When Marconi discovered the Wireless Telegraphy System he lived in Italy where the government was not in a very good condition. He could not get any help from the Italian government, so Marconi applied for aid from Britain. Britain accepted with the condition of first holding trials.

Malta, being a British possession and situated near Italy, was chosen as the place for the trials which were to be made in two rooms of the Governor’s Palace in Valletta. But Marconi needed batteries which were not so common in those days. Sir Temi Zammit solved the problem by improvising car batteries from the garages of the taxis in Valletta that used to be stationed in Strada Fianco, the first side street on the left on entering Valletta from Porta Reale. The batteries were produced and the experiment was successful.

And so Marchese Gulielmo Marconi went to England to continue his experiments in after passing through Malta, which was used as the stepping stone for the development of the World Famous Wireless Telegraphy.

This information was given to us by Sir Temi Zammit himself. My father was a very close friend of Sir Temi Zammit because of their very close connections in archaeology. So the information came down to me through my father Carmel. I did not want this information to be lost forever.

Joseph S. Ellul

Zurrieq