Remembering Rediffusion in Malta: A history without a future?

REMEMBERING

IN MALTA A HISTORY WITHOUT FUTURE ?

A

RE

TONI SANT

?

B

D I F F U SIO N

REMEMBERING

IN MALTA A HISTORY WITHOUT FUTURE ?

TONI SANT

Published by Midsea Books Ltd. 68, Carmelites Street, Sta Venera HMR 11, Malta Tel: 2149 7046 Fax: 2149 6904 www.midseabooks.com

Copyright © Literary, Toni Sant 2016 Copyright © Editorial, Midsea Books Ltd 2016 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the previous written permission of the author.

First published in 2016

Copy-editor: Louis J. Scerrri Index compiled by: Maroma Camilleri Cover design: Enriqué Tabone Produced by Mizzi Design and Graphic Services Ltd Printed in Malta

ISBN: 978-99932-7-568-8

To Amante and Pauline, Rediffusion listeners

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

vii

A Contextual Timeline

1

1. A History Without Future?

17

2. Broadcasting Arrives in Malta

31

3. The Impact of World War II on Broadcasting in Malta

53

4. Establishing Professional Radio Broadcasting in Maltese

71

5. The Evolution of Radio Drama and Light Entertainment in Maltese

107

6. Building on the Legacy of the First 25 Years of Rediffusion in Malta

131

7. Developing Maltese Cultural Identity Through National Broadcasting

161

8. End of the Line for Rediffusion

193

Charles Aquilina's Top 10 Tapes

221

References

225

Index 229

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

T

wenty-five years elapsed between the initial idea to write this book and its publication. The work has both benefitted and suffered from this delay. The greatest profit has come from the evolution of my own skills and experience in producing such a publication; I believe that this is a much better book than the one I would have produced ten or twenty years ago. The greatest downside has been the loss of many of the primary sources necessary to make this work even better. Although it is certainly in the natural order of things, it saddens me greatly that over more than two decades we have lost so many of the pioneering Maltese broadcasters and others who contributed to my (and, by extension, your) understanding of the early years of broadcasting in Malta.

We have also lost countless physical documents that have been misplaced or discarded because no one has seen the need to preserve them or even recognized that they were of any historical significance; to say nothing of materials that were deliberately destroyed for politically partisan gain, even if sometimes rather petty. As much as this book is an attempt to present a particular history of broadcasting in Malta, it is also a lament for the lost memories of so many aspects of broadcasting in the Maltese islands, mainly through benign neglect and the lack of systematic archival records, either written or audio-visual.

The main source of information for this book is a series of interviews I conducted with most of the Maltese broadcasting pioneers who were still alive in 1990/91. In 1989, in the wake of the termination of the cable radio service that had operated in Malta since 1935, Charles Flores, who was then Xandir Malta’s Head of Radio Programmes, invited me to produce a series of one-hour broadcasts called Il-Fil tat-Tiĥdid featuring interviews with veteran broadcasters, vii

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

some of whom had already retired or were in semi-retirement, along with clips from the many tapes lovingly held by Technical Supervisor Jackie Borg. I met both men for casual conversations again during the writing of this book, but regretfully, the latter passed away in 2014. I can never thank them enough for their support over the years I worked as a professional broadcaster. Charles Flores was also kind enough to read this book before I sent it to the publisher, pointing out a small number of crucial facts that have improved this book.

Veteran broadcaster Charles Arrigo, who was Assistant Head of Xandir Malta at the time Flores commissioned me to produce the radio series Il-Fil tat-TiÄĄdid, was naturally very supportive of this idea. He was a guest on the very first edition and appeared twice more throughout the 26-part series. His support went far beyond simply showing up for our recorded interviews. He also supplied me with ideas for my growing list of interviewees and often contact details for people who had been off-air for quite some time. I will forever cherish our long meetings in his office at Television House in Gwardmangia, which frequently went beyond the scope of this particular series, since he was also directly my line manager and my mentor from my very first day in professional broadcasting a few years earlier.

