Thankyou for sharing this ,my Grandfather Howard Bell is one of the veterans in this moving documentary and I have been unable to find a copy. So wonderful to hear and see him again ❤ He kept in touch with the landlady Jane and her family who visited the UK over the years. So very proud of these brave heroes.
All those who strut about mouthing off their vile pretenious vomit who call themselves 'politicians' should be made to see this documentary every day for a year. And exist on a third of the food they stuff themselves on every day. Unlikely I know, but just perhaps we might see in some a sense of humility AND SERVICE, instead of the braying pompous self-importance and bloated arrogant self-preening we see daily. More than anything else I have seen this teaches the lesson of great forebearance, courage; love and respect of all those who survived this ordeal. And even greater respect for those who did not.
FANTASTIC VIDEO ABOUT MY "GEORGE CROSS ISLAND🥉"AKA "FORTRESS MALTA ⚔". Wish to dedicate this video to my late beloved father Gnr JIM ABELA - RMA (1909-1984). He fought courageously to defend MALTA 🇲🇹 & The EMPIRE 🇬🇧. They were ALL brave men 🇲🇹 👑 🇬🇧. RIP DAD ♥. LEST WE FORGET 🙏 Cheers 👍 🇲🇹 ♥ 🇪🇺 ♥ 🇬🇧 ™
I bet you are so proud of your Dad John,i loved my trip to Malta with my wife,the churches,history and scenery for such a small Island is awsome best wishes.
My Family Lived in the 3 Cities area, of which 11 members of my Family Died when the Luftwaffe dropped Bombs, in the Grand Harbour Area. RIP all My Family members and all others, that where killed during the WW 2
My grampy (Raymond steggles) is the the man talking about being depth charged. Proud submariner till the end. Joined up at 16 and had a long carreer in the royal navy. Very much missed
A really wonderful account of an important event in the history of the world. Without Malta valiantly holding on, we would live in a very different world. The entire world owes a debt of thanks to a brave and enduring people.
An excellent documentary - thanks for posting. I have been looking for a DVD copy for years. It is a shame that the Malta website selling it has made no effort to get more stock. It s an important piece of history and I am sure that there is still a market for it.
My uncle Lance srgnt R L Dutton was killed with a comrade whilst trying to take a timed delay bomb off the Ta Qali runway.They should have been awarded the VC.
The real heroes of Malta defense, during the time of the World War the Second. How did you survived for so long, of being under the constant attacks from the air and from the sea, during days and also during the nights ?? Greetings from Warsaw, Poland, to all of you, who survived up to these days, and constant memory after all those a very brave people, who lost their valuable life have being killed during all those years of survival the Italian and German offensive for a so long time. That was a very brave standing against all possible odds !!!!
Hi Lance, Thanks for posting this Great Film on Malta at WAR. Every Maltese & Those with a love of "MALTA GEORGE CROSS ISLAND" Should watch, I have watched every minute of the 1 hour 26 min,s. and well worth it , It gives some Idea of what the Maltese people & there Defenders went through,To help Defeat the Germans & There Italian Allies. ~ Arthur
At 49.30 when he said that they accidentally took his parachute as the Maltese like wearing silk underwear made from parachutes. Well he is not exactly correct, the condition in Malta were so bad that children had nothing to wear and my own mother who had six children did make use of parachute silk to make shirts for us , the cloth was so good and hardy that it lasted forever, I must say. So it is shirts to keep us warm, mothers hand made for us and not underwear. He, the British pilot saying underwear, gave it the air of a joke, but Sir I must confirm , it was no joke and parachutes which were torn were used to make the bare essentials for children including my brothers and I. Incidentally, may I list an episode that is never found in written history. John Attard, husband to my wife's sister Lily, was in the local artillery and they had brought down a German aircraft, where the crew parachuted down. One young member of the German crew came down on the outskirts of Mosta on the road to Bullmarrad. John saw him at a distance and approached him, rifle in hand , but when the young pilot threw down his revolver, John approached him slowly and seeing such a young proud pilot being so demoralised at losing his plane,in silence he offered him a cigarette as a token of understanding. The young pilot reacted by quickly swiping his hand horizontally at John's projected hand and the cigarette went flying away at a distance to finish on the wet ground. Hardly had the cigarette left John's hand when John took his rifle and butted the young pilot hard on the neck close to his shoulder blade. The young German pilot fell to the ground. John regretted his action all his life till he died a few years ago, and always saying to himself that he should have understood the feelings of a downed proud young pilot. I used to console John , by saying, " But John, you were young too, and you reacted as a young man, which was the same action as the reaction of that pound young German pilot who did not seem to understand what the silent offer of that cigarette meant." Some years ago, I was told that the German pilot who dropped the bomb on Mosta Church dome, came to Malta as a tourist and he went to see Mosta Church. When he stood in that Rotunda Church with the third largest dome in the world above him he said, "Looking back, I do regret what I did, and the fact that the bomb I dropped did not explode, well I cannot explain that!" When he saw the bomb which is retained in the church as a memory of this episode he informed others," that is not the bomb I dropped!" Well in war, no side wins, both lose.
