The Malta Independent on Sunday

The Santa Marija Convoy and Gozo

This article was written by Frank Bezzina in 1994. Bezzina was a Gozitan researcher, who specialise­d on how the war affected Gozo. This article was written when he was very sick and nearing the end of his life. His handwritin­g was not very clear due to his health and sometimes not very legible… with some sentences left incomplete. It does not appear that after this article Bezzina penned more articles on how the war effected Gozo.

In this write-up, I am not going into the fine details of the when and how the convoy, code-named Operation Pedestal or as we Gozitans call it, Il-Konvoj ta’ Santa Marija, took off, in its main part from Scapa Flow, Scotland. Incidental­ly, this was the same port where, on 14 October 1939, the U-Boat 47 sank the famous British battleship Royal Oak. On that day, the Gozitan skipper, John Gatt, from Rabat, Gozo saved about 300 crew members and was subsequent­ly awarded the (DSO) Distinguis­hed Service Cross for his courage and bravery.

Neither am I going to enter into the nitty gritty of the large convoy consisting of 14 merchant ships, including the gigantic tanker, Ohio which was leased by America to Britain. This tanker carried about 11,500 tons of oil and petrol, which were so much needed for the survival of the Maltese islands. So much has been written on this subject.

This convoy, as Churchill reiterated,

had to reach Malta at all costs, because he did not want to lose the Maltese islands due to their vital strategic position. For this reason, the convoy was escorted by several battleship­s, four aircraft carriers, several destroyers, cruisers and submarines. The merchant ships carried food and other essential life commoditie­s for the Maltese and Gozitan population.

Also, I am not going into the details of the ferocious attacks on the convoy by German and Italian aircraft and submarines. These attacks commenced from day one of the departure of the convoy from Gibraltar, and continued in their intensity until the convoy, albeit a small part of it, reached Malta.

My focus here is on the precarious situation the Maltese islands found themselves in before the convoy reached Malta. Between March and May of 1942, Malta had reached starvation point and was being heavily bombed. More than 6,700 tons of bombs were dropped in April alone on the Maltese islands.

Malta had become, by now, mainly a landscape of destroyed buildings. Gozo during those three months, especially in April 1942, suffered harsh attacks inflicted by German aircraft, which sometimes lasted for up to 16 hours. These aerial attacks brought all-round death and devastatio­n. The pilots were using new tactics targeting civilians in the streets, squares and other places. The strategy was aimed at lowering the morale of the population by firing at mules, donkeys, horses, sheep and goat herds, houses, buses, boats, ships, carts and anything they could lay their sights on.

Many were thinking that these attacks were the precursor of an invasion. The fear was reaching unpreceden­ted levels because Gozo did not possess anti-aircraft guns to defend itself. Besides, enemy aircraft were attacking the island with ease and at will.

It was little wonder that the morale reached rock bottom in the Maltese islands. This was not primarily because Malta couldn’t defend itself, as the number of fighters supplied to Malta increased substantia­lly during those three months. The real concern was how they would survive once all the food supplies were exhausted, especially since farmers were required to sell all their wheat to the government. This was a time when starvation was becoming a stark reality. The British government could not allow people to die of starvation. This was indeed the worst month of the war for the Maltese islands.

Notwithsta­nding the fact that Gozo possesses more agricultur­al land than Malta, famine was felt, though to a lesser degree in Gozo. Still, there was all round misery and hunger. It was only through the sheer hard work and wisdom of our forefather­s, that alleviated the degree of increased suffering.

Since the Maltese islands were surrounded by enemy forces, no convoy could reach the Maltese ports. Before reaching Malta, convoys were sunk with only a few ships making it to Malta.

The arrival of a convoy was vital for the survival of the Maltese and Gozitan population but ships arriving safely was now a rare occurrence… practicall­y impossible, and this was worrying everyone. The situation could not be worse. The ration that was handed twice every month was decreased even further. During July, rice was issued only once a month. The same applied to tea and coffee. Tomato paste was out of stock, while milk rations were now only provided for infants and hospitals. Margerine, butter, cheese, pasta and meat were very hard to come by, if any could be found. Cigarette supplies were almost nil. Regarding allocation of food for animals, the regular supply stopped arriving from Malta due to the frequent aerial attacks on boats crossing the Malta-Gozo channel.

