MALTA SAVED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 37, 13 February 1943, Page 5

MALTA SAVED

FROM STARVATION

Timely Arrival Of Convoy In August Last Year

Rec. 1 p.m. RUGBY, Feb. 12. The big change which came over Malta in the past few months was related to correspondents at Cairo by Major-General R. Scobie, G.O.C. Malta. In August, General Scobie said, the position was so bad that unless ships had arrived Malta's population and garrison would have been starved by the middle of November. Now the situation was completely changed and the island was building up reserves of supplies. The work of the R.A.F. on the island was magnificent and not one bomb had fallen on Malta during the past month. Enemy raiders were met 30 miles or more at sea, and, most of them, particularly the Italian machines, dropped their bombs in the water, where they destroyed fishing beds, with the result that the people of Malta were getting very few fish.

Excellent work was also being done by the island's garrison. Some of the regular soldiers had been on the island for seven years, and during the long seige they had done i many amazing things. They patrolled beaches by night, helped to unload convoys and built rock shelters for Scobie said the island would probably be subjected to ifurther heavy attacks when the Axis was driven to evacuate' £orth Africa, across 3 'thepath' of retreat. The island Xe £&3g aid wJSdToon balsas well air base which would play an important part in future strategy in that theatre.