@@martinpowell914 After six years I think I should include this video about the Mosta Church which was hit by a bomb that did not explode. ruclips.net/video/PSZiVNWkQTk/видео.html
During this time I was only 3. I do remember remember the hardship and starvation of the time. the damage caused to where I lived and much more awful thins. Yes,I agree with the man who said that hunger is the worst. but eventually you get used to it.
Really liked this post. My Father was stationed in Malta during WW11. He was a radio technician in the REME, working on gun predictors and radar.. Mathematics was his subject though. He told me he played chess & bridge at Bletchley Park after the war.
Sad when you think about all those ships & lives we lost. But that island was so strategic,whomever had it had an "unsinkable aircraft carrier in the Atlantic"
I knew a Northern Irishman who had manned an anti aircraft gun in Malta. He told me that they were bombed and when he woke up, he was the only one left alive.
And here's one for the RAF: Canadian George Beurling (German name I'd imagine?) who was without doubt the greatest RAF Spitfire ace. He was the surpreme self taught fighter ace bar none. Insubordinate; a loner; scruffy and defying orders, leaving the formation because his spotting ability was unapproachabe by any other pilot, having taught himself to 'scan' instead of focusing and excluding the complete area of sky. He got into a spitfire and immediately flew it better than any other pilot ever seen. He put bullets EXACTLY where he intended on an enemy aircraft, to the extent of killing the pilot with two rounds. His deflection aiming and firing -- also self taught -- was so accurate he predicted within fractions of an inch where his aimed burst would hit. And proved this shooting down an ME / Bf109 but the kill was unconfirmed (over Malta). He insisted he had aimed and hit the 109 with a line of machine gun bullets along the wing root of the right wing. Which when the 109 was found, the right wing was seen to be 'chopped off' along the wing root. On one occasion he brought down a 109 from around 800 Yards with machine gun fire. It was -- supposedly -- well known machine gun fire was ineffective over 300 yards. i.e. impossible for anyone to calculate the gravitational sink rate of ammunition; the effects of winds / airflow and most of all; instantaneously calculating deflection angle whilst rapidly manouevering in combat at that distance -- or much less for that matter. Let alone 800 yards! He notched up 34 Kills. He was 20 years old in Malta and broughht down 34 aircraft. He died aged 26 when the plane he was flying exploded.
No such person as J Marseille. It was Hans Joachim Marseille. Neumann taught him nothing. He just allowed him to develop his own unique tactics, which were unorthodox, to say the least.
6 лет назад
Salvaging the guns was very important for preserving history.
@@johnhowes164 Hello sorry for not replying John I never thought that any one would answer my question my wife and I have been twice to Malta and I'm ex R A O C so any and all Army things interest me once again sorry for not replying
@@jeffreymallia5578 hello 👋 we have been 2 times to MALTA and we visited the War rooms and the big Armstrong Gun we were hoping to go last year but the virus stopped us.
