44 \ APRIL 5, 2020 THE SUNDAY TIMES OF THE SUNDAY TIMES OF MALTA APRIL 5, 2020 I 45 LIFE AND WELLBEING HISTORY~

Missing in action .....'-, .. .,_ most popular heavy Ghana, the intercepted ship. The raider signalled that it among Maltese seame'n, HMS the Vichy French was the Tamerlane but when its =i . ' ALFRED Sussex, up to December 25, 1939. Primaguet and the Leninger on disguise was exposed, it dis­ CONTI Britain was ill-prepared for their way to Libreville, central closed itself as the Pinguin and BORDA hostilities but as Phoney War set Africa. The French ships were opened fire. in, the country and its dominions stopped and, after some hag-. After being hit by a salvo of Australia, Canada, New gling, their captain was pre­ eight shells in the mine-laying Zealand, South Africa, India and vailed upon to return to magazine, the German ship blew On Easter Sup.day, April 5, 1942, Pakistan - braced for war. Casablanca,:Morocco. up and sank. Carmelo helped res­ many British and Maltese sea­ Carmelo was due to return home On September 28, Cornwall left cue 58 German and 25 B1itish men died when the British to be pensioneil off, and on Freetown, Si~ra Leone, fo1· prisoner-of-war s\ll'vivm·s from cruiser HMS Cornwall sank in December27, 1939, togetherwith Douala in Cameroun to prevent the Pinguin, some of whom died the Indian Ocean after a Japan­ other Maltese seamen he was any interference by the Vichy later due to their injuries. A total ese air attack. This is the story transferred to the French with the expedition of the of 341 German seamen died in­ of one who unfortunately didn't HMS Cornwall, which was sail for Free French troops under cluding the captain and about 200 make it. Malta.sometime. Carmelo was 41 General Charles de Gaulle which were held as prisoners-of-war. Carmelo Bonnici was born in at ·the time and was looking had attempted to land at Dakar, After minor repairs in Simon­ Valletta to Carmelo Bonnici and forward to see his family; how­ west Africa. It continued with stown, Cornwall returned as an Concetta nee Vella both from Val­ ever fate dictated otherwise. convoy escort duties from the UK escort for troop convoys until letta, on July 23, 1896. The young until the end of the year when she March 1942 when it was at­ Carmelo attended the city's arrived at Simonstown, South tached to the Fourth Cruiser elementary school and later on "Carmelo hesitated Africa, for a refit. Squadron of the newly formed took up the hairdressing trade. to jump... He did It sailed again on February 28, Eastern Fleet, which also in­ After , demobilised 1941, for the South Atlantic, cluded the cruiser HMS Dorset­ servicemen returned home but not know how to intercepting the Vichy French shire. At the beginning of April, work was very hard to come by. vessel Ville de Majungawith 600 two strong Japanese forces Cannelo Bonnici as a young officer's steward (standing, first As Carmelo was struggling to swim. He preferred troops on board, about 450 miles began operating in the Indian from left) and Eliseo Borg from ffamrun (standing, right) make ends meet, he enlisted in to stay on board west of Cape Town, South Africa. Ocean off the south coast of The County Class cruiser HMS Cornwall. with unidentified colleagues on HMS Iron Duke in 1920-21. the as an officer's An armed guard was placed on Ceylon (Sri Lanka) with plans to steward at HMS St Angelo on and retreated into board and the ship was taken attack Colombo. March 25, 1919. Carmelo was to Simonstown. Carmelo was On Easter Sunday, April 5, including Antonio Fenech Conti · but continued to direct opera­ Sharks were numerous but posted in various Royal Navy sta­ the ~hip" one of the seamen ordered to 1942, Cornwall and Dorsetshire and a certain Buhagiar, scram­ tions. In true naval tradition he these seemed content to wait for tions/ships, including HMS watch over the enemy person­ were steaming at 27.5 knots, bled for the railings to jump was leaving the ship just before the corpses which from time to Egmont in 1926 and later Pem­ During 1940, HMS Cornwall nel. This was quite a different when they sighted the first overboard. They plunged into the end. By that time the ship's time were committed to the sea broke, Concorde, Iron Duke, was deployed on convoy escort job from hairdressing. Japanese aircraft at 11am from the sea, sm·faced and grabbed list was acute. As the captain let and the predators made no Marlborough and Gre~nwich. and patrol duties in the South On May 7, 1941, following a right astern low down on the some flotsam floating by. go of the starboard guard-rail, attempt to molest anyone living. On March 6, 1931, he was trans­ Atlantic and, on one occasion, distress message from the horizon. The plane disappeared Carmelo hesitated to jump he slid and rolled down the Among the survivors were ferred to the heavy cruiser HMS escorted a large and important tanker British Emperor in the after a few minutes. At noon though he was encouraged by his ship's side amid encouragement Eddie Buhagiar from Valletta, London and was promoted to convoy from the UK to the Middle south Atlantic, Cornwall was de­ another one turned up, an colleagues yelling at the top of from the men. It was rather a leading steward Antonio Fenech leading steward. This would be East and India. During wartime, tailed to search for a German unmistakable 'shadower'. their voice. But his reply was that cruel touch of fate that he had to Conti and a certain Schembri, the vessel on which he was to all hands, whatever their trade, raider. At 2am the next day, the Captain A.W.S. Agar of HMS he did not know how to swim. He abandon the ship only a few days both from Sliema. They re­ serve longest, leaving the· ship profession or grade, would either raider was sighted by the Dorsetshire recalled the last preferred to stay on board and before his 50th birthday. mained in the water for 32 hours reluctantly on November 8, 1935, be training for battle or be on