When Charles Arrigo died in 2006, many said that it was the end of an era. I think the era they referred to ended earlier, but I am certainly grateful for his generosity towards me, even years after we no longer worked together on a regular basis.

Former studio technical supervisor Charles Aquilina was Il-Fil tat-TiÄĄdid's number one fan. He gave me feedback on every programme I produced for Radio Malta between 1986 and 1991 and inspired me to look at the very concept of archiving more closely many years after we had both left broadcasting. His work lives on in whatever recordings remain from all the years when he saved myriad tapes for posterity. I am a little biased, of course, but I think that he needs to be acknowledged more significantly as the father of any sound archives in Malta, even though no such thing existed at the time I was writing this book.

Victor Galdes also welcomed all my broadcasting work with great enthusiasm.

He was my second guest on the series, and gave me many radio production tips. His gentle manner and generous spirit remain with me to this day. Our colleagues Charles Clews and Lino Cassar were also both very supportive, each in his own way, especially during our frequent and long conversations in the office that I shared at Broadcasting House with Lino between 1989 and 1991.

I regret not having the opportunity to interview Effie Ciantar, who sadly died about fifteen years before I started broadcasting. However, I am grateful to Victor Aquilina for allowing me to interview him over the phone from Australia back in 1991. Regretfully, when I went to Melbourne in January 2013, viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

he was unable to meet me for a second interview, and claimed that he preferred not to remember what he considers to be mostly a wretched period of his long life. I hope I’ve captured some of that discontent in the narrative of the later years of Rediffusion in Malta, especially the aftermath that led to his eventual permanent departure from Malta. Aquilina was a very significant broadcast producer and manager both during the last fifteen years of Rediffusion in Malta, as well as during the immediate years after their departure.

I am also grateful to Ġużè Aquilina, Carmen Carbonaro, Ġużè Cassar Pullicino, Romeo Micallef, Pawlu Mifsud, Lewis Portelli, Guido Saliba, and the wonderful Salvinu Tellus, for allowing me to interview them extensively about their work as broadcasters with Rediffusion. To this list, I’d also like to add former subscription collectors Tony Agius, Charles Carabott, and Frank Saetta.

Special thanks to Kelinu Vella Haber, who accepted my invitation to interview him twice, first about the early years of the Rediffusion service in Malta and later about his pioneering radio drama productions. I am also thankful to Peter Caruana, Charles Coleiro, Susan Mulvaney, Frans Said, and Charles Zammit.

Special thanks to Laurence Mizzi for being so helpful in sharing his memories with as wide an audience as possible, not only through various interviews but also in his autobiographical book published in 1994.

Special thanks to Vince Fabri who introduced me to Joseph Tonna at Palazzo Carafa, who was very generous with his time, and Joe N. Tabone, who got in touch with me for a good conversation about his time working within Malta's Rediffusion management, just a few weeks before I finished writing this book. Former TeleMalta general manager Anthony Debono too provided me with valuable pointers to the history of the corporation he led for many years, as well as insights into a couple specific occurrences relating to the history of broadcasting as I have chosen to present it.

I will be eternally grateful to Joe Grima, a remarkable broadcaster who sized me up during my first encounter with him to record an interview for Il-Fil tat-Tiġdid and then employed me to manage the entire output of Malta’s first commercial talk radio station, Radio One Live. He made me love broadcasting more than I already did before I worked with him.

When I first set out to have my interviews with veteran broadcasters transcribed in the mid-1990s, my good friend Immanuel Mifsud offered his old Apple Macintosh to enable my father, Amante Sant, to lovingly type up an initial set of transcripts, while I was away for my studies at New York University.

Claire Pace Harmsworth later stepped in to assist me with a revised version of the transcripts towards the first attempt to create this book around the turn of ix

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

the century. Christine Trala patiently put up with me over the last twenty years as I attempted to write this book instead of spending more time with her away from my work, as she would have liked; this is a public apology to her.

