The George Cross was awarded to the island of Malta by King George VI during the Siege of Malta undertaken by Italy and Germany in the early part of World War II. In a letter to the island's Governor, Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie, King George wrote, "so as to bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people". The island was a British colony from 1813 to 1964. The George Cross was incorporated into the flag of Malta beginning in 1943 and remains on the current design of the flag.
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Italian and German bombers attacked the Maltese islands and there was a lack of supplies. An invasion threat in July 1941 failed when coast defenders spotted torpedo boats of the Italian Decima MAS special forces. Whilst people suffered hunger, a final assault to neutralise the island was ordered by the German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. However, the assault failed. On 15 April 1942, King George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta in appreciation of their heroism. [1]
The George Cross was awarded during the worst period for the Allies during the Second World War, as the Axis-forces had the upper hand. German planes struck the island round the clock, in an attempt to neutralise British bases, which interfered with naval attempts to supply Rommel's North African campaign. Malta's geographic position, between Italy and North Africa, dividing the Mediterranean basin into east and west put the islands in danger. Malta-based British aircraft could reach a range as far as Tripoli in Libya to the south, Tunisia to the west and German bases in Italy to the north; on Pantelleria, Sicily, and as far as the port of Naples farther to the north. [2]
At the time of the George Cross award, military resources and food rations in Malta were practically depleted. Fuel was restricted to military action and heavily rationed, the population was on the brink of starvation, and even ammunition was running out, such that Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns could only fire a few rounds per day. [3]
Italian battleships of the Regia Marina out-gunned the British, yet the Royal Navy was not out-classed. [4] The German airforce had superior aircraft until Spitfires were sent to Malta in 1942. Also at this time, German and Italian plans for Operation Herkules, a sea and air invasion of the Maltese Islands, had to be repeatedly postponed – until it was too late because the Maltese Islands finally received a vital supply of fuel, food, and munitions.
On 15 August 1942 (the feast day of Santa Marija also known as Assumption of Mary Day) a convoy of Royal and Merchant Navy ships finally made port in Convoy of Santa Maria [5] at Valletta's Grand Harbour, after completing what has been considered one of the most heroic maritime episodes in recent history.
The George Cross was instituted by King George VI, on 24 September 1940, replacing the Empire Gallantry Medal. It is the civilian equivalent to the Victoria Cross. While intended mainly for civilians, it is awarded also to certain fighting services, confined however to actions for which purely military honours are not normally given. [6] This medal is awarded only for acts of the greatest heroism or the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger. [7]
One of only three collective awards of the George Cross was the award to Malta. [8] This award was made by King George VI in a handwritten letter:
"The Governor
Malta
To honour her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history.
George R.I.
Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie answered:
"By God's help, Malta will not weaken but will endure until victory is won. [10] "
A public award ceremony in Valletta was held on 13 September 1942, after the arrival of the Santa Maria Convoy. [11]
The Cross and the King's message are today found in the National War Museum in Fort Saint Elmo, Valletta.
Harrods department store [12] flew the Maltese flag to mark Malta's 70th anniversary as a George Cross Island [13] from the 1 to 28 March 2012. [14]
Malta has been inhabited since 5900 BC. The first inhabitants were farmers; their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable. The islands were repopulated around 3850 BC by a civilization that at its peak built the Megalithic Temples, which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the world. Their civilization collapsed in around 2350 BC; the islands were repopulated by Bronze Age warriors soon afterwards.
Lieutenant General Sir William George Shedden Dobbie, was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been equal in stature to the Victoria Cross, the highest military gallantry award. It is awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstance of extreme danger", not in the presence of the enemy, to members of the British armed forces and to British civilians. Posthumous awards have been allowed since it was instituted. It was previously awarded to residents of Commonwealth countries, most of which have since established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians including police, emergency services and merchant seamen. Many of the awards have been personally presented by the British monarch to recipients or, in the case of posthumous awards, to next of kin. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.
The siege of Malta in World War II was a military campaign in the Mediterranean theatre. From June 1940 to November 1942, the fight for the control of the strategically important island of the British Crown Colony of Malta pitted the air and naval forces of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany against the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy.
SS Ohio was an oil tanker built for The Texas Company. The ship was launched on 20 April 1940 at the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. in Chester, Pennsylvania. The United Kingdom requisitioned it to re-supply the island fortress of Malta during the Second World War.
Sir George Borg MBE was a Maltese judge and politician. He was Chief Justice of Malta between 1940 and 1952.
The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945.
Victory Day is a public holiday celebrated in Malta on 8 September and recalls the end of three historical sieges made on the Maltese archipelago, namely: the Great Siege of Malta by the Ottoman Empire ending in 1565; the Siege of Valletta by the French Blockade ending in 1800; and, the Siege of Malta during the Second World War by the Axis forces ending in 1943.
The Malta convoys were Allied supply convoys of the Second World War. The convoys took place during the Siege of Malta in the Mediterranean Theatre. Malta was a base from which British sea and air forces could attack ships carrying supplies from Europe to Italian Libya. Britain fought the Western Desert Campaign against Axis armies in North Africa to keep the Suez Canal and to control Middle Eastern oil. The strategic value of Malta was so great the British risked many merchant vessels and warships to supply the island and the Axis made determined efforts to neutralise the island as an offensive base.
Dudley William Mason GC was master of the tanker SS Ohio during the Second World War. He commanded the tanker during Operation Pedestal, a convoy to relieve Malta. He was awarded the George Cross for this operation.
The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter from Malta, sent during the rule of the Order of St John, is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century.
Dennis Arthur Copperwheat GC of the Royal Navy won the George Cross for the heroism he displayed on 22 March 1942 in scuttling a burning ammunition ship in Valletta harbour, Malta.
Malta–United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between Malta and the United Kingdom. The two countries share membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and the European Union up till 31 January 2020 when the UK withdrew from the bloc.
The National War Museum is a museum in Fort Saint Elmo in the city of Valletta, Malta. It is one of the most popular museums in Malta. From 1975 to 2014, its collection mainly focused on World War I and World War II. It was refurbished in 2015, and its collections now include exhibits ranging from the Bronze Age to 2004.
Operation Bowery was an Anglo-American operation during the Second World War to deliver Spitfire fighter aircraft to Malta, an operation that had become known as a Club Run. The aircraft were needed to defend Malta from Axis air raids.
Francis Alonzo Dales was a cadet midshipman in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy who served on the freighter SS Santa Elisa, and subsequently the tanker SS Ohio, during Operation Pedestal, a convoy to the besieged island of Malta in the Second World War. For his actions defending the convoy, considered one of the most important British strategic victories of the war, he was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal.
The Crown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies was the British colony in the Maltese islands, today the modern Republic of Malta. It was established when the Malta Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in 1813, and this was confirmed by the Treaty of Paris in 1814.
Margit Johnsen Godø,, nicknamed Malta-Margit, was a Norwegian sailor in the merchant navy. For her service on a merchant vessel in convoy to Malta in 1942 she was awarded the St. Olav's Medal with Oak Branch and several other gallantry decorations. Johnsen continued her work in the Norwegian merchant fleet until 1960. Her story is told in maritime and wartime history as an example of Norwegian women's effort during World War II.
