People wouldn't have grumbled so much at the poor rations dished out, had they known how close to the end we were, said Henry Miller when describing how initially the Maltese people didn't realise how vital the arrival of the Santa Maria convoy would be.

In summer of 1942 starving Malta was on the verge of surrender for lack of supplies. 'Operation Pedestal' was a determined effort to get the convoy to Malta. Thirteen merchant ships and the tanker Ohio entered the Mediterranean under heavy escort on 10 August 1942.

The Ohio, laden with precious fuel and other vital supplies, was towed into Grand Harbour, its decks almost awash, on 15 August, to the overwhelming enthusiasm of the people of Malta. As the convoy's arrival coincided with the feast of Santa Marija, the convoy has since been referred to as the Santa Maria convoy.

"A convoy was expected but no-one knew in what number or condition," recalls Mr Miller.

Though 53,000 tonnes of supplies of the original 85,000 tonnes ended up on the Mediterranean seabed, the 32,000 tonnes that reached the island were crucial for its survival. Nine merchantmen, one aircraft carrier, two cruisers and a destroyer were sunk by the enemy in Operation Pedestal.

Henry Miller celebrated his 100th birthday last March. He was 33 when the Santa Marija convoy reached Maltese waters. He lived through the two World Wars and remembers Operation Pedestal vividly. He was in the crowd at the Upper Barakka gardens, cheering gleefully with the others at the convoy's entrance into Grand Harbour.

At the time, he worked at the Treasury at the Palace in Valletta. His duties varied according to wartime needs.

He recalled how he felt particularly terrorised when he and two others had to go on one of the convoy ships, the Port Chalmers, berthed at dockyard creek, which was a main target of the Axis bombing. He had to get a consignment of currency notes from the ship's captain. The notes were kept separate from the rest of the supplies and he had to collect them personally from the ship's captain. Bombs were falling around the whole area, but he had no choice but to obey the orders he was given. The port area was covered under a smokescreen to obstruct the bombers' view. The smoke made it difficult for Mr Miller to find his way around, especially since he wasn't familiar with the area. At one point, he bumped into the bastions and so he could walk along them, fearing that he could have fallen into the sea. Luckily he survived the ordeal.

A day after the Port Chalmers incident, Mr Miller was appointed to oversee the landing of supplies. Instead of using the usual system, arrangements were made to unload the supplies off the ship as quickly as possible in anticipation of other attacks. He was in charge of one of many supply discharge points in the harbour. The supplies were brought down and boarded on trucks. Each truck was dispatched to a particular supply point. There were four points across the islands, colour coded pink, red, green and yellow, away from the imminent dangers of the Grand Harbour. Each truck was loaded with a variety of items including sugar, flour and matches. The supplies were then sorted out at each point and properly stored.

The following day Mr Miller and a team of people were sent to assess the situation of the convoy sailors who sought cover in the various dugout shelters along Valletta bastions. Their lodging was far from satisfying, because they had to sleep in the damp, crude dugouts. He had to see to the needs of the surviving members of the crew. In addition, Miller had a supply of local currency notes to exchange for the sailors.

The sailors were exhausted, some of them could barely stand due to lack of sleep. He approached one particular sailor and asked whether he needed anything.

"No, I don’t need anything. Just tell your friends that we'll come back," said the sailor and closed his eyes, recalls Mr Miller. This statement remained imprinted in his mind as despite all the hardships experienced by the convoy sailor to reach Malta, he was determined to go through the ordeal once again. "I can only imagine the bombardments and submarine attacks the convoy had to go through but his courage struck me. I had to close my eyes and turn away to hide the tears," explained Mr Miller.

The tanker limped into harbour a few days after the rest of the convoy. It was supported by a destroyer on each side. It literally crawled towards Malta, said Mr Miller.

The miracle of the Santa Marija convoy and the arrival of the Ohio tanker was due to the thoroughness and determination of the British navy and the prayers of the Maltese people, he went on.

"I was just one of many civilians who put in practice what many minds planned. All happened in a short time with no time to think twice. We were in constant danger but we knew it. We had a duty to carry out," concluded Mr Miller.