by Martin Scicluna, Executive President, Din l-Art Ħelwa, 2001-2005
Lieutenant Colonel Eric Parnis has died peacefully in his sleep, aged 89 years. He had just returned from a fulfilling and marvelous trip to the annual Arena of Verona Opera Festival to listen to three outstanding Italian operas, one of the passions of his life.
Eric was also a life-long supporter and activist in Din l-Art Ħelwa, the National Trust of Malta. He played a leading role in overseeing the restoration and conservation of many of Din l-Art Ħelwa’s properties over several years, following a sterling career in the Royal Malta Artillery.
His schooling at St Edward’s College with its emphasis on leadership, self-discipline and responsibility, was a natural stepping-stone to a career in the Army. Eric was one of Malta’s first post-war Maltese officer cadets to go to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1947.
Throughout his career in the Royal Malta Artillery, which he served almost entirely in 1st Regiment in the coast artillery role, later in air defence, and subsequently, in Germany in the transport role, he proved to be an outstanding officer – upright, dedicated and highly professional, if occasionally brusque in manner.
He was a strict disciplinarian but his men loved and respected him, appreciating fully that he was, above all, a fair man whose overriding interest was the welfare of those under his command.
He subsequently rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in command of one of the Armed Forces of Malta regiments which was formed following the disbandment of the Royal Malta Artillery. He left the AFM voluntarily in 1980 when he found the political intrusion into the AFM during the 1970s neither acceptable nor conducive to the culture of public service in which he had been raised.
In his retirement, he turned his excellent organisational and man-management skills to good effect in the service of Din l-Art Ħelwa when he took over responsibility for the restoration and conservation of the association’s growing property portfolio in 2001, and subsequently when he was vice president.
In all, he was personally responsible for overseeing the restoration of about 10 properties and historic monuments, while at the same time ensuring the maintenance and conservation of seven others. The state in which these properties were handed over to his successors remain his legacy to Din l-Art Ħelwa and indirectly to Malta.
His service and unwavering commitment to Din l-Art Ħelwa over many years was incalculable – managing all the regular care, maintenance and conservation of 17 properties, dealing with vandalism whenever it occurred, overseeing the contractors and sub-contractors whose respect he earned through firmness and great patience, as well as involving himself in every other aspect of Din l-Art Ħelwa’s business on the council.
The last property whose restoration he over-saw when he was already well into his 80s was the geographically isolated 18th century St Anthony’s Battery at Qala Point in Gozo, which necessitated weekly visits from Malta to ensure it was completed to the high standards he demanded, on time and within budget.
He will always be remembered by his friends and colleagues in Din l-Art Ħelwa as a man who gave the association his unwavering loyalty, commitment and enthusiasm.
Eric leaves a son, John, who lives in Switzerland, and a brother, Alfred, in Canada. He was a devoted brother to his two sisters, Elizabeth Parnis and Sylvia Manduca, for whom he spared no trouble.
No journey was too much for him to undertake and no commitment too daunting to fulfill. He was a much-loved and admired uncle and great-uncle to all their extended families, and by his many friends.