During World War II, everyone in Malta was on the lookout for spies. The authorities issued regulations to make it more difficult for any enemy sympathisers or agents to collect information. One of these laws concerned cameras; no one was allowed to take photos without special permission.

Anyone caught in public with a camera, besides having it confiscated, was interrogated by the police on suspicion of spying. When the police received information that a man was seen taking photos from a rooftop in St Ursula Street, they managed to identify him as John Xerri from Ħamrun. His camera was seized.

Even servicemen got into trouble.

Gunner Christopher Wiles of the 27th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery was spotted taking snapshots of Manoel Island. Despite explaining to the police that he had been in Malta for only a few days and that he had only taken five photos, three on the ship while on his way to Malta and another two of Manoel Island, his camera was confiscated.

Even taking photos of relatives could mean interrogation by the police.

When Margherita Farrugia, 30, from Sliema, was seen with a camera in her hand, she told the police that she had taken a snapshot of her child. Again, the camera was seized.

John Camilleri, from Birkirkara, wanted to develop some films, but fearing he would be noticed carrying a camera, he hid it in some newspapers. His plan failed; the police stopped him, and he walked back home empty-handed.

Sergeant John Deakin was taking photos of ships from Operation Pedestal entering the Grand Harbour when, much to his annoyance, he was stopped and questioned by the police. He would not obey police orders to put the camera down and continued snapping away. A police sergeant was detailed to stay with him until it was determined that Deakin was an official army photographer.

No one was allowed to take photos without a special permission

There were also comic incidents.

Connie Scicluna, 26, from Ħamrun, looked out of the window and surprised a man in a field with a camera in his hand. On seeing Scicluna, the man looked alarmed and quickly walked away towards the Mile End Ground.

The police were informed, and Reserve Police Constable 336 E. Vella found the man inside the tickets office of the ground. He immediately frisked him and also searched the office but the only thing the constable found was a book in a black leather case.

When the man was asked why he had acted so suspiciously, he explained that he entered the field to urinate when the woman opened the window and caught him by surprise. He then decided that discretion was better than valour and went to use the latrines at the Mile End Ground.

Sketching in public, like taking photos, needed a special permit. Drawings of military installations, demolished buildings or anything that could help the enemy if it fell in the wrong hands were absolutely prohibited.

When someone informed the Mosta police that a strange person was seen sketching on the outskirts of Mosta, Inspector V. Bonello rushed to the place to find Emvin Cremona (1919-1987), a renowned Maltese artist and stamp designer from Ħamrun, drawing the Tal-Isperanza church. When questioned, Cremona produced Licence C. 603/40, which permitted him to paint landscapes and portraits.

Famous Maltese painter Edward Caruana Dingli also ended up in trouble with the police. He was spotted with a pencil sketch of the Grand Harbour, a military target, which broke the conditions of his permit.

Caruana Dingli admitted his guilt but also explained that he had drawn the Grand Harbour tens of times in the past, and these paintings were still being sold or displayed openly around Malta. Despite this justification, and the fact that, as the director of the School of Arts, he was well known by everyone, Caruana Dingli was still searched by the police but nothing incriminating was found on him.

Flight Lt Barnham was also innocently sketching some demolished buildings in Kingsway [Republic Street], Valletta, when he was accosted by Police Constable 308 A. Portelli. Barnham was escorted to the Valletta Police Station, where, despite his protests, all his drawings were torn to pieces.

Barnham was later to write about his experiences as a fighter pilot in Malta in his book One Man’s Window and actually mentions this incident, which is also recorded on one of the Valletta Police Occurrence Logbooks.

Civilians and servicemen were also vigilant for “enemy signallers”. There were hundreds of reports about signals being flashed at enemy aircraft. The majority were easily explained: tins and pieces of glass reflecting the sun, sparking electricity poles, and so on.

There is one case, however, that deserves special mention, as all Malta ended up talking about it.

On June 17, 1940, Baptist Gafà, from Valletta, caught sight of a stationary blue car with three men inside, who were signalling to enemy aircraft with a mirror. The next day, they were spotted again at Delimara.

On June 19, things got weirder. Michael Borg from Żejtun was detained by some soldiers after he was caught running around in his field with a shotgun at 3am. He told the police he had been asleep when his dog started barking and he left his farmhouse to investigate. In one of his fields, he stumbled upon three men who were hiding beneath a fig tree.

On seeing him, they fled, so he chased them and even fired a shot in their direction. When one of the men stopped and threw a stone at him, he retreated and was then captured by the soldiers. Borg claimed that he had found a small mirror near the fig tree.

Word of the three signallers spread around the island and they became known as the ‘Tal-Mera’. Several sightings and close encounters later, three men were finally arrested by Captain Young of the 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment, but it seems that they were innocent and were released. After this, there is no further mention of the ‘Tal-Mera’ men and their antics in the police logbooks.

Besides countless other reports about mirrors, various other signals were observed.

Joseph Spiteri, from Għaxaq noticed someone using a “signal apparatus” in Tarxien Temples during an air raid.

Joseph Battaglia, a British subject of Italian origin, was seen walking in a “suspicious manner” on the roof of the Miramar Hotel, Valletta, while enemy aircraft were bombing the island. He was taken to the police station and interrogated. Three men from Żurrieq reported Carmel Caruana for signalling enemy aircraft by waving his hands at them.

Manuel Casha from Lija noticed some pieces of glass on the terrace of his neighbour’s house, which he believed were “set purposely to serve as a signal to enemy aircraft”. The police took no notice of the report.

Frank Parnis England from Balzan saw a windowpane of a green balcony being opened and closed with the sun reflecting on it, which he believed was a message directed at enemy aircraft flying overhead.

Stranger still, Paul Micallef from Ħamrun was reported for throwing silver paper out of the windows of his residence when the anti-aircraft guns opened fire.

Again, the majority of these reports were just figments of the imagination of the general public, who saw spies everywhere.

This last incident sums perfectly the spy hysteria that affected Malta, especially during the early months of the war.

On September 2, 1940, a private of the 3rd Battalion King’s Own Malta Regiment was sheltering in a house in Kirkop when he heard people shouting from a nearby dwelling. Rushing out to see what was happening, he was told that there was someone signalling from the cemetery of the Nazarene chapel, Mqabba. Sure enough, he could see someone holding what seemed to be a mirror and flashing it to signal enemy aircraft. Despite his target being more than 700 metres away, the private took aim and fired three shots. He was joined by another KOMR soldier who also fired a round at the signaller.

Then, the two soldiers advanced to capture the “enemy agent”, only to find that they had fired at a statue holding a glass lantern. The lantern’s door was unlatched, and the wind swung it to and fro, making it reflect the sunlight. The police were not amused and asked the military authorities if they could proceed against the two privates for endangering civilian lives for no valid reason.

One wonders if they, at least, hit the statue…

 

More information can be found in the author’s book Malta War Occurrences – The Police Logbooks 1940-1942.

 

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Ruben Vella and the staff of the National Archives, without whose assistance this article would not have been possible.