Is their anyone I can contact any of the relatives or crew from this battery....Am doing a research on my grandfather and I have information that he was in Qrendi. Thanks
Hope you get the information you need I'm also researching my grandmother she was from Malta and aged 11-16 from the start and finish of world war 2, she became a war bride at age 16 (as far as I know)
Thankyou for sharing this ,my Grandfather Howard Bell is one of the veterans in this moving documentary and I have been unable to find a copy. So wonderful to hear and see him again ❤ He kept in touch with the landlady Jane and her family who visited the UK over the years. So very proud of these brave heroes.
All those who strut about mouthing off their vile pretenious vomit who call themselves 'politicians' should be made to see this documentary every day for a year. And exist on a third of the food they stuff themselves on every day.
Unlikely I know, but just perhaps we might see in some a sense of humility AND SERVICE, instead of the braying pompous self-importance and bloated arrogant self-preening we see daily.
More than anything else I have seen this teaches the lesson of great forebearance, courage; love and respect of all those who survived this ordeal. And even greater respect for those who did not.
Thank you sir i just said the same thing.
Thanks for sharing this documentary and keeping the Malta story alive.
FANTASTIC VIDEO ABOUT MY "GEORGE CROSS ISLAND🥉"AKA "FORTRESS MALTA ⚔". Wish to dedicate this video to my late beloved father Gnr JIM ABELA - RMA (1909-1984). He fought courageously to defend MALTA 🇲🇹 & The EMPIRE 🇬🇧.
They were ALL brave men 🇲🇹 👑 🇬🇧.
RIP DAD ♥.
LEST WE FORGET 🙏
Cheers 👍 🇲🇹 ♥ 🇪🇺 ♥ 🇬🇧 ™
God bless,mums uncles were in Japan pure horror.
I bet you are so proud of your Dad John,i loved my trip to Malta with my wife,the churches,history and scenery for such a small Island is awsome best wishes.
Very moving account of the Siege of Malta. RIP World War II Malta veteran and gunner Stanley Fraser.
My Family Lived in the 3 Cities area, of which 11 members of my Family Died when the Luftwaffe dropped Bombs, in the Grand Harbour Area. RIP all My Family members and all others, that where killed during the WW 2
My grampy (Raymond steggles) is the the man talking about being depth charged. Proud submariner till the end. Joined up at 16 and had a long carreer in the royal navy. Very much missed
Those men of Great Britain and Malta endure two long bitter years of intense bombing, and won. My hats off to the Defenders of Malta.
A really wonderful account of an important event in the history of the world. Without Malta valiantly holding on, we would live in a very different world. The entire world owes a debt of thanks to a brave and enduring people.
my relatives on my mothers side are Maltese the agius,s from vitoriaosa, never been have to go to pay my respect to our troops and the Maltese
An excellent documentary - thanks for posting. I have been looking for a DVD copy for years. It is a shame that the Malta website selling it has made no effort to get more stock. It s an important piece of history and I am sure that there is still a market for it.
VERY brave people the MALTESE what they must have gone through one cannot imagine
My uncle Lance srgnt R L Dutton was killed with a comrade whilst trying to take a timed delay bomb off the Ta Qali runway.They should have been awarded the VC.
Fantastic should be shown in every classroom
The real heroes of Malta defense, during the time of the World War the Second. How did you survived for so long, of being under the constant attacks from the air and from the sea, during days and also during the nights ??
Greetings from Warsaw, Poland, to all of you, who survived up to these days, and constant memory after all those a very brave people, who lost their valuable life have being killed during all those years of survival the Italian and German offensive for a so long time. That was a very brave standing against all possible odds !!!!
They weren't under constant attacks. From May to September 1942, there were few direct attacks at all.
