315 veterans to mark end of WWII in Malta

A group World War II veterans, their families and carers, numbering 615 in all, will be in Malta between September 23 and 29 to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the war.

Brian Essex, the project director and organiser of the Battle for Malta Veterans Reunion, said Malta will be the last country in Europe to hold this type of celebration. It will be integrated with the Malta International Air Show and the Merlins over Malta project.

"This is an opportunity perhaps for the last time - because the age group we are talking about are aged between 80 and 100 - to get these people together for a week of celebration and commemoration in Malta," Wing Cdr Essex said.

The youngest of the veterans coming to Malta is 80 while the oldest is 94. About 90 per cent of the 315 veterans who will be here are British. There will also be 14 members from the US Wasp group and a Maltese, Francis Cassar Torreggiani and his wife from Canada.

The celebration is open to anyone from the British armed forces, including the RAF, the British army and navy, Allied forces, Commonwealth forces and the Merchant Navy, who served or directly supported Malta in defending convoys or delivering munitions to the island.

In the middle of last year, the British government announced a Heroes Return Scheme to provide financial assistance to all wartime veterans to return to their place of battle during WWII.

While in Malta, the veterans will meet an award-winning team of students who created a power point presentation called WWII: Winning the War. They are Cassandra Borg Cuschieri, Jessica Galea, Christine Haber and Ilaria Zammit from St Joseph School in Sliema, assisted by their teacher Joseph Camilleri.

The team will make their presentation to the veterans on September 28 at the Robert Sammut Hall in Floriana.

A power point competition for junior lyceums and secondary schools had been organised by the Youth Service Organisation within the Department of Student Services and International Relations, Education Division in collaboration with the Battle for Malta Veterans Reunion 2005.

The competition was aimed at raising awareness among students about the impact of World War II on society.