Today, Malta will be a very sleepy place. The Feast of the Assumption is celebrated every year on 15 August and marks the ascent into heaven by the Virgin Mary. This festa is the peak of the summer season of religious village feasts and is celebrated in seven towns and villages: Għaxaq, Gudja, Ħ'Attard, Mosta, Mqabba and Qrendi in Malta, and Victoria in Gozo.

Many will take off to the beach with their families and just while away the day on a sun bed,  under an umbrella, perhaps sipping on a beer or cocktail or two while the children splash about in the sea.

It is the idyllic Mediterranean dream day, and something so typically Maltese. But Santa Marija has other connotations too. But in 1942, things were very different. Malta was on the brink of starvation. Valletta and the docklands across the water in Cospicua were one of the most heavily bombed places on earth. The Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica were sent on daily bombing runs to try and force the British garrison and the Maltese people to surrender. But this is where Maltese tenacity prevailed. The ingenuity of the Maltese came into its own as the people survived.

But our islands could not survive indefinitely. And so, the British organised Operation Pedestal – which we call, the Santa Marija Convoy. In 1941–42, Malta was effectively under siege, blockaded by Axis air and naval forces. The most crucial supply was fuel delivered by the SS Ohio, an American-built tanker with a British crew. The operation officially started on 3 August 1942, though the convoy did not sail through the Strait of Gibraltar until 9 August.

The attempt to run fifty ships past bombers, E-boats, minefields, and submarines has gone down in military history as one of the most important strategic victories of the Second World War. However, it was at a cost of more than 500 lives, with only five of the original 14 merchant ships reaching the Grand Harbour.

But Malta survived and the tide began to turn against the Axis. Many British sailors died to get those supplies to Malta. But there were also many brave Maltese who defied death and logic in keeping the SS Ohio afloat for long enough for it to be drained of its precious cargo. Eyewitnesses said that not long after she was emptied, she sank to the bottom of the Grand Harbour.

The other ships brought food and other much needed supplies and ran the gauntlet into Malta under constant fire. Many of those who remember the events are now very old, with their health and their memories failing. Each year, there are fewer of them. And this is why we should always remember what happened on this day, 73 years ago. Malta’s fate could have been very different to what it is today. Santa Marija is not just about lazing at the beach. It is also a religious feast, but it is also a commemoration of human bravery, suffering and overcoming the greatest of odds.

Lest we forget.