Hi Lance, Thanks for posting this Great Film on Malta at WAR. Every Maltese & Those with a love of "MALTA GEORGE CROSS ISLAND" Should watch, I have watched every minute of the 1 hour 26 min,s. and well worth it ,
It gives some Idea of what the Maltese people & there Defenders went through,To help Defeat the Germans & There Italian Allies. ~ Arthur
At 49.30 when he said that they accidentally took his parachute as the Maltese like wearing silk underwear made from parachutes. Well he is not exactly correct, the condition in Malta were so bad that children had nothing to wear and my own mother who had six children did make use of parachute silk to make shirts for us , the cloth was so good and hardy that it lasted forever, I must say. So it is shirts to keep us warm, mothers hand made for us and not underwear. He, the British pilot saying underwear, gave it the air of a joke, but Sir I must confirm , it was no joke and parachutes which were torn were used to make the bare essentials for children including my brothers and I.
Incidentally, may I list an episode that is never found in written history. John Attard, husband to my wife's sister Lily, was in the local artillery and they had brought down a German aircraft, where the crew parachuted down. One young member of the German crew came down on the outskirts of Mosta on the road to Bullmarrad. John saw him at a distance and approached him, rifle in hand , but when the young pilot threw down his revolver, John approached him slowly and seeing such a young proud pilot being so demoralised at losing his plane,in silence he offered him a cigarette as a token of understanding. The young pilot reacted by quickly swiping his hand horizontally at John's projected hand and the cigarette went flying away at a distance to finish on the wet ground. Hardly had the cigarette left John's hand when John took his rifle and butted the young pilot hard on the neck close to his shoulder blade. The young German pilot fell to the ground. John regretted his action all his life till he died a few years ago, and always saying to himself that he should have understood the feelings of a downed proud young pilot. I used to console John , by saying, " But John, you were young too, and you reacted as a young man, which was the same action as the reaction of that pound young German pilot who did not seem to understand what the silent offer of that cigarette meant."
Some years ago, I was told that the German pilot who dropped the bomb on Mosta Church dome, came to Malta as a tourist and he went to see Mosta Church. When he stood in that Rotunda Church with the third largest dome in the world above him he said, "Looking back, I do regret what I did, and the fact that the bomb I dropped did not explode, well I cannot explain that!"
When he saw the bomb which is retained in the church as a memory of this episode he informed others," that is not the bomb I dropped!"
Well in war, no side wins, both lose.
Thank you Carmel.
@@martinpowell914 After six years I think I should include this video about the Mosta Church which was hit by a bomb that did not explode.
ruclips.net/video/PSZiVNWkQTk/видео.html
Three lakes in Digby County of Nova Scotia, Canada are named Faith, Hope, and Charity. :-)
During this time I was only 3. I do remember remember the hardship and starvation of the time. the damage caused to where I lived and much more awful thins. Yes,I agree with the man who said that hunger is the worst. but eventually you get used to it.
Some really moving testimony from an amazing period of history .
thanks to this person guns for malta i had this documentary on a vhs Stanley Fraser rip
Really liked this post.
My Father was stationed in Malta during WW11. He was a radio technician in the REME, working on gun predictors and radar.. Mathematics was his subject though. He told me he played chess & bridge at Bletchley Park after the war.
Laddie Lucas story about the Malta dog, had me in stitches. Brilliant 👏
Glad I found this, an excellent documentary. Thanks.
Sad when you think about all those ships & lives we lost. But that island was so strategic,whomever had it had an "unsinkable aircraft carrier in the Atlantic"
*Mediterranean
Also for good information and back ground to Malta , READ "THE KAPILLAN OF MALTA by Nicholas Monseratt , IT is a good read.
Wow!
What an incredible gift...
Fantastic Documentary...
Very moving, right out of a movie..
tHANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL DOCUMENTARY
I knew a Northern Irishman who had manned an anti aircraft gun in Malta. He told me that they were bombed and when he woke up, he was the only one left alive.
When I look back at this precarious time, it makes me wonder what the peoples of present day Europe have to worry about.
The people of Malta are Italians, they did not like been occupied by the English
Maybe they weren't too keen on the Brits but they hated the Axis more!
