The illegal deportation of Maltese nationals to Uganda in 1942

One of the darkest pages in our island’s history occurred on February 13, 1942, during World War II, when a group of 41 Maltese nationals, comprising several leading personalities, was forcibly and illegally deported from Malta to the east, and ended up in a Ugandan internment camp. The group included Malta’s chief justice Sir Arturo Mercieca (1878-1963), co-leader of the opposition in the Council of Government Dr Enrico Mizzi (1885-1950); dean of the Cathedral Chapter Mgr Alberto Pantalleresco (1891-1963); president of the Malta Catholic Action Dr Herbert Ganado (1906-1979); art connoisseur, critic and intellectual Chev. Vincenzo Bonello (1891-1969); professor of law Dr Giulio Cortis; and Captain Alfred Bencini, a former officer in the British Army. The group also included clerks and workers who, together with the above-mentioned gentlemen, were interned without trial or being charged.

In May and June 1940, about 120 men were apprehended and interned as a result of what were termed security measures. Moreover, other citizens had to carry passes that restricted their movements within the island. Before, during and after the war, not one of the internees was ever found guilty of anything. Although a few of the internees professed Fascist views and could be viewed as dangerous in time of war, the vast majority were just adherents of the Italian culture (italianità) loathed by their adversaries: now, they were simply political prisoners.

A 1943 pass restricting the movements of Joseph Barbara. Photo: Max Farrugia Collection, National Archives of Malta

At first they were confined in Fort San Salvatore in Cottonera – which also housed an important fuel depot – overlooking the naval dockyard, thus leading to the presumption that this place was chosen so that they would be used as human shields to ward off aerial attacks from that area. On July 7, the fort was hit during an aerial bombing and the internees had to be moved elsewhere, this time to the criminal prisons at Corradino. After successful protests, they were moved to St Agatha Convent in Rabat.

So far, the detainees did not institute legal action, probably because a judgment by the British House of Lords had ruled that the discretion of a government at war taking precautions for security reasons was not to be disturbed.

The internees remained at St Agatha Convent but, on February 13, 1942, 41 of them were deported from Malta on board HMS Breconshire, a former cargo liner built in the late 1930s that had been taken over by the Royal Navy as a supply ship and modified to carry fuel oil. The anti-italianità faction – with strong support within Malta’s Council of Government – clamoured and campaigned for the deportation of the internees. They were successful and, on January 3, 1942, 41 internees were informed of their impending deportation from the island. The deportation order changed matters and immediately led to legal action in the law courts.

On February 7, 1942, in the First Hall of the Civil Court, Mr Justice Anthony Montanaro Gauci ruled that the Malta Defence Regulations of 1939 did not give the governor the power to deport British subjects but could only order their detention within Maltese territory. This judge had formerly been the secretary of the pro-British political party and his impartial decision speaks volumes in favour of his uprightness and sense of justice.

Governor Sir William Dobbie. Photo: Wikipedia.com

Sir Arturo Mercieca, photographed in earlier years, when he was Chief Justice of Malta. Photo: Timesofmalta.com

Monument of Sir Ugo P. Mifsud, the member of the Council of Government who strenuously fought against the deportation order.

However, the matter did not end there. The Council of Government was convened immediately and hurriedly passed a law which granted the governor emergency powers to allow such a deportation to take place. It was in vain that the two Nationalist members of the Council – the third member was Enrico Mizzi but he was interned and was not allowed to attend Council meetings – opposed the bill. Sir Ugo Mifsud (1889-1942) delivered a great speech, putting great stress on “the fundamental rights of the individual” and challenging the validity of the proposed law amid frequent interruptions by the pro-British members. It was to be his last speech because he suffered a massive heart attack halfway through and passed away two days later. The Council approved this “emergency law” with only one member, George Borg Olivier (1911-1980), voting against.

