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I was born on November 26, 1923, at Msida, Malta, where I enjoyed a happy family life with my sisters, Emily and Josephine, my brother Charlie, my father Joseph and mother Katharine.
A time of great changes
By the time I was 18 years of age Malta had the Conscription Law and, by February 1941, all able-men between the ages of 18 and 56 years were now called for military service. Life -- as we had known it till then -- soon changed and, like many others Maltese young men, I joined the Royal Malta Artillery. My army service number was: 41801.
I remember we did our army training at "Fort Ricasoli" which at that time was the army barracks and training centre. We had to learn to use the rifle and the guns, as well as drill to be good smart soldiers. The problem was, then, that we had not much time for training. The war was already upon us!
We soldiers used to get to the barracks by boat -- "Dghajsa" -- from Valletta to Ricasoli Barracks. This was our means of transport, even during heavy raids by the Italian air force.
It had been said that Italy had more power in the air than England. However, the gunners of the Royal Malta Artillery immediately made it clear to both the Italians and the Germans that they were dealing with the (formidable) anti aircraft defences of the Maltese soldiers and with a civilian population that was determined to defend Malta at all costs. And this was crucial for the first days of the war.
Get used to it Soldier !!
In those days the life of a soldier, and that of a civilian alike, was not an easy one. I remember one time I was on guard duty when there was an air raid on the barracks and a bomb exploded close by, throwing me across the guardroom with the force of its blast. I was hospitalised but, thank God, I was one of the lucky ones because others lost their lives in this particular raid. We had to experienced many raids like this
Soon afterwards, I was transferred to the 11th Regiment of the RMA as a gunner for the "Anti Aircraft 3.7-Gun Regiment" at Karach, which apparently was the nickname of the man whose land the army had requisitioned. This was near Hal-Ghaxaq and here we experienced heavy action in defending Luqa and Hal Far Airports. After about four months, I was again transferred, this time to Bubaqra, even closer to Hal Far. At this time the regiment consisted of Maltese and British troops; half-and-half. We had no problems between the two groups - all we were concerned about was fighting off the Italians and the Germans. Here, we experienced the heaviest raids because our Regiment was responsible for the radar, which the enemy made every effort to destroy -- without success, I may add.
We were consistently being warned about enemy tricks such as the "Molotov Basket" - which were bombs that looked like balloons but would open like butterfly granites and were the cause of injury and death to soldiers and civilians alike.
Nothing left to fight with
Malta at that time needed air fuel so the fighter airplanes could engage the enemy. Even on the ground, we were frustrated at being unable to fire at the high-flying enemy planes because ammunitions were rationed and in some instance not available at all. In fact, no one could write about Malta's darkest days without mentioning the convoy of 'Santa Maria".
When the "Ohio" reached Malta in August 1942 it was nothing short of a miracle; God's answer to the Maltese prayers. This was the beginning of the end because war- and merchant-navy ships started coming in with the much needed supplies and Malta could go back on the offensive, rather than merely defending against the enemy.
Victory in the Mediterranean
I remember when Italy had surrendered. The church bells all over Malta (at least those that were not destroyed) began to ring for joy as a tribute to the great heroism and the end of suffering. The brave Maltese people rejoiced triumphantly, giving thanks to the Almighty God. Malta and the Maltese people were free again!
In 1943 the 11th Regiment was disbanded and the soldiers were transferred to the Army Corps. I was stationed with the Royal Army Service Corps, where I served as a driver for the Officers' Corps and later, in 1946, I was discharged. Following my army service, I went to England and after 13 years there, I then immigrated to Australia, where I joined with my mother, brother and sisters.
John Zammit
Sydney-Australia
26th April, 2002
Visited John Zammit's War Album yet??
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