They are not Italian's
Gave the video tape of this to my Father, he lost a sister from the bombing
Sad also, that after Churchill won the war, they sacked him.
The guns moved by 234 Sqn RCT(V) aboard the worst trucks ever inflicted onto the British Army.
43;05 for Luftwaffe buffs, Eduard Neumann was the commander of J. Marseille and taught him a lot of tricks (winner of the Ritterkreuz with Diamonds)
And here's one for the RAF: Canadian George Beurling (German name I'd imagine?) who was without doubt the greatest RAF Spitfire ace. He was the surpreme self taught fighter ace bar none. Insubordinate; a loner; scruffy and defying orders, leaving the formation because his spotting ability was unapproachabe by any other pilot, having taught himself to 'scan' instead of focusing and excluding the complete area of sky.
He got into a spitfire and immediately flew it better than any other pilot ever seen.
He put bullets EXACTLY where he intended on an enemy aircraft, to the extent of killing the pilot with two rounds.
His deflection aiming and firing -- also self taught -- was so accurate he predicted within fractions of an inch where his aimed burst would hit. And proved this shooting down an ME / Bf109 but the kill was unconfirmed (over Malta). He insisted he had aimed and hit the 109 with a line of machine gun bullets along the wing root of the right wing. Which when the 109 was found, the right wing was seen to be 'chopped off' along the wing root.
On one occasion he brought down a 109 from around 800 Yards with machine gun fire. It was -- supposedly -- well known machine gun fire was ineffective over 300 yards. i.e. impossible for anyone to calculate the gravitational sink rate of ammunition; the effects of winds / airflow and most of all; instantaneously calculating deflection angle whilst rapidly manouevering in combat at that distance -- or much less for that matter. Let alone 800 yards!
He notched up 34 Kills. He was 20 years old in Malta and broughht down 34 aircraft. He died aged 26 when the plane he was flying exploded.
No such person as J Marseille. It was Hans Joachim Marseille. Neumann taught him nothing. He just allowed him to develop his own unique tactics, which were unorthodox, to say the least.
Salvaging the guns was very important for preserving history.
Great historical account except for the brits disrespectful comment with regards to the use of the parachute being used for making underwear!
I think that his tongue was in his cheek when he said it. He knew whey they took it and was giving the act his personal appoval.
THANKS , VIDEO
They leaded me to this video :).....Thanks rubypipa.
I don't wish to sound ignorant but where are the guns now and can we visit them my wife and I will be in Malta in September I would like to see them
AS a former SGT in the Armed forces the Guns are at the HQ afm Luqa bks,
@@johnhowes164 Hello sorry for not replying John I never thought that any one would answer my question my wife and I have been twice to Malta and I'm ex R A O C so any and all Army things interest me once again sorry for not replying
@@stewartcamw You should visit the war rooms in Valletta ( below Barakka gardens )
@@jeffreymallia5578 hello 👋 we have been 2 times to MALTA and we visited the War rooms and the big Armstrong Gun we were hoping to go last year but the virus stopped us.
@@jeffreymallia5578 I was there 5 years ago and Fort Rinella great places for history
Hi Lance, Your welcome, keep well ~ Arthur
Is their anyone I can contact any of the relatives or crew from this battery....Am doing a research on my grandfather and I have information that he was in Qrendi.
Thanks
Hope you get the information you need I'm also researching my grandmother she was from Malta and aged 11-16 from the start and finish of world war 2, she became a war bride at age 16 (as far as I know)
Hi Lance, I go Fri. till 9th Feb, I have left a message in your comments page ,Have a great week ~ Arthur
Brev men .
Hi, Lance will do, ~ Arthur
WHY DID MALTA GIVE BACK ITS' GEORGE CROSS AND DROP THE GC FROM ITS NAME
Malta never gave the cross back it is still displayed proudly on the national flag
and malta George cross-island was never its official name.
lance brown why does malta not use its old title malta gc
@@barbaradyson6951 Maybe it's to distinguish itslef from the other Maltas ....several in America I believe
Murcinary