British man tries to retrace father’s war service in Malta, 80 years on

When Robert Hallam was growing up in Sheffield, his father Fred never spoke about his experiences during the second world war.

That silence would stay with Robert into adulthood, leading him on a journey to piece together fragments of his father’s wartime past. 

Bad luck and ill health have got in the way of that journey, but, at the age of 80, Hallam refuses to give up his search.

Accompanied by his family, Hallam first travelled to Malta last year to retrace his father’s steps as a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps, stationed at the 39th General Hospital. 

Fred Hallam served in Malta during the second world war. Photo: Rob Hallam

His father had taken photographs during his five years in the country, but remained tight-lipped about what he witnessed.

“He kept to himself about the war. It wasn’t until I was older that I started to understand what he must have gone through in Malta. I have nothing but respect for him and for the men who served alongside him,” Hallam reflected.

Hallam had hoped to visit the former hospital site, and said he was promised a tour from a local as he was unaware where exactly it was located. But the local never showed up, leaving Hallam and his wife Jean disappointed.

Then, last May, Hallam returned for his second attempt. However, shortly after arriving, he suffered a fall and was admitted to Mater Dei Hospital. From his hospital bed last month, wearing his father’s medals as well as his own, and with his daughter Rachel by his side, he spoke to Times of Malta.

He still has not been able to visit the site of the hospital, which was stationed somewhere in the Mellieħa/Għadira area, according to Heritage Malta. 

I’m not done yet and I haven’t given up

A retired bus conductor and driver who spent over 35 years at the job, Hallam is not one to give up easily. He also served in the British Army Reserve, a connection that deepened his sense of duty and pride following his father’s footsteps.

His fall meant he could not donate his father’s medals to the National War Museum in person, so he sent his daughter instead. 

The donation consisted of the miniature version of Frederick Hallam’s medals in a frame, together with RAMC cap badges. 

“I remember flying into Malta for the first time. My first thought was, ‘This is where my dad was.’ My second thought was, ‘How on earth did he manage the heat?’” he chuckled. 

Fred Hallam in a framed photograph along with some of his army medals. Photo: Rob Hallam

Fred Hallam served in Malta from 1940 to 1945. Malta was first attacked by Italy in June 1940 but the bombardment intensified when the German Luftwaffe joined in the attacks. Malta endured over 3,000 air raids between 1941 and 1942. The situation escalated so severely that within the first six months of 1942 there was only one 24-hour window without air raids. 

The barrage of bombing resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries and many more people were displaced. 

Although the experience was no doubt harrowing, Fred Hallam’s photographs show glimpses of daily life, the camps, fellow servicemen, people on stretchers, and food.

Hallam said: “He sacrificed a lot for both of our countries and then chose to keep it to himself.”

Fred even missed being present for Robert’s birth and did not meet his son until he was 10 months old, as he was stationed in Germany at the time.

Fred’s photograph of the granaries during the second world war. Photo: Rob Hallam

Following his service in Malta, Fred was sent to help with the liberation of Bergen Belsen concentration camp in 1945. One of Nazi Germany’s largest camps was liberated by British troops in April 1945. Like many veterans, he rarely, if ever, spoke about what he witnessed there.

Instead, he returned to the UK, became a tailor, and only occasionally shared lighter memories, such as working as a stage manager in Malta for a rest and recuperation production of Cinderella for troops being deployed to Italy.

Hallam’s time in hospital became a story of its own. Despite the fall, his spirits were lifted thanks to the care and company of those around him.

He thanked his nurse Akhil Augustine and night nurse Mary Grace for their dedication, and spoke fondly of his new friends, Keith Falzon and the well-known 100-year-old Lasallian educator, Brother Edward. 

Fred took photos of his comrades who worked at the hospital where he served during the war. Photo: Rob Hallam

Hallam is a warm character, with a smile inscribed onto his face and a youthful energy, always ready to share a joke or a story.

“I may look 80 but I feel as young as 45,” he said. But when asked what connecting with his father’s past meant to him, he broke down in tears.

“Pride, in what our services did for your lovely island,” he said through tears. “I can’t imagine what those lads saw, and all while so far from home and their loved ones.”

As he prepares to return to the UK, he is already thinking about coming back to complete his mission.

“I’m not done yet and I haven’t given up,” he said.