cruiser's aircraft some 65 miles few dramatic moments of this retreated into the ship. Twelve minutes after the at­ before being rescued. Then a and posted onshore at HMS St standby ready for action. away, north of the Seychelles is­ unforgettable episode: Shortly A survivor named Mr Fuller tack, the cruiser, with its colours-· plane appeared. Friend or foe? Angelo. On September 29, 1936, On September 19, 1940, while lands. Cornwall eventually came before 1pm, Japanese dive­ testified that the seamen in the still flying, went down head-first There was great excitement and he was transferred to one of the on patrol off Cape Three Points, within range and challenged the bombers appeared in the sky sea were subjected to machine- and its stern came right out of apprehension, and at about directly overhead and attacked . gun fire from the many Japanese the water, tilting at about 30 6pm,just as light was starting to down sun. The force included a planes flying around. Bearing in degrees as it took its final plunge fail, three ships were seen; they considerable 50+ planes, and mind the need t9 avoid the into the Indian Ocean, which was were British. The survivors were HMS Cornwall and Dorsetshire suction of the sinking ship, they about a mile deep in that area. It picked up by boats from the were their targets. swam or paddled quickly to get is hard to believe but he heard a cruiser Enterprise and destroy­ This last photo of Cannelo All the Maltese crew, includ­ away as far as possible from the faint cheer as the survivors, ers Paladin and Panther. Bonnici on HMS Cornwall was ing Carmelo, helped load the doomed vessel. spread along a line about a mile The surviving :Maltese are A Japanese torpedo bomber veers to port prior to attacking taken on Easter Sunday, April · anti-aircraft guns on the Corn­ Only about eight minutes after long, watched it all happen. depicted in a painting by Guido Allied ships in the South Pacific. 5, 19~2. wall. Both ships, lacking air the first bomber dived on it, It must have been terrifying Lanfranco, hanging for dear life cover, took up defensive posi­ Dorsetshire disappeared, taking chaos with the inside of the huge on some broken wood from the tions, turning under full helm with it over 200 of the ship's ship in a turmoil as her stern lifted ship. This painting hangs in the steward Paul Portanier, 28, of PoBtBcrlpt which included swallowing con­ to confuse the aim ofthe Japan­ crew. Eyewitnesses related a and it went down into the depths sacristy of Our Lady of the Hamrun, leading steward Following the recent publica­ taminated seawater, stress and ese dive-bombers. The cruisers story about a seaman in the of the ocean. The agonising suffer­ Sacred Heart Church (Sacro Giuseppe Sammut, 39, and.lead­ tion of my war books, Martha the anxiety of the tragedy, he tried to keep the dive-bombers Dorsetshirewho would not leave ing, both mental and physical, Cuor) in Sliema, to whom Anto­ ing cook Louis Valletta. (or Sophie) Valletta informed became a diabetic, fol~Qwed by high with their anti-aircraft the mess deck because he could endured by the men who are nio Fenech Conti and Schembri The six Maltese seamen who me that her father, Dominic severe jaundice. He died in 19~8, fire, but down they came, plum­ not swim. He had a lifebelt but, listed as 'missing, presumed were greatly devoted; they had lost their lives on the Cornwall Borg, from the city, was also a aged57. meting in groups of three, re­ instead of going up top and killed' is a nightmare that even the spent nearly all the 28 hours are remembered on an obelisk surviving seaman in the sinking leasing their black and shiny jumping into the water, he passing of time fails to obliterate. in the sea praying to her. memorial in . The Com­ of HMS Cornwall. Borg was in ~mlB bombs when they were only a calmly said cheerio to his ship­ The survivors found them­ Buhagiar's wife is still alive and monwealth War Graves Commis­ the oily water for 32 hours The author would like to thank few hundred feet above the mates, lit a cigarette and sat on a selves adrift in a shark-infested resides in the UK. sion monument permanently before being saved by HM ships, Carmelo's late son Paul and his ships. Some enemy bombers mess table, waiting for the ship ocean, 300 miles from land and Of the Cornwall's 730 crew, 10 commemorates over 7,000 and was at first listed as 'miss­ grandson Edrien for their kind were shot down but the cruisers to go down. with the scanti~st of boat accom­ officers and 180 seamen, includ­ sailors of World War I and almost ing in action, presumed dead'. help in compiling information were repeatedly hit and dis­ The skipper of HMS Cornwall modation. Soon after sunrise on ing six Maltese out of a comple­ 16,000 from World War II. But later he was taken to Dur­ for this article. Some information abled almost immediately. Captain Mainwaring was on his April 6, the heat became so ment of 10, were lost. These were Carmelo was married to ban, South Africa, to convalesce was also obtained from The HMS Cornwall began listing to way to the bridge from the intense that head cove1ings were petty officer Steward Bonnici, 44, · Emanuela nee Gatt and they on the hospital ship HMS Maine Cruiser Experience (1939-1945) port and the crew were ordered remote control office when fashioned from pieces cut from , of Valletta, leading cook Antonio had seven children: ·Virginia, and finally made it to Blighty. by Eric C. B. Lee and The Third to abandon ship. Carmelo and a a bomb exploded. He was battle dress as a protection from Cioffi, leading steward Joseph Fr Giulio OSA, Paul, Romeo, Lau­ However, due to the atrocious Year of World War II, published HMS Sussex, the most popular cruiser among Maltese seamen, anchored at port in 1938. few other Maltese seamen, wounded in the right shoulder the rays of the equatorial sun. Mary Ellul, 22, of Valletta, rence, Alfred and Mary. conditions he had endured, by Odhams Press.