I would also like to thank the technical staff at Radio Malta, my departed colleagues Publius Micallef, Alfred Bongailas, Manuel Borg, and Lino Scicluna, along with Joe Azzopardi, John Rapa, Elia Borg, Frans Camilleri, Emy Scicluna, and presentation officers Joe Jacono Gibson, Philip Farrugia, and Joseph Sciberras. Apologies if I have forgotten anyone from the technical crew, or anyone else who helped me back then, but almost a quarter of a century has passed since I worked at the national broadcasting service, and human memory tends to play funny tricks sometimes.

Thanks to Pierre Cassar for commissioning the series Xandara Veterani, produced by Ivan Said, for the University of Malta’s radio station around 1999.

Through his initiative, I was also able to make those recordings available among the earliest webcasts from Malta, through MaltaMedia.com. Special thanks to Albert Marshall and Manni Spiteri, who passed away suddenly one evening in 2014 before I had the opportunity to follow up on his generous offer to talk about his role in Malta's broadcasting sector. Thankfully, he had already granted me an interview in 1991, and generally supported my professional efforts over the years.

Charles Farrugia and Ivan Ellul at the National Archives in Rabat were most helpful in enabling me to find and reproduce a number of images that appear throughout this book. Ray Libreri and Joe Scicluna were equally helpful in a similar way with photos from the PBS collections that have survived from Rediffusion and Xandir Malta times in Gwardamangia.

I am particularly grateful to EnriquĂŠ Tabone who designed the cover for this book. One rainy day when I was not feeling too well she gave me an old Rediffusion set as a gift and generally made me see things from a very different perspective during the last year before this book was issued. Over the last few months that I worked on the book, we spent many delightful hours discussing specific aspects of the many facets of the stories from the years Rediffusion operated in Malta. Our conversations have given me a rather different insight into various aspects of the things you will encounter in this book.

A number of other people helped me out with final fact-checking and other information that has made telling this story a little more coherent than it would be without their input. These include Mario Axiaq, Joe Bartolo, Steve Borg, Joe Cassar, Noel D'Anastas, Winston De Giorgio, Joe Julian Farrugia, Nadya Hansen, Tony Parnis, and Joe Vella l-Fuji. In this regard I am especially indebted to Noel Sammut and Trevor Zahra, both former Rediffusion emplyees, who x

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

read the full text of the book before it went to print and gave me a number of notes to help improve the text.

In December 2014 I spent a considerable amount of time writing at the Lewes Public Library, in Lewes, Delaware. It was one of the best places I found to write. That place is a treasure house in an otherwise ordinary American seaside town. Special thanks to Adrienne Trala for taking me there and filling me up with her delicious potato salad when I returned back to her house each evening to continue writing after the library closed. I also spent a few days writing at Malta's Central Public Library in Beltissebħ and the National Library in Valletta. The staff at both libraries were very helpful every time I asked for information but the environment in which I conducted my research there makes me confirm that, as things stand at the time I write all this, the history of Rediffusion in Malta has a rather bleak future. Hopefully this book will contribute to giving that history a slightly better future.

Toni Sant Valletta 11 November 2015

xi

A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

This timeline is designed to provide some context for a history of Rediffusion in Malta. As such, it only contains highlights from the many stories featured in this book and is not intended as a comprehensive outline.

1895

Guglielmo Marconi invented wireless telegraphy, a telecommunication device that eventually led to the development of radio broadcasting.

1901

Reginald A. Fessenden developed the radiophone, improving Marconi’s wireless transmission apparatus to make it easier to transmit voice and sounds other than Morse code.

1904

The Wireless Telegraphy Act was passed by the British parliament giving the government public control over wireless telegraphy in the United Kingdom and across the British Empire.

1906

Lee de Forest introduced the triode audion, which enabled the amplification of wireless signals. The following year he started broadcasting music and talk regularly from his radio equipment lab in New York. Such broadcasts went on until 1920.

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REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

1910

The Wireless Ship Act passed by Senate and Congress in the United States of America requiring passenger ships to be carry radio communication apparatus, starting from 1 July 1911. This legislation was instrumental in the rescue services provided at the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, enabling hundreds of lives to be saved.

