Official let down

I read with great interest the report (May 18) under the heading "Spitfire for Malta air show".

After 10 years of hard work, the Malta Aviation Association secured the participation of "the famous British Second World War fighter plane" for the air show next September, which will also mark the 60th anniversary of the award of the George Cross to the people of Malta.

The president of the Malta Aviation Society, Joe Ciliberti, is on record saying that the Spitfire will be a fitting tribute to those who fought during the war.

One of the veterans who took active part in the defence of Malta ironically by manning one of these Spitfires, is Squadron Leader C.S. Bamberger D.F.C. A.E. The "fitting tribute" meted to Sq. Leader Bamberger by the government of Malta was a flat refusal to award him the Malta George Cross 50th anniversary commemorative medal.

The reason for this refusal was that his application for the medal, which was handed in time to the Malta High Commission in London, as attested by Mr S. Stellini, the then High Commissioner, was mislaid.

It seems that there is nobody accountable for this. To add insult to injury, Sq. Leader Bamberger was offered the possibility of buying a replica of the medal.

I have been working in various parishes in the United Kingdom for the last 30 years. At present, I am the parish priest in Midhurst, West Sussex, where Mr Bamberger is one of the most devoted and active members of my parish.

During these 30 years, I have always been proud of my Maltese birthright and nationality, under any circumstance. The only time when I feel miserably down and I blush, is exactly when I have to face my good parishioner Mr Bamberger.

The situation has now been compounded by the fact that some grateful but disappointed compatriots in Malta, through the medium of your paper, have offered to Sq. Leader Bamberger to meet the cost of buying this replica, out of their own pockets. Sq. Leader Bamberger has been moved by the generosity and support of the Maltese people, but utterly disappointed and hurt by the official behaviour.