The final part of our captivating story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. With the fall of Sicily to the Allies, the air raids petered out and Malta now became a staging post for the Italian invasion, as thousands of troops arrived to prepare for thi
Part 9 of our fascinating story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. King George VI’s visit to the Island was a great morale booster for the people of Malta. However, only a few short months before the King’s visit, life in Malta had become unbearabl
Part 8 of our fascinating story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. The raids on the Grand Harbour by the enemy in an effort to finish off the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, continued almost continuously, hitting the ship, Valletta and the Three Cit
Part 7 of our interesting story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. By January 1941 the pattern of life in wartime had been established. The whole of Europe, apart from Britain, was under enemy hands. However, Malta was fighting back; bombers based on
Part 6 of our fascinating story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. The lack of proper food and the continuous tension over the years made its mark on the population. People just grew thinner, looked shabby, but morale was always good. However, the
Part 5 of our gripping story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. At the height of the air raids, our family spent most of the nights in the safety of the shelters. This was with the exception of my parents, who stayed at home because my baby sister wa
Part 4 of our interesting story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. The air raids continued they became a part of our lives. Bombs were dropped indiscriminately; the main targets were around the Harbours – Valletta, Sliema, the ThreeCities and the Doc
Part 3 of our fascinating story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. I was born in the town of Senglea, in the Cottonera area, and had a brother and two sisters. Parish records, which were taken to safety during the Air Raids, show that generatio
Part 2 of our captivating story of Vicky Rylance’s childhood experiences in Malta during WWII. On the 11th June, 1940 – which was the day after Italy had declared war against Britain – I was woken up as usual about 6.30am, and was getting ready to accompany my Aunt Teresa to M
Vicky Rylance has been writing her life story for her children and grandchildren through events that stand out from her childhood memories. Vicky’s story of her early years during WWII gives a fascinating insight of what life in Malta was like then. Over the next few months we