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Malta: the Reverend remind

Stato Maggiore Aeronautica

At the first chimes of midnight on 10 June 1940, Malta’s churches announced the start of the second siege in the history of this island (the first was on 1565). On 11 June 1940 the first Italian raid. So Reverend Reginald M. Nicholls, Chancellor of St.Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Valletta, remind: «We woke at 06.45 to the scream of the air raid siren…practically synchronized with a furious outburst of anti-aircraft fire all around us. We hurried into dressing gowns, and ran to the Crypt collecting the two frightened maids as we went. The fire was severe; windows and doors rattling, and the crump of bombs falling. There are three AA guns 600 yards away, clearly visible from our drawing-room windows, and indeed guns on all sides of us at about the same distance. I do not know how long the action lasted, perhaps 15 minutes. Ten planes, we were told, in two formations. We had 8 raids during that day, by far the worst being the last, when firing went on for about 30 minutes at about 7.30 p.m. It was a terrifying experience. I could hear bombs dropping. The sound is quite different from gunfire. It is a thick sound, and the word “crump” just describes it» (Extract from diary of Reverend Nicholls, MaltaFamily History). In the photo Miqabba airfield raided by Italians during the early phase of the war. Victor Sierra