1912

Congress amended the Wireless Ship Act and passed the Radio Act regulating communication via radio equipment across state lines through a licensing system handled by the US Department of Commerce. Canada followed suit in 1913.

1914

The American Radio Relay League was founded by Hiram Percy Maxim after he discovered that radio signals could be sent more reliably over long distances if relay stations were organized. This gave rise to the popularity of amateur radio throughout the decade and beyond. Earlier that year in Malta, Robert Frederick Galea built the first amateur radio transmitter in Birkirkara communicating with his friend Esprit Tonna Barthet in Valletta.

30 Sept 1915 Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America's Assistant Traffic Manager David Sarnoff proposed a 'Radio Music Box' as a household utility. The company's general manager, Edward J. Nally, turned down the proposal because he felt that the use of radio for entertainment was frivolous.

August 1916

Amateur radio transmissions in Malta were brought to a stop with the Malta Defence Regulations, owing to the military maneuvers of the British navy in the Mediterranean during World War I. This ban on amateur radio was lifted in 1921.

7 April 1917

The day after the United States declared itself at war with Germany, President Woodrow Wilson instructed the US Navy to take over all wireless stations across the country. All amateur wireless stations in America were ordered closed to avoid interference with military telecommunication. Amateur radio transmissions across the United States were prohibited until 1919.

2

A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

1919

Britain and Spain enacted laws similar to America's Wireless Ship Act of 1910.

1920

Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company engineer Frank Conrad built the first 100-watt radio station in Pittsburgh and started operating it under the call-name KDKA. This was the world’s first commercial radio broadcasting station.

14 Feb 1922

The Marconi Company was formally authorized to broadcast and, on 18 October, formed the British Broadcasting Company in collaboration with the General Electric Company and a number of other smaller wireless equipment manufacturers.

Their transmissions from Marconi House in London started on 14 November 1922.

17 June 1922 David Sarnoff proposed national, rather than local, radio networks as the way forward for broadcasting in the United States.

1922

The Malta Amateur Radio Society was established; the name was changed to Malta Amateur Radio League in 1933.

18 Jan 1923

The BBC was officially granted a licence to broadcast by the Post Office.

28 Sept 1923 The first issue of the Radio Times was published. It featured listings for BBC radio programmes.

5 Oct 1924

First formal radio transmissions from Italy featured a speech

by Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. The Italian Government officially established the Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI) one week later.

1925

The British Broadcasting Company, under General Manager John Reith, received a broadcasting monopoly through the Broadcasting Committee of Inquiry, which it enjoyed for the next thirty years.

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REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

1927

The British Broadcasting Company became the British Broadcasting Corporation. John Reith served as its first director-general until 1938.

1927

The Radio Act of 1927 in America updated previous legislation and created the Federal Radio Commission which was eventually replaced by the Federal Communication Commission through the Communications Act of 1934.

17 Nov 1927 The Italian government created the partly-nationalized Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR), which became Radio Audizioni Italiane (RAI) in 1944.

1928

Broadcast Relay Service Ltd. was incorporated in the United Kingdom. The first subscriber base for its cable radio relay service was at Clacton in Essex.

1931

Rediffusion Limited emerged as a company run by Broadcast Relay Service Ltd. to provide a broader range of services, including television across the UK. The Rediffusion name eventually came to be associated with a multi-national conglomerate operating over 170 branches in various countries around the world.

Sept 1932

Radio Distribution (Malta) Ltd. led by Lieutenant Commander Leonard Mansfield Robinson was granted a oneyear licence to introduce broadcasting to Malta. The company failed to deliver and merely delayed the introduction of regular broadcasting in Malta.

19 Dec 1932

The BBC Empire Service started regular broadcasts on shortwave.

It was aimed primarily at English speakers in the outposts of the British Empire. From November 1935, this service was relayed in Malta through Rediffusion’s Switch A network.

25 Dec 1932

The BBC Empire Service transmitted a Christmas message by King George V to his subjects around the world. The was the first such broadcast by a British monarch.

