Frans H. Said

Following the success of the historic event of HMS Ark Royal we were prompted to continue to seek the help of the UK services in Malta. The Heads of Services agreed to take it in turn. 1961, Kalafrana (now the Freeport) hosted by the RN. 1962, the large service hangar at Luqa, hosted by the RAF and 1963, the Hangar at Ta’ Qali, hosted by the Army. In 1964 and 1966 it was back at Kalafrana, while in 1965, 1967, and 1968 the party was held at RAF Luqa, but hosted respectively by each service in turn. 1969 saw the last great party at Ta’ Qali. In each of these occasions, the arrival of Father Christmas was always the highlight, more often than not arriving by helicopter or some other special vehicle.

In 1970 the amount of servicemen in Malta had been drastically reduced. With the help of the Royal Malta Artillery we organised the last national party ever at the Alhambra Theatre in Sliema. The big hall and the large two foyers of the theatre gave us ample space, but it could never compare with the space of huge hangars.

The Gozitan parties

Due to logistical problems it was difficult to bring children over from Gozo, so they only took direct part during the HMS Ark Royal party. But this does not mean that they did not get their fair share of the fun, and the two theatres in Victoria alternatively hosted the said parties. Toys and food were always in abundance. The coordination in Gozo was carried our by the then resident Magistrate (later Chief Justice) Dr Carmelo Schembri LL.D.

The selection of the children was to me the greatest headache. It was a coordinated effort by the Department of Social Welfare, the Catholic Action Centres and the parish priests. Even when we hosted 3000 children in one year, it was never enough and normally only one child could be invited from each family. This brings to mind an interesting and poignant episode. We used to receive a number of large presents that were drawn by lot. On one occasion a boy was lucky enough to be drawn to choose and at his disposal were a variety of exciting toys, such as an electric train set. Instead he chose a pram with a doll. We were surprised. What would a boy do with a doll? When pressed, and amid sobbing, he stated that he had a twin sister who could not attend as they had been given only one ticket, and therefore as he had enjoyed the party, his sister would get the special present. His altruism paid great dividends as his family was eventually inundated with many presents, food and other useful items.

It used to be heartrending to see a small girl clutching a doll, or a boy with a smile from ear to ear going away happily with a car or a ball. That would be the one and only present they would have had that Christmas.

The organisation

The brunt of the organisation had fallen on me. Early in August, instead of going to swim I used to start the ball rolling. It is amazing how much work was involved, and it took me up to the following February to finalise all the accounts and records, seven months of hard but pleasant and satisfying work. And for all this I (and as a matter of fact no one else) ever received any remuneration, neither in cash nor in kind. It was more the case of being out of pocket. The first step, obviously, was to obtain the blessing from Com Hamilton Hill and then approach the leading personalities for their patronage. The Governor (later the Governor General), the Head of Government (later the Prime Minister), the Archbishop and the Chief Justice not only gave their patronage, and contributed financially, but they would also attend each party and give me tangible and moral support and advice.

The next step was to start collecting the funds. Circulars were sent to all the addressees on the telephone directory. Appeals were broadcast daily on Redifussion. With the assistance of the cinemas, there were special shows for school children at reduced prices, the funds from which were all put to good use. Many of the editions of Il-Quiż Madwar Malta (Round Malta Quiz) used to be recorded to a packed hall at the Catholic Institute and elsewhere, the full takings being dedicated to the fund. An official receipt acknowledged each and every donation and the accounts were carefully audited by Redifussion’s Chief Accountant and also by an independent auditor.

Transport had to be organised so that the buses could collect children from a specific route. Toys and presents had to be selected and bought, and food to be ordered. Milk (courtesy of MMU) and drinks (courtesy of Coca Cola) quenched their thirst.

On arrival at around 2pm, the children used to be met by a full-scale funfair keeping them occupied for some three hours. The children were then shepherded into a makeshift theatre for some slapstick, singing and finally an hour of cartoons. I still remember and hear vividly the shouts and clapping of children at the start of each cartoon. The final part was to take the children back to their homes, taking with them at least one gift and a bag of sweets for the other members of the family.

It wasn’t always plain sailing and I used to be harassed and received a number of insulting calls and letters. This was to be expected, but I had learnt very early in life how to face such adversities. In any case, for each vile comment, there were always hundreds of good ones. It was the final result that counted, and that was to see happy children, enjoying the Christmas of their life, which they would remember for as long as they live.

Other activities

Due to logistical limits, each year we used to hold three separate parties, namely the big one in Malta, a smaller one in Gozo and a slap up meal for children living in orphanages. All this within the space of the week between Christmas and the New Year. At that time iz-Ziju Salv and I used to enjoy great popularity and donations in cash or kind flew in abundance. The food donated included turkeys, capons, cakes and many other goodies. These were grouped into hampers and in conjunction with parish priests, donated to large families. We felt that it was our duty, as presenters of children’s programmes, not only to amuse children on the radio, but even more so to take care of their material needs. Other activities included the donation of utility gifts to orphanages such as clothes, blankets, heaters and community toys and games. (This was well in advance of what is now known as the Community Chest Fund)

The end of the parties

By 1970 many other groups started to organise parties and therefore there was a certain degree of duplication. It was a difficult decision, but we had to stop. There were other reasons, including my family, my involvement in other social activities and my work as by then I was holding senior positions in local industry. Thus after 19 years and 48,000 children the famous Christmas parties for needy children came to the end. It has now been 46 years since HMS Ark Royal and 36 years since the last party. I am sure that those in their 40s and 50s still remember these events with happy thoughts. It was a different era, but times change and we had to adapt ourselves to the new circumstances.

I must take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of persons (some still alive, many others have gone to their eternal rest) from all walks of life who used to help in the organisation, administration, collection of funds and running of these events. Without their manifest and genuine help all this would not have been possible.

It would be very interesting if some of those went to the parties, especially the one on HMS Ark Royal were to write about their esperience.