Leveraging the Power of "WE"

LEVERAGING THE POWER OF WE 

A Watershed Event in Discovering Where to Find Your Ancestors

The watershed genealogical event that we have been experiencing for quite some time now and another event it is sparking are ..  DIGITIZATION (millions of records being put online every day).

Census, Birth, Marriage, Death, Emigration, Immigration, Family bibles, Family Histories, Cemeteries, Court, Military Schools, Land, Religious, Tax, Occupational, Newspapers, Local Histories, Diaries, Funeral Home, Insurance, Obituaries …............. the list goes on and on.

There are so many records coming online so fast and really that presents a CHALLENGE! Which records should I search first? read on ....

The Royal Opera House (1866 - 1942) - MALTA

Santa Marija and the Miracle of 1942

Operation Pedestal , the convoy that saved Malta

http://youtu.be/gWT8m4I1if4

An Important Week in Maltese History, Aug - 1942

14 August 1942: 3000 Men Unload Convoy

14AUG

MALTA WAR DIARY: OPERATION PEDESTAL - SANTA MARIJA – DAY BY DAY

OPERATION CERES UNDERWAY

Operation Ceres underway c IWM GM1475

3000 army personnel are now working night and day to unload the supplies delivered by the newly-arrived convoy.  All possible vehicles are engaged in the task, code-named ‘Operation Ceres’.  In addition, 1500 army personnel are still working on the aerodromes for servicing and refuelling aircraft, and repairing runways as required to keep Malta’s fighters in the air and protect the precious cargoes.

AIR RAIDS DAWN 14 AUGUST TO DAWN 15 AUGUST 1942

Weather  Fine; visibility 10-15 miles.

Dawn  Having spent the night in futile attempts to towOhio, Bramham, Penn and Rye are joined by Ledbury.  Further attempts to tow the sinking tanker are more successful, albeit very slow.  The ‘cortege’ is joined later bySpeedy and two Motor Launches from Malta.

AM Spitfires 185 Squadron Hal Far are scrambled on five occasions to patrol over the incoming shipping.  No enemy activity encountered.

0545-0650 hrs  Four Spitfires 229 Squadron Ta Qali on convoy patrol fly near to Linosa and see a tanker which opens fire on them: no damage.

0625-0750 hrs  Three Spitfires 229 Squadron on convoy patrol: no enemy aircraft sighted.

0630 hrs  ML 168 arrives in Malta with 68 convoy survivors on board.

0700-0825 hrs  Eight Spitfires 249 Squadron Ta Qali on shipping patrol: no enemy aircraft sighted.

0740-0845 hrs; 0805-0940 hrs  Four Spitfires 249 Squadron at a time on shipping patrol: nothing to report.

Ohio inched towards Malta

0830 hrs  Commander minesweepers reports sweepers in company with Bramham and Penn, with tanker Ohio in tow, very deep in the water and almost unmanageable.

0850-0905 hrs  Air raid alert.  Raid does not materialise.

0912-1300 hrs  A long series of almost constant air attacks on Force X by dive bombers, high level bombers, torpedo bombers and dropping of mines or circling torpedoes by low-flying aircraft.  JU 88s bombers near-miss HMS Kenya, causing a small fire in a boiler room.

0925-1100 hrs  Eight Spitfires 229 Squadron are airborne: four to act as cover for the oil tanker Ohio and escort, the remainder as cover for a merchant vessel; nothing to report.

1000-1125 hrs  Spitfires from Ta Qali patrol over the convoy.  F/Lt Swannick sights a JU 87 diving on the ships.  He fires a 2-3 second burst from 100 yards and sees hits on the starboard wing: claims damaged.

1120-1250 hrs; 1145-1320 hrs; 1210-1340 hrs  Four Spitfires 229/249 Squadrons airborne at a time on convoy patrol: nothing to report.

PM  Spitfires 185 Squadron Hal Far are scrambled on four occasions to patrol over the incoming tanker and naval escort: no enemy activity.

1225-1345 hrs; 1340-1440 hrs  Four Spitfires 229/249 Squadrons airborne at a time to provide cover to a merchant vessel: nothing to report.

Damaged Brisbane Star in Grand Harbour

1415 hrs   MV Brisbane Star arrives in Grand Harbour, holed in her bows.

1450-1625 hrs  Four Spitfires 249 Squadron are airborne to act as escort covering the approach of the tanker Ohio.  One float plane and two fighters attack suspected raiders: no strikes are seen but target aircraft were later identified as friendly.  No warning had been issued by Fighter Control and the attacked aircraft did not give any warning that they were friendly until after they had been fired on.

