Royal Navy – Malta for the second time…
In December 1955 I was drafted to Malta on HMS Ricasoli, as
the Buffer, and arrived there after taking some leave. As
Malta was an accompanied tour I was able to take my wife
and children with me. Through my assistant Petty Officer
Campbell we found accommodation in Kalcara – a village just
by the barracks. When my wife and children arrived I knew
Jess was a little disappointed. After a few days she said
that she wished she could just get on a plane and go back
home. She missed the comforts of England. It certainly was
a big change for her cooking on a small paraffin stove, and
the way of life was totally different. Gradually one
settled in and made friends. The Shopping was done at the
NAAFI shop which was located next to the forces hospital
(Bighi Hospital). We also caught the liberty boat (a
launch) from Bighi Hospital steps that used to take us
across the Grand Harbour to Valetta – the capital of Malta.
As time passed we settled down and our circle of friends
grew. My son (David) and my daughter (June) settled into
the forces school, I began a course in the barracks to
learn to drive. After a while I passed my test and it was
not long before we had a car (a Ford). When I got the car I
took it into the barracks workshop and gave it an overhaul
with the help of Hughie Campbell, our Petty Officer, who
said that I had got a pretty good buy. I had been helped
with the purchase by a Maltese local called Tony who I was
friendly with. Gradually we settled down to our new life
and I was happy to see my wife settling in at last. There
were about 3 other English families in the street where we
lived – Windmill Street – and we enjoyed their friendship.
We also made friends with many of the locals around us and
we had a local girl who helped my wife in the house. We
thoroughly trusted Helen and if we were out and the weather
got hot all of the window shades would be closed for
coolness when we got in.
I still got the occasional game of cricket to represent the
Royal Navy against the Army, Royal Air Force or any other
visiting side. We had a very good commander. One of the
things he allowed us to do was to use our local M.F.V
(motor fishing vessel), attached to the fort, to go on a
Sunday ‘Banyan’ party. All the staff and their children
would go to Comino – a small inlet island – where we would
go swimming and snorkelling as the water was so clear. The
fish in all of their colours were really be beautiful. It
was a real experience for my children to study underwater
life. Hyndrafia Beach was a good inlet of sandy area and
safe for swimming as it was shallow. We could bury our soft
drinks where the water came in, as there was no tide, to
keep them cool. We – David, June and I – would explore the
rocks and I think it was about August or September time
when we found a large section had a vine growing under the
rocks. The vine was heavy with lovely black grapes which
naturally we picked and all enjoyed. Whilst in Malta my
wife learned to swim. Our son also decided he would like to
go to Holbrook School (a services boarding school in
Ipswich). We told him to wait a while to be sure that he
was serious about his wishes and that if he still wanted to
go we would apply for his entry. Once it was apparent that
he was serious about going we applied to the school and he
was accepted. The fee was £100 a year and we found it to be
a good school. As far as I can remember all of the teachers
were Dons. It took our son a while to settle down but we
think the education stood him in good stead for his future
life. In total we spent 3 years in Malta and during this
time the incident at the Suez Canal took place. HMS
Ricasoli was taken over as a staging point for crews of LCT
(landing craft) and Petty Officer Campbell was seconded to
landing parties while the operations continued. I
considered taking my car into HMS Ricasoli for safety
during the Suez conflict but Tony my Maltese friend said to
not bother as my car would not be touched. There was quite
a lot of ill feeling by some of the Maltese people
regarding our landings at the Suez Canal. At the end of the
conflict and withdrawal of our forces from the Suez Canal
everything settled back down to a normal life. We had been
in Malta for about 2½ years when I was told that England
was withdrawing its forces from Malta as they were to have
their independence. I would remain to close down HMS
Ricasoli and hand it over to the Maltese Army. This was
about August 1958, HMS Ricasoli was one of the last Royal
Navy barracks on the island.