The internees instituted a second court case to challenge the new law but, this time, they lost their case in the Civil Court. The internees appealed the judgment but, while it was still sub judice, 41 of the internees were deported and placed in the hold of HMS Breconshire that sailed to Alexandria, Egypt. The number rose to 43 because Lady Josephine Mercieca (née Tabone) decided to accompany her husband together with her daughter Lillian.

HMS Breconshire that transported the deportees to Alexandria in February 1942. Photo: Max Farrugia Collection, National Archives of Malta

The government did not have the decency to wait for the outcome of the appeal which was heard by Chief Justice Sir George Borg (a former deputy leader of the pro-British party), Mr Justice Luigi Camilleri and Mr Justice William Harding. On May 4, 1942, the Court of Appeal ruled that the deportation was illegal. However, this was of small consolation to the deportees who, by this time, were already in Africa and taken to internment camps at, successively, Bombo, Soroti and Entebbe, where they arrived on April 14, 1943. These places were deemed dangerous for Europeans, especially notorious Soroti. As a result, most of the deportees suffered from malaria, among other deprivations. To give just one example, Captain Alfred Bencini suffered greatly from malaria and he was a very sick man when he was repatriated to Malta in 1945.

Enrico Mizzi at one of the Uganda internment camps. Photo: Timesofmalta.com

Ten of the Maltese deportees at one of the Uganda internment camps. The group included the wife and daughter of Sir Arturo Mercieca who is in the forefront. Photo: Timesofmalta.com

Vincenzo Bonello, Herbert Ganado (standing), Carmelo Formosa and Alberto Bajona. Photo: Max Farrugia Collection, National Archives of Malta

Five of the Maltese deported to Uganda. Photo: Fondazzjoni Fortunato and Enrico Mizzi

Among the deprivations the internees suffered in Malta and in Uganda was the regulation of their mail. Each person was allowed a maximum of two letters per week that could not exceed 30 words each. Conversely, they could send four postcards with a maximum of seven words on each. They could receive a similar number of letters and postcards. All the mail was heavily censored and only personal matters could be written down. Disregard for this rule could result in the confiscation of the letter in question or the ‘offending’ message being heavily excised.

After the success of the appeal on May 4, 1942, one would have thought that the deportees would be repatriated. This did not happen

After the success of the appeal on May 4, one would have thought that the deportees would be repatriated. This did not happen; nor were they brought back to Malta in 1943 when Italy surrendered and there was no threat of Malta being invaded. Instead, most of the deportees were kept in exile almost till the end of the war in Europe in 1945, a full three years after their deportation had been declared illegal by the Maltese law courts. In Britain, internment was also carried out, including that of Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Fascist Party, but not one single British citizen was deported from the British Isles.

Repatriation of the deportees started in 1944. The first batch of 18 deportees arrived in Malta in April 1944 and the rest arrived on March 8, 1945. The deportees and the court judgments in their favour are commemorated on a large marble plaque that was unveiled in the Maltese law courts in 1994.

The list of deportees

Guido Abela; Alberto Bajona; Captain Alfred Bencini; Chev. Vincenzo Bonello; Vincent Caruana; John Casabene; Charles Chetcuti; Joseph Cini; Prof. Giulio Cortis, B.Litt, LL.D; Emmanuele Cossai; Francis Curmi; Anthony Farrugia; Charles Farrugia; William Farrugia; Paul Felice; Charles Formosa; Herbert Ganado, B.A., LL.D.; Henry Gatt; Salvatore Gatt; Albert Gauci; Daniel German; Joseph Grech Marguerat; Edgar Laferla; Carmelo Lateo Jnr; Carmelo Lateo Snr; Edgar Lateo; Joseph Laudi; Grazio Laudi; Salvatore Laudi; George Lepré; Sir Arturo Mercieca, M.A., LL.D., Kt.; Onor. Enrico Mizzi LL.D.; Joseph Naudi; Mgr Alberto Pantalleresco, D.D.; Umberto Pirrone; Charles Saffrette; John Sammut, B.Litt, LL.D.; Joseph Scicluna; Victor Scicluna; Edgar Soler; Chev. Alexander Stilon de Piro, LL.D.