King George VI decided to award Malta the George Cross after reading a letter to the Times of London about Malta’s contribution to the Allied war effort, new research has shown.

This is one of the revelations following research conducted by Heritage Malta that shed new light on the series of events leading to the award of the George Cross to Malta on September 13, 1942.

Heritage Malta said that while the new material does not rewrite history, it adds significant details to this chain of events, particularly the purely incidental circumstances which started the award procedure.

Conducted by Kenneth Gambin and Giancarlo Azzopardi at the Royal Archives of Windsor Castle, the research has been published in the new Heritage Malta book The George Cross: its untold story, produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the National War Museum celebrated in May this year.

The highlight of this research includes a hand-written citation and other correspondence by King George VI himself.

The King had been informed of a letter sent to the editor of the Times of London and published on April 10, 1942. The letter, written by a retired British army officer with a Maltese connection, suggested that Malta should be honoured for its contribution to the Allied war effort.

There had been previous suggestions about awarding Malta for its resistance, but nothing had ever materialised. This time, however, the King took a very personal interest in the matter. He accepted the suggestion wholeheartedly and even wrote the citation accompanying the George Cross medal – dated April 15, 1942 – in his own hand.

The fact that he took the time and effort to write the citation and even correct it himself indicates that he felt strongly about the critical situation in Malta and the tribulations of the Maltese people, Heritage Malta pointed out.

Also worthy of note is the fact that this interest was shown in private correspondence that was never meant to be published, and not in a stately or official declaration.

The research also revealed that Governor John Gort initially planned to erect a small building in Valletta to host a display of the George Cross and citation.

A replica of the George Cross will be on display at St Paul’s Catacombs on September 20 during the Rabat and Mdina edition of Heritage Malta’s event Museums by Candlelight.