4

A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

1934

The so-called language problem was resolved as Maltese and English were legally recognized as the official languages of Malta, subsequently removing Italian from daily use within official Maltese institutions.

1935

The British colonial government made the necessary arrangements with the naval command in Malta to introduce a system built on the navy’s radio receiving station at Rinella to start providing news and other broadcasts to deliver an alternative point of view to the Fascist broadcasts from Italy.

By September this broadcasts were taking place on a daily basis.

25 Sept 1935 An newspaper editorial entitled ‘Local Broadcasts’ in the Daily Malta Chronicle provides the first public mention of a company called Broadcast Relay Service (Malta) Ltd., which would eventually operate in Malta as Rediffusion.

11 Nov 1935

Rediffusion starts broadcasting regularly in Malta on two cable radio channels. Switch A relayed the BBC Empire Service while Switch B initially featured a local service in English and relays of other European radio stations.

1936

A teenage Effie Ciantar joined Rediffusion as a subscription agent on a commission basis. In 1936, like other wayleave officers, he also started collecting subscription dues door to door. By 1937 he was given a desk job as a ledger clerk. As other collectors and ledger clerks joined the company, he was eventually promoted to chief ledger clerk, a position he held until 1946 when he became a full time studio manager and announcer after a number of years acting as a casual announcer in Maltese.

Feb 1936

A Rediffusion float appeared at the Malta Carnival to help promote the new service and attract new subscribers.

Dec 1936

Rediffusion's head office in Malta moved from 41 Kingsway to 28 Old Bakery Street. In 1938 Rediffusion moved around the corner from Old Bakery Street to a ground-floor apartment in Vincenti Buildings.

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REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

1939

The total number of Rediffusion subscribers in Malta doubled from the figures the company had at the time it opened, rising to 4,000.

Nov 1939

The BBC Empire Service was renamed to BBC Overseas Service.

1940

The BBC Overseas Service started producing a weekly radio newsletter for Malta from London, known as Ittra Minn Londra Għal Malta (Letter from London to Malta). The first Maltese broadcaster from London was Ġużè Sultana from Gozo, who was joined regularly by Arthur Vassallo and Romeo Micallef. They were also the first Maltese broadcasters to use a tape recorder.

11 June 1940

The first Italian air raid on Malta during World War II hit Fort St Elmo in Valletta at 7am leaving several people dead.

Jan 1941

The war took a turn for the worse in the Mediterranean when the Germans moved into Sicily and air attacks on Malta came from the German air force, the Luftwaffe.

April 1942

The Rediffusion offices and studios in Britannia Street were hit during one of many severe air raids on Valletta but there was no interruption to the service on Switch A, which consisted mainly of a relay of the BBC Overseas Service, or rather the BBC European Service. During that same month, German Luftwaffe bombs hit the Royal Opera House in Valletta as Rediffusion news reporter Ġużè Chetcuti was passing outside the theatre building. Three days later he wrote his best known poem, Melita Invincta.

1943

Kelinu Vella Haber wrote and produced L-Għenieqa ta’ Wiżu, based on a story by Temi Zammit. This was the first-ever radio play in Maltese.

1946

Malcolm Miles was appointed Rediffusion Programme Manager. He served in this role until 1950 when he was 6

A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

replaced by John Colley. Louis Pace Bonello was the first Maltese person to serve the company within this role, however, his input was more of an administrative nature rather than one of programme production, which was entrusted to Effie Ciantar.

14 Sept 1946 Salvinu Tellus produced the first Maltese-language children's programme.

1947

Rediffusion listeners heard the first forms of advertising for local products and services.

1947

The first tape recorder arrived at the Rediffusion technical base in Ħamrun. This was used mainly to repeat or time-shift programmes.

1947

Rediffusion steped up its production of Maltese-language programmes. This subsequently led to the engagement of a number of new Maltese announcers who would go on to become the main producers for the service well into the 1970s.

26 Jan 1947

Is-Siegħa tal-Morda (The Hour for the Sick) by the Catholic Action from Palazzo Carafa in Valletta become the first regular light entertainment outside broadcast featured on Rediffusion in Malta.

