War H.Q. Tunnels - Valletta

VACANCY - Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna is looking to employ on full or part-time basis a number of gunners to fire the guns at the Saluting Battery in Valletta during public displays. Employment hours are from 9.30am till 4.30pm. Interested parties are to send their CV by email only: to [email protected]. A valid working permit is necessary.

Due to adverse weather conditions, the Saluting Battery, Malta Time-Gun Museum, Lascaris War Rooms, War H.Q., and St Peter’s Galleries will remain closed today.

Max Surman, A Man of Many Talents

An architect by profession, Max Surman joined the RAF in 1941, commissioning as a Flight Lieutenant. He was immediately posted to the Royal Observer Corps, tasked with visually tracking enemy raids flying over Britain.

He was soon dispatched to Malta, where, under the direction of Wing Commander Alfred Woodhall, Surman organised a local, volunteer Observer Corps. This unit was mainly composed of Maltese men and boys.

Surman was an avid photographer- a number of photos portraying the Lascaris War HQ and its staff were taken by Max Surman during his tour of duty in Malta.

In 1943, Sir Keith Park commissioned Surman to use his architecture background in designing the layout of a new, better-equipped Fighter Control Room planned for the extension works in the Lascaris War Rooms.

His restored workspace in the Observer Corps office linked to the 1943 Sector Operations Room featured a photograph of his wife, Phyl. The original photo was returned to its rightful place above Surman’s desk in 2022.

Visit the War HQ War H.Q. Tunnels - Valletta and the Lascaris War Rooms- managed by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna- to delve deeper into the lives of those who kept Malta afloat during the Second World War. Open Mon-Sat 10.00-16.30 (last entry 16.00).

📚Find us at the Malta Book Festival📚

Come and help Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna with this year's olive harvest at Fort Rinella, Kalkara. A free tour will be offered afterwards and will have a chance of seeing the recently inaugurated Guthrie Bridge too. Book a place by sending an email: [email protected]

Next public event free to all old and young - olive picking at Fort Rinella, Kalkara

The Lascaris War Rooms recently hosted some very special guests. Mr Brian Park and Mr Alex Neill, both great-nephews of Sir Keith Park, along with their respective wives Mrs Kate Park and Mrs Pauline Neill, visited the very place which the famed Air Vice-Marshal, then Air Officer Commanding Malta, ran and developed between 1942 and 1943. The two couples were given an extensive tour of the Lascaris War HQ for them to better understand Park's air defence operations on Malta, as well as the island's role in the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna is honoured by such visits which allow the families of those who served, no matter their rank or role, to better appreciate their ancestors' influence on Maltese and international history.

🇲🇹VICTORY DAY🇲🇹

🇹🇷1565- 500 Knights of St John and a 9,000-strong Christian garrison hold on to Malta against an invading armada of some 30,000 Muslim besiegers from the Ottoman Empire.

🇫🇷1800- Maltese rebels along with British, Portuguese and Neapolitan assistance oust the French garrison after a two-year occupation.

🇬🇧1943- The Italian battlefleet anchors under the guns of Malta as Italy surrenders following the success of Operation HUSKY, the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.

This public holiday in Malta remembers three monumental points of the island's turbulent history. You can learn about Malta's three victories and more by joining the War HQ Tunnels tour, Mondays to Saturdays at 10.30, 13.00 and 14.30 starting from the Saluting Battery.

🚢Malta's Lifeline🚢
The 3rd of September is Merchant Navy Day, where we remember the lives who braved U-boat infested seas to deliver much-needed supplies to Britain and her territories and allies during the Second World War.

The island fortress of Malta relied almost entirely on the delivery of foodstuffs and war material for its survival. Escorted by the British Mediterranean Fleet, it was the civilian sailors, anti-aircraft gunners and stevedores of the Merchant fleet who bore the brunt of both aerial and naval attack. Throughout the conflict, 32,000 merchant seafarers were killed during convoy operations.

Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna pays tribute to the Merchant Navy at multiple heritage sites, including the MALTA AT WAR MUSEUM and the Lascaris War Rooms . To learn more about the many convoy operations organised to deliver Malta throughout the Second World War, visit the Malta at War Museum and the Lascaris War Rooms Monday to Saturday from 10.00 till 16.30 (16.00 last entry).

After the vital delivery of 10,000 tons of fuel, along with much-needed ammunition and other material through Operation PEDESTAL, Air HQ Malta was in a good enough position to start harassing the Axis forces on their own turf.

‘Rodeos’ were no new operations for the RAF. These all-fighter sweeps were flown over enemy territory with the aim of destroying enemy aircraft before these were used against friendly targets. This tactic could now be employed over Sicily.

From late August 1942 onwards, the Fighter Control Room at Lascaris coordinated a series of Rodeos over Sicily, some of which were simply a show of force, while others were designed to attack and destroy Axis aircraft and facilities on the ground.

While conducting Rodeos from Malta was not always logistically possible, and their effects on enemy air power was limited, such operations laid the basis for the air es**rt duties that Air HQ Malta would manage during the Allied landings in Sicily during Operation HUSKY, launched in July 1943.

To learn more about the many military operations conducted from Malta during the Second World War, visit the Lascaris War Rooms, managed by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna, Monday to Saturday from 10.00 till 16.30 (last entry 16.00).