In June 2009 I booked a holiday at St. Pauls Bay in Malta, staying at the Saga Coastline Hotel.  I had read accounts and the casualty list of the fatal air disaster that happened in Malta on 18th February 1956 when an Avro York aircraft belonging to Scottish Airlines crashed into the mountains near Zurrieg soon after take-off after a refuelling stop at Luqa.  There were no survivors.  44 airmen who had completed their time in the Suez Canal Zone and one soldier coming home on compassionate grounds, plus the five civilian air crew were all killed and I discovered that no Memorial had ever been erected for these servicemen or the aircrew. 

At a SVA meeting in London I suggested to John Mitchell that I would like to try and correct this missing tribute and he agreed, particularly because he had lost a friend in this tragic accident, he arranged to produce a small framed ‘In Memoriam’ message.  I wanted to take with me a SVA and a Canal Zoners shield  but unfortunately the SVA shield is no longer available so could only take a Canal Zoners one.  This, and some other paperwork relating to the crash, I took to Malta with me in my hand luggage. 

The day following my arrival I attended the usual voluntary ‘welcome’ meeting at the hotel and was able to discuss my ‘mission’ with Ivan, a very helpful member of the staff, who knew the location of the cemetery at Mtarfa where the casualties were buried in the native limestone.  Considering an appropriate siting of the Memorial would be in the near-by Malta Aviation Museum Ivan telephoned and spoke to the staff at the museum who expressed it would be their pleasure to display the Memorial.

I felt a little apprehensive about getting to the cemetery and museum under my own steam as it would apparently require a certain amount of walking, and the day-time temperature was averaging 32°c.  However, help was again at hand in the person of Mrs Marie Avellino, a lecturer from the Department of Tourism at the University of Malta, who attended the hotel that afternoon to give a talk on ‘Wartime Malta’.  The following morning she kindly drove me, first to the cemetery where we were welcomed and conducted by Tony Muscat, the Representative of the British and Commonwealth War Graves Commission, to the various sections of the graves explaining the technique required to position three or four coffins above each other in the limestone.  We then went on to the Malta Aviation Museum which was about ten minutes drive.  Here we were welcomed by Mr Ray Polidano and other staff members who received our memorial items and with the assurance they will be portrayed initially in the original building of the museum and then in a new hanger which was under construction.

Altogether a successful and satisfying mission for which I would like to express, on behalf of the Suez Veterans Association and the Canal Zoners, our thanks and appreciation to all parties involved.

Peter Wymark.  SVA Member 1603.