I know that several old timers are proud of the George Cross Medal (GC) emblazoned on the Maltese ensign. I too am an old man, but I am ashamed of the image of the GC on our national flag. The forced unauthorised addition of the GC emblem on the Maltese flag is outrageous. There is nothing more humiliating and submissive for a colonized nation than to surrender its flag to the hands of a dominating nation to make changes fit to its imposition. Yet, it seems that Maltese opinion varies from indifference to gratification.

Being awarded the GC for gallantry is an honour, but, depriving the Maltese of their flag is insulting at the same time. During the Second World War, the Maltese stood side by side with the British not to be dominated. My father served as a soldier. My parents lost all their belongings when their house was totally destroyed. My uncle went down with the British vessel he has serving on.

When the war was over, the British awarded Malta the George Cross Medal. They also, without any consent and consultation with the inhabitants, took the liberty to change the Maltese national ensign which the Maltese held for ages. An emblem of the GC medal was added to the flag. According to some foreign force, Malta had to become Malta GC. Malta successfully fought the Second World War to finally lose its flag. The GC was also placed on the front page of a daily English language local newspaper.

Up to this very day, a section of the Maltese population is still happy and proud of their Boy Scout national flag with the badge for gallantry stuck added onto it. Pity that the other allied countries were kind enough not to take the opportunity to stick their own badges on the Maltese ensign. We would have been the pack holding a catalogue of crosses, stars and other emblems on our flag.

The Maltese and British nations are more than friends. Both live and work together either here or in the UK. Both have an affinity with each other. I still treasure the medals of my British ancestry way back up to the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Yet, we are two distinct countries. Would the Maltese expect the British to put an image of the award Gieh Ir-Repubblika on their Union Jack, if we decide to honour them for standing beside us during the Second World War? 

The Maltese are proud and grateful for being awarded the George Cross Medal, but there is a place where the medal should be kept and displayed with pride. The George Cross Medal belongs in the War Museum where it can find its honourable place, and not on the country’s flag.  My country’s flag is the one that the Maltese poet Dun Karm revered, white and red, and nothing else. This is the Maltese flag, ours by choice, and let our children know it. The Maltese have been deprived of their flag since the end of the war. 

It is time for some Maltese to stop being servile fossils of nostalgia. We have to regain our sovereign status, national ensign and language. For the next general elections, please, let us decide our identity in a referendum. 

Michael Agius

St Paul’s Bay