Telephone service in Malta knows its origins to the beginning of the 20th century. Red telephone booths (kiosks) were subsequently installed on the Maltese islands with several of them still in their place, albeit as a tourist attraction.
This feature explores two of the earliest telephone directories from 1943: one titled, Malta Telephone Directory 1943 and the other Telephone Directory - Malta Government Departments 1943.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and the first phone call was made. A year later, there were 3,000 active users in record. Then in 1881, the first long-distance phone service started. Telephones went mainstream in the early 20th century.
The red telephone booth was a telephone kiosk intended for public use designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. It was a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom, Malta, Bermuda and Gibraltar. The British Post Office chose the colour red to make them easy to spot, especially in case of emergencies.
It was in 1933 that the telephone service in Malta was given an upgrade. That year, the Governor, General Sir David Campbell, inaugurated a new system which provided Malta and Gozo with 1,005 lines. It was estimated that around £21,000 were required to extend the system to Gozo and outlying villages.
War, the language question and politics
The date of the first telephone directory in use in Malta is not known, as most if not all, have been destroyed, but in 1940, a telephone directory was in use in Maltese households.
Since it was suggested that old directories should be destroyed when new ones were received (as the use of obsolete directories gave rise to ineffective calls), these two old directories from 1943 are truly a treasure trove of information and very hard to find (especially wartime ones).
Directories, especially the one from 1940, also assume historical significance as they reflect the political intrigues of the day. Before the break-out of hositilities between Britain and Italy in June 1940, Maltese allegiance towards Britain and Italy had been divided into two main political factions. It was also a time when the language question was a high issue in Maltese politics, with those Maltese favouring Malta's allegiance with Britain and their calling out for the exclusion of the Italian language in Malta, from street names and even to entries in the telephone directory.
The language matter was so sensitive at the time that Dr Fortunato Mizzi, leader of the Maltese Nationalist Party, who sympathised with fascist Italy, complained that his address in the directory was listed in English, as St John Street instead of in the Italian language, as Strada San Giovanni.
At the end of hostilities, in 1943, most of the civil and war departments in Malta were still operational as the war was still raging in Europe and the Pacific. New telephone directories were issued in 1943 by the manager, Telephone Department, Malta and printed at the Malta Printing Office, at the cost of 1s. (one shilling)
These two directories under review were very detailed in content giving subscribers ample information on several matters to educate users in making good use of the telephone and other matters.
The Malta Telephone Directory (1943)
The new Malta Telephone Directory included subscribers on the civil system and cancelled previous issues which were to be destroyed. Also, a complimentary copy was given for each direct or external extension line installed. The following telephone exchanges were listed in the directory: Central, Għawdex, Rabat, St Paul's, Sliema and Valletta.
The directory included the following items of interest:
- Alphabetical list of subscribers
- Complaints: Notification of faults and correspondence
- Emergecy service ambulance, fire and police
- Enquiries regarding the service
- How to make a call
- How to answer a call
- How to use the telephone
- How you can promote efficient service
- List of exchanges included in the directory
- List of localities served by the government telephone system
- List of telephone kiosks
- Message delivery service
- Phonetic similarity
- Tariff of telephone charges
- Telephone directory regulations
- Training of private branch exchange operators
- Transfer and removal form
In 1943, 14 telephone booths existed as follows:
- Balzan (Balzan Square, Percius Garage,145 High Street)
- Birkirkara, Valley Road
- Hamrun, St Paul's Square
- Ħat-Attard, Church Square
- Rabat, Post Office, Museum Road
- St Julian's, Balluta Bay
- Sliema (Ridolfo Street, St Anne's Square, Tower Road, Fond Għadir, Victoria Terrace)
- Valletta (Queen's Square, General Post Office)
Some interesting tips were given to first-time users of the telephone. Some suggestions included some general rules of speaking clearly, deliberately and directly to the transmitter - almost touching it! It was stated that if you speak clearly, it is rarely necessary to speak loudly!
'Telephone Directoy - Malta Government Departments (1943)'
This directory acted as an addenda and corrigenda to the Malta Telephone Directory (1943) and listed all the Malta government departments, including the war departments as follows: Agriculture, Air Raid Precautions, Attorney General's Office, Audit Office, Control of Building Materials, Bread Distribution, Censorship, Commissioner for Gozo, Co-ordination of Supplies, Council of Government, Courts, Customs and Port, Demolition and Clearance, Education, Emigration and Labour, Executive Council, Food and Commerce Control, Governor, Imposts and Lotto, Information Service, Labour and Emigration, Land Valuation, Library, Lietuenant-Governor's Office, Malta Relief Fund Committee, Medical and Health, Milk Marketing Undertaking, Mineral Oils, Museum, National and Social Services, Notary to Government, Passport Office, Police, Posts, Printing, Prisons, Protection, Public Registry, Public Works, Reconstruction, Reformatory, Sea Transport, Shelter Construction, Statute Law Revision Commission, Transport, Treasury, Royal University of Malta, Water, electricity and Telephone.
It is evidently clear that the civil and military authorities in Malta kept the civil protection departments operational. This included shelter construction, air raid precautions and demolition and clearance. This was a safety measure to ensure that the war was over in Europe and the rest of the world before phasing them out.
The 'end' of telephone directories
The Telemalta Corporation Act of 1974 created Telemalta, which was given monopoly rights as both the operator and regulator of all telecommunications services. In 1996, Telemalta Corporation had issued a new telephone directory on CD-ROM. Maltacom was created in 1997 as a public limited company and assumed the assets of Telemalta.
In June 2007, the Maltacom Group was renamed Go as part of a rebranding exercise. GO plc is a Maltese integrated telecommunications company. It is a quadruple play provider that offers local and long distance telephone services, wireless services, digital terrestrial television, among others.
The Yellow Pages business directory made its final appearance in September 2019, when Yellow, the company behind it changed to a fully digital-based company.
The use of the telephone as a land line, CD-Roms and hard copies of telephone directories are slowly being phased out as the world becomes hooked up on the smart phone and the iphone.
The GO Directory is now the national database of fixed and mobile phone numbers and addresses, including customers of GO and other providers.