1455-1610 hrs  Three Spitfires 249 Squadron escorting Ohioare diverted to intercept approaching enemy aircraft.  F/Sgt Parks sees one unidentified aircraft which he describes as twin-engined with a white upper surface and presumes is friendly.

1530-1550 hrs  Air raid alert for approaching enemy aircraft.  Twelve Spitfires 229 Squadron are scrambled to intercept: no sightings.

1550-1705 hrs;1725-1905 hrs; 1750-1925 hrs  Four Spitfires 229/249 Squadron at a time patrol over the tanker: no enemy aircraft sighted.

1800 hrs  Force X escapes the attacks unscathed joins Force Z: together they head for Gibraltar.

1820-1910 hrs  Air raid alert.  Twelve Spitfires are scrambled to intercept and sight six fighters but do not intercept.  Five minutes later three ME 109s appear and dive on Spitfires.  Sgt Hogarth is attacked from behind and bales out: he lands in the sea three miles off Zonqor and is rescued by HSL 128.  F/Sgt Hiskins scores cannon strikes on one ME 109 at 100 yards.  The Messerschmitt is last seen diving towards Grand Harbour, streaming black smoke.

1830-2035 hrs  One Albacore from Hal Far carries out an anti-submarine patrol over the incoming tanker.

Ohio supported by Penn and Ledbury

1840 hrs  Ohio and the ships assisting her are within sight of Dingli.  In spite of frequent air attacks, during one of which the tow was parted by a bomb, and the great difficulty experienced in towing, slow but steady progress is bringing the tanker closer to Grand Harbour.

1915-2015 hrs  Four Spitfires 229 Squadron patrol over the tanker but are diverted several times to intercept enemy aircraft. Two aircraft return early.

2030-0040 hrs  One Swordfish from Hal FAr carries out an anti-submarine patrol over the incoming tanker.

2035-2110 hrs; 2205-2325 hrs  Air raid alert.

Night  After dark the presence of E-Boats was suspected and fire was opened by shore batteries on one occasion, but no results observed.

A total of seven enemy aircraft approach the coast.  Only two cross the coast, both of which are shot down by Malta night fighters: no bombs are dropped on land.  Bingemma Fort fires four rounds at a shipping plot 1000 yards west of Bingemma Battery.  Forts Madalena and Leonardo engage a shipping plot 12000 yards north east of St Elmo.  Four rounds are fired.  Searchlights expose but nothing is seen.

Military casualties  Nil.

Operation Pedestal casualties  CLICK HERE

Civilian casualties  Nil.

OPERATIONS REPORTS FRIDAY 14 AUGUST 1942

ROYAL NAVY  On reports of surface plots Coast Artillery Searchlight sweeps were carried out and star shell fired, but no enemy craft were sighted.

Brisbane Star entered Grand Harbour at 1430 hrs and Hythe and Hebe rejoined Commander M/S.  Continuous cover was given by fighter aircraft during the day, and together with the anti-aircraft protection afforded by the sweepers, succeeded in preventing the enemy from accomplishing his task of sinking Ohio and Brisbane Star.

Robust

Tug Robust was escorted to Marsaxlokk by Beryland Swona to stand by to assist with towing and was reported later to be towing ahead of Ohio. She proved, however, to be unsuitable for such a heavy tow and after bumping Penn and damaging her, she was not employed any more.  Flag Officer Commanding North Atlantic reported safe arrival of Force “Y”.  Fire was opened twice during the night on the information of RDF plots and it is considered that on each of these occasions E boats were driven off. The sound of engines was also heard and searchlights were switched on, but no targets were illuminated.

Since 0900 on 12th August, nine enemy aircraft were shot down by ships’ fire with eight probably and three possibly destroyed. The merchant vessels’ own anti-aircraft guns accounted for four of those definitely destroyed.

AIR HQ  Arrivals  One Beaufort from Gibraltar.  Departures  Three Hudsons to Gibraltar; two Wellingtons, one Spitfire to LG 224.  Aircraft casualties  One Spitfire shot down: pilot baled out uninjured.

FORTRESS ROYAL ENGINEERS  Bomb Disposal UXB  Reported 3.  Dealt with: 2 High Explosives (1 x 250kg; 1 x 50kg).

Views of Malta in the 1930's

Uploaded by VellaEdgar on Nov 11, 2010

A depiction of everyday life in Malta during the decade that preceded World War II.

http://youtu.be/rxnHkj_uMOA

Searching for the Family of Carmelo Psaila from Sliema / Msida, Malta

I have been doing Maltese genealogy for about 15 years on and off, and I must say I still love it.  Some say it is the rich man's hobby because of all the money you spend on research trips, documents, and certificates.  Although that may be true, I think it is more for the obsessed.  There must be a level of OCD going on for me because I just can't seem to get enough of it.  I find myself, at times, unable to put my research down.  I am always thinking about what I have and what I need and how I'm going to get the job done.  The racing thoughts go through my brain during the day and  night creating a level of anxiety.  What makes it all worthwhile is when I do find something.  That's when I get a huge sense of accomplishment.   I have a saying that "It's easy once you know where to look."  The problem, of course, is where to look.  The one thing that  calms me is writing down the To-Do lists or calling one of my fellow researchers and bouncing ideas back and forth with them. 

