Martin Scicluna writes:
Brigadier Arthur Gera, died on July 26, aged 92, after a long illness. He was the first of the new post-World War II intake of Royal Malta Artillery officers to become the Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta.
He was among the first of the golden generation of young Maltese men who in the late-1940s, 1950s and 1960s went straight from school – in Arthur’s case the outstanding Lyceum – to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, which he joined in 1947 prior to his commissioning into the Royal Malta Artillery.
I first met Arthur Gera when I joined 2nd Regiment, RMA from Sandhurst in 1956.
I was excited to be thrust straight into the highly-competitive inter-Regimental Officers’ Boat Race. Arthur was then the outstanding stroke of 2nd Regiment’s officers’ six-oared gig and it was thanks to his steadiness under pressure that we won a very tight race.
I subsequently discovered that his calmness under pressure was among the many qualities which he brought to his army career, which included his selection as ADC to the Governor and a range of senior appointments on the General Staff.
When he was promoted to Brigadier and Commander of the Armed Forces of Malta in 1975 his leadership, man-management and organisation skills were instrumental in guiding the AFM through difficult times during the turbulent 1970s and 1980s.
His period as Commander AFM gave him the opportunity to demonstrate his independent-mindedness, solid common-sense and great ability to see the wood for the trees.
Arthur had a dry, under-stated sense of humour, which saw him ride out the challenges posed by scarce financial and manpower resources, the inevitable lot of a commander’s job.
He was intelligent and well-read. He was confident and modest, quietly spoken but somebody who expressed himself firmly and clearly. He possessed sound judgment, integrity and an independent mind. Nothing he did was merely for effect or advantage or calculation. He simply acted as he believed was right – a rare and precious gift.
This proved nowhere more so than in March 1980 when the then Prime Minister, Dom Mintoff, decided – unilaterally and without consulting the commander – to create a so-called ‘Task Force’ by removing from the Armed Forces of Malta one infantry battalion, the Maritime Squadron and the Helicopter Flight – in essence the most crucial elements of the AFM – and placing them under command of the police commissioner and other police officers.
In the face of Mintoff’s intransigence, Brigadier Gera was left with no honourable alternative but to resign his command with immediate effect.
On leaving the AFM, he joined the family’s leading pharmaceutical business and worked there for over 40 years until just a few months ago. Up to the last few weeks of his life, he remained fit and active by taking a daily early morning walk in Sliema’s deserted streets.
To his loving wife, Terry, and his children, Madeleine, Joanna and Michael and their families, relatives and friends, goes all our sympathy in their great loss.