christmas message from a world war 2 gunner

3/11 Regiment Royal Malta Artillery (PDF Library).

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

FROM A

WORLD WAR II GUNNER

MAJOR MAURICE G. AGIUS ED RMA (RETD)

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


As the current Chairman of the Royal Malta Artillery

Association (RMAA), I often meet the representative of 3/11

Regiment RMA(T) at some function connected with World War

II. One of the aims of the RMAA is to keep the name of the

Royal Malta Artillery alive. Our two associations are doing just

that. Quite rightly the Armed Forces of Malta have retained the

basic RMA cap badge as its own badge.

11 HAA Regt RMA(T) was formed on 21 September 1939 and 3

LAA Regt RMA(T) in March 1941. When the Island became

Independent and the Malta Government took over

responsibility for the two RMA TA units and 1/KOMR, it was

decided to amalgamate the two RMA(T) units. The new unit

became 3/11 Regt RMA(T) and so the names of both units lived

on.

The Royal Malta Artillery did extremely well in the defence of

the Island during WW II. King George VI was so impressed by

the their skill and resolution that on 3rd April 1942 at the

height of the Battle for Malta he decided to assume the

Colonelcy-in-Chief of the Regiment - only a few days before

awarding the George Cross to the whole Island.

The Royal Malta Artillery has every reason to be proud of its

record.

I wish you all and your family a Very Happy Christmas and All

the Best for 2016.

Maurice G. Agius


POSTSCRIPT

Major Maurice Agius, now 94, lives on his own near Kappara,

Malta. Sadly, his wife Sheila (nee Chalmers) passed away six

years ago.

Maurice was born in Sliema, Malta in 1921, educated at The

Lyceum and at the Royal University of Malta. He was eighteen

years old when World War II broke out in September 1939 but

had already been in uniform two weeks, as he had joined the

Territorials in June of that year.

He was discharged from the Army after a few months on

compassionate grounds to attend university but was back in

uniform two days after Mussolini joined the war in June 1940

and soon afterwards was commissioned and served in 2nd

Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Malta Artillery, right

through the siege 1940-1943.

Wedding Bells – 28

th November 1946 – St Gregory’s Sliema

Maurice and Miss Sheila Chalmers.


He stayed on in the army after the war; he qualified as an

Instructor in Gunnery (Radar) and graduated at the Staff

College Camberley. His army postings included tours at The

War Office, HQ Cyrenaica District, Libya, HQ British Army of

the Rhine and Dortmund as Battery Commander 3 Bty RMA.

The first Commander of the Malta Land Force (later renamed Armed

Forces of Malta) Major General Johnny Frost and Mrs Frost with Major

Maurice Agius after a MLF parade in Floriana.

Major Maurice Agius was the first Brigade Major HQ RMA

and so, in that capacity, met most of the RMA(T) officers but he

really got to know them better when Malta became Independent

and assumed responsibility for the three TA units with General

Johnny Frost as the first Commander Malta Land Force. He

was appointed GSO II MLF and Liaison Officer HQ Malta

Land Force and the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta. He

was allotted two rooms on the top floor of the Castille and an

RMA clerk. Incidentally, the rooms had been occupied by Lord

Louis Mountbatten when he was then Signals Officer of the

Mediterranean Fleet in the rank of Lieutenant.


Among the jobs Major Maurice Agius had to tackle were:

Cancel the first MLF General Order issued by Frost's

staff before his appointment. They had changed the

units' names to 3 LAA Regt MLF and 11 HAA Regt

MLF.

Arrange with Edgar Mizzi, the Attorney General to

make MLF personnel subject to The British Army

Manual of Military Law and The Queen's

Regulations up to and including the last amendment.

Amalgamate 3 and 11 Regiments RMA(T) and

rename them 3/11 RMA(T).

Plan the annual exercises for the regiments and

control them during DXM.

Hold an Officers' Cadet Course to appoint new

Officers.

Appoint TA officers as Staff Officers to help when

their unit was at camp.

Major Agius resigned from the Army in 1968 to run the Malta

Memorial District Nursing Association (MMDNA) as its Director

where he finally retired in the year 2000.

Comrades in arms meet again in 1992. H.E. Dr Vincent Tabone,

President of Malta presenting to Maj. Maurice Agius the Malta

Government George Cross Commemorative medal.


Bengħisa HAA gun position RA detachment in action.

The gun assembled and installed by Maurice Agius’s troop in March 1941.

3.7 inch HAA Gun position in action.


Predictor Detachment.


Gunfire at night.

Radar GL transmitter and receiver with cabins and aerial arrays.

The set also included a 15KVA generator.


3.7 inch HAA Mobile Gun.

Downed Messerschmitt


3inch 20cwt gun, a World War One relic, used in Malta during WWII especially in

support of the 3.7inch and 4.5inch HAA guns during air barrages.

40mm Light Anti-Aircraft Bofors gun, fired at low flying aircraft by LAA regiments.


XHD19 Nadur HAA gun position. The 3.7 inch HAA gun was bolted to the concrete floor.

XHD19 Nadur HAA gun position, where the Officers’ Mess stood until 14 April 1942.


The loading platform and tray with Maj. Maurice Agius hand on lever starting automatic

loading and firing of the 3.7 inch HAA gun.

The four 3.7inch HAA Static Guns at HQ Armed Forces of Malta donated by Mr. Stan Fraser.


Acknowledgements

With thanks and appreciation for contribution

of photos and information for this file to:

Major Maurice G. Agius ED RMA (Retd)

Mr. Stan Fraser, wartime photos

Lt. Col. Herbert C. Abela, MBE

Mr. Paul Evans at the Royal Artillery Museum

The Royal Historical Trust

The Commander Armed Forces Malta

The Malta Aviation Museum

Major Dennis Rollo

Ms Veronica Galea

Mr. Chris Sant Fournier

and

Allied Publications 2008

Publishers of

“Recollections of a Malta HAA Gunner”

by

Maurice G. Agius


Edited 17 December 2015

[email protected]

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christmas message from a world war 2 gunner

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