In the wartime Malta Police Occurrence logbooks, there are numerous reports of fights and disturbances in which members of the three military forces were involved.

On one occasion, confusion reigned when some Maltese members of the Royal Army Medical Corps started throwing dirt and debris from the top of a cliff in Mtarfa at farmers who were tilling the land below. Insults were being exchanged when a shot was heard echoing from the fields and the servicemen withdrew in panic. One of the RAMC men, Lawrence Mercieca, realised he had been wounded in his left eyebrow.

A farmer, Anthony Borg, 66, was accused of firing a shotgun at the servicemen but he swore he did no such thing and instead said that his daughter had been nearly hit by one of the stones thrown off the cliff. He also claimed that the shot had been fired from the vicinity of the Museum Railway Station. This was confirmed by Corporal J. Frendo, King’s Own Malta Regiment, who said he had fired at two farmers who refused to stop when challenged. The police concluded that Mercieca’s wound had been caused by a tree branch while he was running away after Frendo fired his rifle at the unknown men.

As one would expect, most fights took place in bars. One erupted between six British gunners of the Royal Artillery at the Lord Nelson Bar, Mosta. To prevent further trouble, the owner, Joseph Galea, ordered them out of his premises. Once outside, the six servicemen joined forces and started pelting the bar with stones, breaking several windowpanes. The police, with the assistance of the military police, managed to arrest them. The military authorities promised Galea he would be compensated and that disciplinary action would be taken against the gunners.

Some situations were solved amicably. An argument between soldiers at a restaurant in Strada Calcedonio, Floriana, turned into a fight. The owner, Pupul Buttigieg, ducked for cover as the servicemen flung plates, dishes, cups and saucers at each other. Things only calmed down when someone called the provost Marshall, who ordered the soldiers to make good the damages then and there. The sum of 9/- was raised between those who took part in the fracas and Buttigieg agreed it was enough to compensate him for the broken crockery.

Airmen from Ta’ Qali Airfield were a major headache for the Rabat police. For example, in April 1941, eight airmen were refused drinks at the Lord Kitchener Bar, since it was past the 10pm closing time. They did not take this lightly and started throwing stones at the bar and shouting insults.

Some refugees who lived above the premises asked the airmen to keep the noise down as they were trying to sleep. They were answered with a shower of stones. A constable arrived on the spot, only to be manhandled. When police reinforcements appeared on the spot, the servicemen ran away. Police Sergeant 231 V. Muscat chased them and single-handedly apprehended three of them.

The Gżira police too had to frequently face defiant servicemen. When on May 5, 1941, at 10pm, John Vassallo from Gżira tried to close the Blue Haven Bar, two sailors and a soldier refused to leave, so he asked for police assistance. When Constable 555 S. Xuereb tried to persuade them to get out peacefully, he was struck in the face by the gunner and one of the sailors hit him on the head with a gas respirator. The other rating took out a knife and Xuereb, finding himself cornered, fired his revolver to scare the three men. The servicemen fled while the constable was taken to Vincenzo Bugeja Hospital for X-rays.

Sometimes, little incidents got out of hand. In November 1941, the Gżira police were informed that a soldier was throwing glasses inside the Colosseum Bar. Police Sergeant 91 M. Grima, together with Constable 555 S. Xuereb, who was involved in the aforementioned incident, arrived at the bar and cautioned the soldier, who remained silent and walked out. As it was closing time, the police officers asked those inside the Colosseum to finish their drinks and leave.

However, the servicemen lingered on purpose, sipping slowly at the alcohol in their glasses. One of the seamen even stood up and challenged Grima to a fight. When the police sergeant took out his baton, everyone left the premises. Thinking the matter solved, the two Gżira officers exited the bar and found themselves surrounded by a crowd of soldiers and naval ratings, who charged them. Grima and Xuereb locked themselves inside the Colosseum, and using the bar telephone, called for reinforcements.