I have a large family that really doesn't quite know what to make of all this.  They don't understand my curiosity.  They like to see the results but don't care much about how much effort went into obtaining the documents, or how much trouble I went through to get that certain photo.  When asked I explain that genealogy is like a huge jigsaw puzzle.  You are always looking for that one piece that fits in with the rest of the puzzle.   They are clueless, but I don't mind.  I still love sharing the "golden nuggets" with them.  After all, what I find belongs to them too. 

One thing that I have learned is that you must allow the story to reveal itself to you.  Don't let the  so called "facts" fit the story. Allow the stories to fit the facts.  In other words -.  Let the truth unfold.   NEVER ASSUME!  That's hard to do especially when you have nowhere else to turn.   When you start guessing that's when it gets really confusing making it easy to make mistakes.  In genealogy, you have to have three documents from three different sources (i.e. birth, marriage, death) before you can be confident enough that you are on the right track.  There are so many variables that play into the research that really anything can turn for you at any time so ALWAYS stay with the clear facts.  The best examples I can give are the names.  You may think that it's as easy as putting a surname in a search engine but the Maltese had nicknames, and many of them don't even go by their real names at all.  They go by their nickname.  My father's nickname was Gabrieleen.  So, if I were to go to his old neighborhood and ask about a Carmelo Borg they probably would not know who I am asking about.  I won't be able to find anyone who knew him, but if you ask about "Gabrieleen" now that's a different story.  

So, with all my knowledge on how to do genealogy tucked away safely in my brain I have set out to find my father's family.  There is no bigger dream for me than to find my Psaila relatives, Carmelo Psaila, my grandfather and Giuseppe Psaila, my uncle.  You see, even though my father is a Borg his real surname should be Psaila.  In order to find my grandfather, I think it's best to ask around for information on "Tripoleen," his nickname.  The documents, of course, will be under the official name, but if I am to locate his family what I really need to do is go into the town of Sliema or Msida and ask about "Tripoleen" to see if anyone remembers him.   To read about Maltese nicknames please go to: http://www.aboutmalta.com/grazio/nicknames.html

I am yearning for the day that I meet the Psaila's.   Everyday, when I wake up, I say to myself  "Today is the day I will find my Psaila family."  That may sound silly to some but for me; it is the best way I know to have the universe bring them to me.  I would tell them all about my father and our family.  I would listen intently to all of their stories, gathering more clues, of course.   After we exchanged the stories, I would show all the pictures and movies of my family.  We would exchange addresses and phone numbers, and we would stay in contact for ever more.  I'm anxious to see their faces and hear their voices.  I want to touch them and hug them.  It will be one glorious day, that I am certain of. 

My uncle, Giuseppe Psaila, is my father's half-brother.  I know this because he is listed in my grandfather's will as the only legitimate son to Carmelo Psaila and Vittorina Zammit.  He is the person of interest, at the moment, because I think, I have the best shot of finding him first.  I know he was born 27 Sep 1924 in Tripoli, Libya, but I don't know if he ever made it back to Malta or not.  His father did ....

Carmelo Psaila was already married to Vittorina Zammit when my father was born.  

Carmelo Psaila traveled to Tripoli to work, and Vittorina soon followed.  That was in 1921.  Libya, for some time, was under Italian rule.  Italian colonization (1911-1934) then Italian Libya (1934-1943).  Sometime in the thirties, Carmelo Psaila, spoke against Mussolini and ended up a political prisoner.  He was sentenced to six months in jail.  At the end of his prison term the Libyan government took his passport and put in on a boat back to Malta.  From all of my searching that's about all I know about him.

The challenge, of course, is to fill in the blanks.  I have another saying that genealogy without the stories are like a tree without any leaves.  So, it's important to me to try to find the story; the stories that would color my world.  The real stories about our lives are always going to be better than anything you can make up, right?

So, whenever you are trying to find the stories, you will have questions, and I have a lot of questions.  A lot of this don't make sense to me because I have no idea what happened my grandfather or his family.  I wonder what he went through as a prisoner.  Where were his parents, brothers and sisters?  Did they suffer the same fate?  Where is his wife Vittorina and Giuseppe now?   Did they stay in Libya or did they go back to Malta too?   These questions still linger.   

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