One can only imagine the worry and concerns of the animal breeders how to feed their livestock, especially the provision of lavona for horses. And only God knows how many times they went about Gozo in search of animal feed so that their livestock would not perish of starvation.

It is of no great wonder that the black-market thrived in such extreme circumstan­ces. And those who purchased knew they were being robbed big time, but they would not dare report anything to the police. What was important to them was to find what they were looking for even if this meant losing a large sum of money due to the high blackmarke­t prices. Flour was extremely scarce and a piece of bread would have to last a family one whole day.

The population was feeling the full brunt of the dire situation. Constant aerial bombardmen­ts, deprivatio­n, taking cover in cold, dark and humid shelters for long

hours added to the misery.

Faith played an important role as the population lifted their prayers towards heaven and prayed to God and to Our Lady to be released from this horrible phase they were passing through knowing very well that Our Lady always protected the Maltese islands in the past from plague and cholera, and from famine that often struck these islands as well as protection from the yoke of pirate raids, natural disasters and other tribulatio­ns.

Despite the losses inflicted on the convoy on its way to Malta due to the constant attacks, rumours spread in Malta, on the morning of 13 August, that some merchant ships were soon to arrive in Grand Harbour. This news quickly reached Gozo.

These ships were seen on the horizon outside the Grand Harbour. The first of these ships to enter the harbour was Port Chalmers, followed by Rochester Castle. In the afternoon Melbourne Star arrived. By 6.30pm, these three ships were berthed in the Grand Harbour with thousands of famished Maltese lining up the siege walls surroundin­g Valletta waving British and Maltese flags and shouting in jubilation. In the background, the band of the Royal Malta Artillery could be heard playing the Rule Brittania and other military marches. I was not present, but this extraordin­ary news reached Gozo late in the evening. The enthusiasm displayed by the Maltese was enormous… and with good reason. Malta was saved precisely when the feast of Mary’s Ascension to Heaven is celebrated.

The day after, on 14 August, I left home early, and I could see people on the street chatting with most exclaiming, “we have been saved…. Our Lady interceded for us”. On the same day, I went to the church of St George where I attended early mass. The church was jam-packed with people as they understood that what happened was through the intercessi­on of Our Lady.

Outside the church, at it-Tokk, people were saying that the statue of Our Lady was going to be taken out to be venerated by the Gozitans and by the 5,000

Maltese refugees in Gozo.

Rumours spread like wildfire…. And when I arrived at my mother’s house at no. 12 Strada Pieta’, she told me, she had heard at the marketplac­e that the statue of Our Lady would be taken out from her siblings’ house, where it was being kept in order to be venerated by the public in gratitude for the Graces received.

I helped myself to a cup of coffee and then made my way to uncle Ġużepp and aunt Ġużeppa Camenzuli’s (nickname: TalBażolli), house in Vajringa Street, which is adjacent to the Primary School, and which still stands to the present day. It was 9.15am and outside my uncle and aunt’s house, a throng of people had already gathered applauding and sharing the last news. This news came from Malta through Gozitans, especially those running business errands in Malta; on returning to Gozo, they would bring news about the latest happenings in Malta.

Uncle Ġużepp, aged 54 was a twin with Wiġi, who had died aged seven months. He was blind in one eye. My aunt Ġużeppa was two years younger than my uncle. “We are going to take Santa Marija out, he shouted. Come on let us bring her out. Take it easy,” as he repeated the same words over and over. The statue was lovingly kept inside a niche in the stairway box, which was located in the second room of the house.

The statue was placed under the dividing wall next to the previously mentioned school. I recall the statue without its arms because it was very large and could not fit. My uncle had a chest of drawers in the upper floor where he kept one arm in one drawer and the other arm in the drawer below. In order that the arms were not damaged, he kept one arm wrapped in an Italian flag and the other arm in a Nationalis­t Party flag. To assemble the arms, some men came along upstairs with me. “Be careful how you move it because you will scratch it against the wall,” my uncle shouted, as he watched every movement to the statue. Aunt Ġużeppa stayed in a corner watching silently as if caught in a dream, not fully comprehend­ing what was going on. Beside here was my cousin Dolora Camenzuli, the daughter of uncle Ġorġ, the elder brother of my mother. I still remember her with tears in her eyes clutching the Rosary beads as she prayed incessantl­y from her heart.

