Daniela Formosa and Gabriella Grima, who recently graduated B.A. Honours in History from the University of Malta, were jointly awarded the Farsons Foundation Prize for best History honours thesis (2017).

The prize was awarded jointly as both obtained the same mark for their work. The prize was set up in February 2014, as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, the Farsons Foundation and the University of Malta.

The agreement was renewed last year for a further three years. The Award is funded by Farsons for the fourth year running. The selection of the winning thesis is made by the History Department.

Daniela wrote her thesis on 'The 1836 Austin and Lewis Commission: An Analytical Review of Private Correspondences and Reports'. Taking stock of a wide range of aspects of life and governance in Malta, the Commission made solid recommendations that set the tone of British administration for the next forty years.

Gabriella's thesis dealt with 'Identifying Patterns of Crime in Gozo: A Look into the Police Occurrences of the Second World War'. Through the investigation of hitherto unseen police records her research threw fresh light on the social history of Gozo during an eventful time in the island's history.

History honours theses are normally based on original archival research.

Presenting the prize, Michael Farrugia, Director at Simonds Farsons Cisk and Trustee on the Board of The Farsons Foundation-and himself a graduate of History from Edinburgh University-wished the two graduates well and expressed the hope that the prize acted as an incentive for students to aim for excellence in their work. He congratulated Ms Formosa and Ms Grima for their success and wished them well in their careers.