day one. I am sure hat there were losses in the Atlantic and the Russian Convoys that were evn greater. The british merchant navy lost nearly 40,000 seamen in the Battle of the Atlantic

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