1 Mar 1947

Charles Arrigo joined Rediffusion as an announcer. He was 17 years old.

1948

A British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) station started operating from Floriana with the aim of providing entertainment to British military personnel stationed in Malta.

8 Nov 1948

Charles Aquilina joined Rediffusion as a studio operator. He was promoted to recording engineer by 13 November 1954 and eventually recording supervisor on 13 May 1957. He became a studio supervisor on 22 December 1958 and a few months later created Rediffusion’s sound archives in Malta.

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REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

1949

Malta's Educational Broadcasting Office was established.

June 1950

Carmen Carbonaro, a 45-year-old school teacher, started producing and presenting Il-Programm tan-Nisa (The Women's Programme), the first Maltese-language radio programme aimed specifically at women.

1 July 1950

Victor Aquilina joined Rediffusion, eventually becoming the first Maltese disc jockey and subsequently working as head of radio programmes throughout most of the 1970s and into the early 1980s, until he emigrated to Australia.

Aug 1950

The Malta Drama League was set up, bringing together many of the established theatre companies specifically to produce radio plays for Rediffusion. Between 1950 and 1954, the Malta Drama League produced a healthy balance of original Maltese works and of translations of works originally broadcast on the BBC.

1951

The first recording machine at Rediffusion’s Valletta studio was introduced for occasional production use. In 1952 tape recorders started being used more frequently in Malta. Ġużè Cassar Pullicino began actively promoting Maltese folklore and folk life beyond academic circles. He was greatly aided in his efforts by Ġużè Aquilina at the University of Malta and Effie Ciantar at Rediffusion.

1953

1955

Broadcast Relay Service (Malta) Ltd. changed its name to Rediffusion Malta Ltd.

1955

Rediffusion brand and studio established in Gozo at Victoria's St Ursula Street. Three years later, the official launch of the Gozo branch featured speeches by acting Prime Minister Ġużè Ellul Mercer, Gozo Bishop Giuseppe Pace, Rediffusion Chairman Frederick Bellchambers, and Malta's Governor Robert Laycock.

1956

The Young Listener, a companion publication for every teacher and their school children, started being produced by the Education Broadcasting Office to give direct access to further information about the schools' broadcasts.

8

A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

Acting Prime Minister Ġużè Ellul Mercer speaks to the distinguished guests gathered for the opening of Rediffusion's branch in Gozo in 1955 (Photo courtesy of PBS Malta Ltd.)

Rev Giuseppe Pace, Bishop of Gozo - circa 1958. (Courtesy of the National Archives)

9

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

23 April 1956 Arthur Vassallo, Maltese broadcaster with the BBC Overseas Service died in a road accident in London.

12 Aug 1956 The Maltese government led by Prime Minister Dom Mintoff disrupted Rediffusion broadcasts by severing cables and taking down service poles situated on government property, This happened as part of a dispute with the company in the context of the Suez Crisis wherein the colonial government gave orders to Maltese fishermen through the Rediffusion service without consulting the Maltese government.

31 Aug 1956

Mintoff 's government started wireless test transmissions on 250m/ band and 1.2m/cycles pm short wave and medium wave, leading to the short-lived first transmissions of what was called Radju Malta, featuring exclusively recordings of Mintoff 's speeches about the situation with Rediffusion on the Suez Crisis issue.

30 Dec 1957 Effie Ciantar is the first announcer to broadcast from Rediffusion House in Gwardamangia.

23 Jan 1958

Rediffusion House in Gwardamangia officially inaugurated.

1959

RAI television reports following the death of Pope Pius XII spark unofficial sound archiving efforts at Rediffusion in Malta

by Charles Aquilina.

Summer 1960 Lewis Portelli became the first Maltese Rediffusion reporter to broadcast live from an overseas event. He made 13 such broadcasts from Rome during the 1960 Olympic Games between 25 August and 11 September.