After some time, Police Sergeant 535 W. Vigar arrived with four constables. Seeing this, the servicemen incited other sailors and soldiers to join them against the police. Vigar, who detached himself for a moment from the rest of the policemen, was struck by a sailor. Encouraged, the crowd threw a shower of bottles at the police. By this time, four Sliema police officers had arrived to help their Gżira comrades and, together, they rushed the servicemen. After a short brawl, the military men retreated and regrouped near Manoel Island Bridge.

However, the arrival of some military policemen, who cleared the crowd, helped diffuse the situation. Some soldiers followed and taunted the police while they were on their way back to the station, but again, the military police intervened. Grima was asked by a military policeman if he wanted any of the servicemen arrested and taken to the Gżira police station, but Grima answered that “it was not advisable at the moment as it might provoke further trouble”.

Sometimes civilians took matters into their own hands when troops caused disturbances. In July 1942, a gunner of the 7th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery claimed that he had been struck and insulted by members of the St Joseph Club, Għaxaq. The police noted that the gunner, “while under the influence of drinks, entered the said club and challenged the members to fight and the members showed him the way out”.

The police got to know about another incident in Għaxaq from an anonymous letter, which informed them that during the wedding of Filomena and Fedele Agius, four drunk soldiers from the 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment began jeering the guests, calling them “Maltese bastards” and challenging them to a fight. Four of the wedding guests took up the challenge and attacked the soldiers.

Even bus drivers ended up in tricky situations. Four corporals, three of them technician airmen and the other a member of the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment, were on their way to Valletta on a Kalafrana bus when conductor, Francis Formosa, asked them to pay their fare. They refused, stating they had already done so. Things got out of hand and the men tried to strike Formosa. When driver Suero Spiteri stopped the bus, one of the airmen got out of the vehicle and tried to attack him, so he immediately drove off, leaving the furious serviceman behind. On spotting a policeman, Spiteri pulled over and asked for help. Seeing the constable, one of the RAF personnel produced a £1 note and paid the fares, and the journey continued in peace.

When they arrived at Valletta, the three servicemen were again joined by their comrade, who had boarded a Cospicua bus and caught up with them. Together, they attacked the bus driver and conductor, who ran for their lives. Some civilians who tried to stop the four servicemen from chasing Spiteri and Formosa were knocked to the ground. The situation only calmed down when the four men were escorted to the Royal Naval Picket house by the police.

What started as a bit of ‘fun’ frequently got out of control. Flight lieutenant Charley and pilot officers Lattimer, Stenboig and Fowler, who were clearly inebriated, got into an argument with a cab driver after he accused them of not paying the exact fare. Moreover, Stenboig thought the driver had taken his forage cap, so he snatched the whip from the cab and refused to return it until he got his cap back. The cap was actually being held by one of his officer friends, who was thoroughly enjoying the row.

When Police Constable 197 F. Axiaq tried to calm things down, he was punched by the angry Stenboig, who was still demanding his cap back. Some civilians then intervened and a brawl developed. When Captain Swift, the assistant naval provost, arrived, “everyone shook hands and exchanged apologies. All parties applied for no action”.

However, it was not always servicemen to blame for fights. When at 11pm on August 8, 1941, Sergeant Quinnill of the Royal Artillery heard some civilians singing in a loud voice at Strada Miratore, Floriana, he asked them to keep their voices down as his men were asleep. The civilians, including two off-duty reserve policemen, lingered in the street and kept singing loudly, saying that the street was a public place. The argument escalated and they came to blows. Other civilians joined the scuffle and only ran away when the police arrived. Sgt Quinnill was badly beaten up and ended up in hospital. The two reserve policemen were dismissed from service.

More information can be found in Malta War Occurrences – The Police Logbooks 1940-1942 by Jeffrey Sammut.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Richard Stedall from the Malta Bus Archive, and Ruben Vella and the staff of the National Archives, without whose assistance this article would not have been possible.