UK national Andy Powell, son of Captain Christopher Bruce Powell had donated on behalf of his family his father's wartime papers and photographs to Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna - the Malta Heritage Trust.
Captain Powell was General Staff Officer III in Malta through out the war in Malta. He arrived with The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) early in the war and remained on the island past Operation Husky up to the end of the conflict. As GSO III, Captain Powell was based at the British Army headquarters which at the time was located concurrently at the Auberge de Castille and the Combined War HQ at Lascaris. Consequently, he was entitled to sleep in the part of the tunnels reserved to senior officers including the governor and the top service commanders. Mr Powell was shown his father's cubicle in the tunnels while being shown around the underground complex.
The donated papers include a comprehensive General Staff report about the Battle for Malta drawn after its conclusion, various personal papers covering Capt. Powell's service carrier, his personal General Headquarters' service pass and a collection of photographs taken of him in Malta. Of note, three of these show him in an operations room, another showing him assisting Sir Winston Churchill coming down from an aircraft upon his arrival in Malta and another one assisting Nationalist Chinese military officers on a tour of the island. The donated items will now go through a process of conservation before being deposited in the part of FWA's archive dedicated to service personnel who served in Malta.
The items were presented by Andy Powell to Mario Farrugia, FWA's Founding Chairman at the Lascaris War Rooms.
For similar donations please contact: info@wirtartna.org
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