Nov 1960

A celebration of the first twenty-five years of Rediffusion in Malta included a short documentary series written and produced by Fr Harry Born.

29 Sept 1961

The Malta Broadcasting Authority was established through the Broadcasting Ordinance (XX of 1961). Its offices were initially at 12 Old Treasury Street in Valletta.

10

A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

Prime Minister Ä orÄĄ Borg Olivier arrives at Rediffusion House for the official opening of the MTV service in 1962 accompanied by his secretary Victor Ragonesi (left) where he is greeted by Rediffusion's Managing Director Edward Hamilton Hill and Chairman Frederick Bellchambers

The Malta Broadcasting Authority's first chairman Edward Arrigo meets with Rediffusion Managing Director Hamilton Hill and General Manager Frederick Yardley in 1962 (Photos courtesy of PBS)

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REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

29 Sept 1962

Malta's own TV and radio guide, Gwida, appears at newsstands for the first time, just in time to mark the inauguration of the Malta Television Service from Rediffusion.

20 April 1964 Labour MP Lorry Sant started broadcasting a daily half-hour programme in Maltese from Cairo during the Independence referendum campaign to ensure that his party’s side was also made available to radio listeners, since the Malta Labour Party was involved in a dispute with the Malta Broadcasting Authority.

21 Sept 1964 Malta acquires independence from the United Kingdom.

Nov 1965

Charles Abela Mizzi produced a two-part radio feature marking the thirtieth anniversary of Rediffusion in Malta.

1966

Joe Grima was appointed Head of Radio Programmes and spearheaded a noticeable surge of new Maltese-language programmes on Rediffusion's B Network.

8 Jan 1967

Norman Hamilton became Malta's first breakfast show DJ. He remained with Rediffusion until 1973, when he was invited him to join the Radju Malta team.

19 Sept 1969 General Workers Union members organized an unofficial walk out in support of Rediffusion manager Joe N. Tabone, who was fired by the company for refusing to terminate the employment of another Rediffusion manager under his supervision.

15 May 1970 Opposition leader Dom Mintoff spoke in parliament about the need to have a national wireless service to end Rediffusion’s monopoly on broadcasting in Malta.

1971

Rediffusion Group Managing Director Hamilton-Hill was not given the necessary extension for his work permit and subsequently had to leave Malta and the company, never to be seen or heard from again. He was replaced by John Manduca.

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A CONTEXTUAL TIMELINE

8 Jan 1973

Radju Malta began transmitting regularly from the Broadcasting Authority's new building at Blata l-Bajda under the leadership of CEO Joe Grima, who had left Rediffusion just a couple of months earlier.

13 Dec 1974

Malta became a constitutional republic.

14 Feb 1975 Rediffusion Malta employees organized a sit-in and management lock-out through the General Workers Union.

This action brought Rediffusion's operations in Malta to a close.

26 Feb 1975

During the debate on the second reading of the Broadcasting Services (Emergency Provision) Bill, Prime Minister Mintoff gave a detailed account of the history of broadcasting in Malta from his perspective. The creation of an Emergency Council through parliament brought the industrial dispute with Rediffusion to an end.

12 Mar 1975 TeleMalta Corporation was set up by parliament through Act XVI on 24 June 1975, bringing together the main assets and operations previously run separately by three entities: the Cable and Wireless Company; the Posts and Telephones Department; and Rediffusion. TeleMalta subsequently absorbed all the country’s telephone, telegraph, telex, and other telecommunication services, including broadcasting.

Subsequently, Xandir Malta was established as the broadcasting division within the TeleMalta, operating all the companies previously owned by Rediffusion in Malta.

1982

The Nationalist Party instituted a boycott against Xandir Malta, which included a directive to all party supporters to unsubscribe from the cable service and not to accept any dealings with the national broadcasting company, in retaliation for what it considered an unfair general elections outcome.

The boycott went on until 1 January 1984 and effectively reduced the number of cable radio subscribers to a point of non-sustainability.