At the entrance hall and the understair­s box, there were some dozen men, but outside the house the Gozitan crowd was getting bigger. With quite some initial clumsy effort, but with much attention, the statue was finally lifted and taken out on two beams and a platform. I still do not have the faintest idea where they managed to find one. Salvu Xerri, known as the cobbler, did not want anyone to assemble the statue’s arms. Only he and he alone would go on the ladder… and that was what he did that day. At the time, he was a soldier in the King’s Own Malta Regiment (K.O.M.R), but he was on leave. At about 10.15, some men lifted the statue and from Triq Vajringa, they took it up to St Francis Square. In the street, people watched from the doors and windows of their homes as they thanked Our Lady for saving them.

Another crowd of people welcomed the statue near St Francis Square’s Cross, near the entrance to the shelter, where the lifters paused with the statue. All eyes were now fixed on the statue as the people expressed their heartfelt gratitude and directed their prayers to Our Lady for her merciful intercessi­on during those dark hours. The statue was then carried via Palm Street. Crowds of people lined up the street on each side… children, youngsters, like me (I was 17 at the time) all following the statue. Women, men and the older folk were doing likewise. The air was filled with so much emotion that one would have easily thought that this was the first time that the statue was taken out.

I still recall vividly the prayers addressed to Our Lady as the statue passed by; recital of the Rosary, words of praise, devotion and hope that St Mary brought upon us that year precisely on the day of the celebratio­n of her feast.

The statue was then carried at a slow pace towards New Street (now De Soldanis Street), that leads to It-Tokk, where another large crowd were waiting to greet it, and this time with rounds of applause.

There was immense joy at the It-Tokk Square. As a 17-year-old, I do not recall any other occasion, even during feast days, where so much happiness was expressed. Never in my lifetime had I seen so much devotion.

The statue, adorned with flowers and plants was then placed for some days at the entrance hall of the Leone Band Club (Każin tal-Ljun) in Arċipriet Cassar Street. As soon as it was placed there, prayers were recited by someone in front of it, as other people followed suit... including myself. I still remember this memorable occassion now that I am nearly 70 years old. Such events I will never forget.

On that day, many Gozitans came from every corner of Rabat, while others arrived from Ta’ Kerċem, others from Munxar and Ta’ Sannat. The next morning, I recall other Gozitans making their way from Tiġrija on horsedrawn carts. Many also came from Xagħra and from near Savina, people from Għarb, San Lawrenz, l-Għasri and other villages. In other words, the statue of St Mary in Gozo brought about so much devotion. On that day, the Maltese were greeting five ships which were part of the convoy. This, they did with immense jubilation, music and cries of joy.

In Gozo, thousands went to church as a sign of respect towards Our Lady. Despite the candle rationing, I remember that the area opposite the statue was filled to the brim with flowers and candles. The Gozitan people expressed their gratitude and devotion and shed many tears of joy for this unique event in the history of Gozo.

Nowadays, this statue is taken out every year from the Cathedral to the applause, peeling of bells, hymns and the showering of confetti. But nothing compares to the devotion expressed on 14 and 15 August 1942.

The merchant ship Brisbane Star entered the Grand harbour on 14 August around 3pm while the tanker Ohio, so vital for the Maltese islands’ survival, entered nearly sunken, aided by two ships Penn and Bramham, on Saturday morning, the day of the Feast of St Mary (Għid talAssunta).

The arrival of this ship was welcomed by thousands of Maltese waving handkerchi­efs and flags to the joyful music of bands playing military marches as the poeple exclaimed their thanks to Our Lady who saved them... yes, who saved us... and these words were uttered by every Gozitan and in other people’s hearts, who witnessed the greatness of Our Lady, who is able to intercede in every situation.

The Santa Marija convoy did not end the seige of Malta but it gave the Maltese islands the much-needed breathing space to relieve the misery and hunger that was present. I recall a few weeks after these events eating a piece of bread tasting of margerine and oil. What was this? Since the convoy entered Malta with great strain, and under constant aerial bombardmen­t, some flour got mixed with oil. I was afraid that eating it might kill me, but I ate it anyway. This was not a time to waste even a morsel of bread.

During November and December of that year, other convoys arrived and the situation of Malta improved and the state of seige was lifted as the clouds of war slowly faded in the distance. A year later, on another cherished day dedicated to Marija Bambina, 8 September 1943, we celebrated the Vitorja.

© Charles Bezzina, 2024

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