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Malta At War by Air
The island of Malta has sat at the heart of British history for many centuries. In both the First and Second World War, it was part of our gateway to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Join us on this fascinating tour as we explore the military history of Malta.
Tour Includes
- 4 nights hotel with continental breakfast
- Specialist Battlefield Guide
- Return flights to Malta with hand luggage allowance
- Airport transfers in Malta
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Itinerary
Please choose your preferred 5 day itinerary
Fly to Malta and transfer to our hotel for four nights.
Today, we begin our tour by looking at the role of Malta in the First World War. A British garrison in 1914, we start the day looking at the rapid expansion of the military hospitals which were set up to receive casualties from the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915.
At Imtarfa, we visit the outside of buildings that remain of the then Mtarfa Military Hospital, where VAD nurse Vera Brittain (author of 'Testament of Youth’) was treated for fever before going on to work at St. George’s Barracks Hospital.
Moving on to Ghajn Tuffieha, we see where five huge convalescent camps were set up. After lunch at Golden Bay, we travel to Valletta, seeing where St. Andrew’s, Cottonera and Tigne hospitals were located and used for Gallipoli casualties and later for men brought in from Salonika.
We then visit the unusual Pieta Military Cemetery where many headstones lie recumbent, although there are many poignant private markers placed throughout the cemetery. Here we pay our respects to many of those servicemen and women, including medical staff, who died of wounds, disease and cross-infection many miles from home.
Includes Breakfast
Included Highlights
Today, we start our study of Malta in the Second World War by looking at the role of the British Army’s Malta Garrison troops, in particular, the Royal Artillery in the anti-aircraft role as they defended both the island and its marine assets as the ‘Siege of Malta’ began in earnest in June 1940.
The CWGC Imtarfa Military Cemetery is then our stop, in the shadow of the ancient city of Mdina. The role of the Royal Air Force on and over the island is our next focus this morning, beginning with a visit to the old RAF airfield at Ta’Qali – base to many legendary units tasked with defending Malta.
At the Malta Aviation Museum, we discuss the air war over Malta and see a preserved Hawker Hurricane IIa and a later Supermarine Spitfire IX.
We take our lunch at the Hotel Point de Vue, at Rabat, which was used by fighter pilots as an officers’ mess during the war. The hotel still bears many visible scars of bomb damage from WW2.
After lunch, we see Addolorata Cemetery where over 250 casualties of the Second World War are buried, including men killed in the initial raids on Malta in 1940.
We then travel to the Malta Memorial to the missing which remembers over 2,200 British and Commonwealth personnel. In the old city of Valletta, we visit the National War Museum housed in the magnificent Fort St. Elmo. This important museum tells Malta’s story during the two World Wars.
Later, we have a boat tour of Marsamxett Harbour and Valletta’s Grand Harbour, seeing the dominance of island’s defences and discussing the naval aspects of Malta’s wartime experience.
Includes Breakfast
Included Highlights
On our final day, we look at the devastation caused to both the lives of the Maltese people and their island. Walking through Valletta we see many visible signs of the WW2 siege, including visiting the remains of the Royal Opera House, which was destroyed by Luftwaffe bombing in 1942.
We see the plaque remembering the award of the George Cross to Malta on the wall of the Palace of the Grand Master. We then visit the Lascaris War Rooms. This huge underground complex, built almost 50 metres deep in the limestone underneath Valletta, served as the Combined War Headquarters.
We then attend the Noon Day Gun Ceremony at the Saluting Battery located high along Valletta's eastern historic ramparts, where it enjoys unrivalled spectacular views of the Grand Harbour and its surrounding fortified towns.
After lunch, The Three Cities ferry takes us across the harbour to visit the Malta at War Museum, housed in an 18th century army barracks which served as a police station and air raid precautions centre during the war. We experience the underground shelters which protected hundreds of civilians during enemy air raids.
We end at Malta (Capuccini) Naval Cemetery CWGC. Here we visit the graves of men and women who died in defence of Malta during WW2.
Includes Breakfast
Included Highlights
Transfer to Malta airport for your return flight to the UK.
Includes Breakfast
Accommodation
You will stay for four nights at the 4-star Hotel Seashells Resort at Suncrest in Qawra
Good tidings we bring!
Fully escorted breaks
throughout the festive season