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REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

31 Jan 1989

Rediffusion's cable radio service, operated by Xandir Malta since 1975, was officially closed down and its programmes continued as a wireless service on MW 999 KHz. During that same month, a public call for proposals was issued for the development of a Cable Television system for the Maltese islands.

7 July 1990

The first series of Il-Fil tat-Tiġdid began. The second series resumed on Sunday 6 January 1991.

(Opposite page: photo of old Rediffusion cable radio set by Enriqué Tabone, courtesy of Mary and Bertu Aquilina from Passejn mal-Mogħdija tar-Razzett)

14

INDEX

INDEX The page numbers in italics refer to photo captions.

Abela, Carmelo, 164, 168 Abela, Lorry, 194, 204, 205 Abela, Maurice, 218, 219 Abela, Mikiel, 144 Abela, Wistin, 212 Abela Mizzi, Charles, 12, 17, 24, 25, 70, 124, 127, 148, 207, 209, 215 Abyssinia, 46, 52, 98 Africa, 38, 177 Agius, Emanuel, 122 Agius, Ġorġ, 204, 207 Agius, Tony, 164, 168 Alexandria, 59 American Radio Relay League (ARRL), 2, 33 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), 27 American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), 34, 35, 36, 39 Anastasi, Alfred, 189 Andersen, Hans Christian, 70 Anderson, Maxwell, 58 Angeli, Pier, 100 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, 179 Apap, Victor, 24, 112, 119, 122, 123 Apps, Edwin, 90 Aquilina, Anthony, 174 Aquilina, Charles, 7, 10, 21, 22, 23, 24, 174, 221, 223 Aquilina, Ġuzè, 8, 89, 95, 96, 111, 131, 138, 140, 141, 145, 146, 148

Aquilina, Victor, 8, 19, 21, 63, 74, 76, 79, 93, 99, 100, 101, 109, 124, 151, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 199, 206, 211, 222 Archer, Gleason L., 27 Aristotle, 140 Arrigo, Ċensu, 211 Arrigo, Charles, 7, 20, 70, 75, 77, 79, 89, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100, 102, 112, 114, 123, 124, 136, 137, 161, 164, 177, 222, 223 Arrigo, Edward, 11, 147 Atkins, George, 22 Attard, 51 Attard, Ġuzè, 144, 145 Attard Kingswell, Joe, 154 Attard Montalto, Ġuseppina, 77, 83, 103 Auberge d’Aragon, 98 Australia, 8, 38, 41, 64, 90, 99, 101, 123, 128 Austria, 128, 179 Avellino, Joe, 197, 199, 203, 206, 211, 215, 216 Azzopardi, Joan, 19 Azzopardi, Karmen, 24, 82, 133, 137, 139 Azzopardi, Louis, 110 Azzopardi, Mario, 111, 148 Azzopardi, Mikiel, 118, 119, 133, 221 Baden-Powell, Robert, 44 Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, 168

229

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

Baħrija, 26, 91 Bajada, Manuel, 60 Bajada, Ray, 163, 164 Barbados, 42, 47 Barbaro Sant, Tony, 163, 198, 204 Bari, 45, 54 Barnouw, Erik, 27 Barrows, Joe, 101 BBC British News Bulletin, 44 BBC Empire Service, 4, 5, 6, 38, 39, 40, 50, 51, 54 BBC European Service, 6, 28 BBC General Overseas Service, 123 BBC Home Service, 54 BBC Overseas Service, 10, 28, 54, 62, 65, 71 BBC Radio Newsreel, 84 BBC Symphony Orchestra, 50 BBC World Service, 84, 130, 197, 204 BBC, 3, 4, 8, 17, 22, 23, 24, 29, 36, 38, 39, 41, 46, 51, 52, 54, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63, 67, 70, 71, 72, 79, 82, 83, 89, 90, 98, 100, 110, 112, 114, 115, 117, 130, 131, 132, 136, 137, 138, 139, 149, 151, 154, 157, 161, 162, 185, 188, 198, 208, 215 Bellchambers, Frederick, 8, 11, 178, 222, 223 Bellini, Vincenzo, 114 Bencini, Liliana, 19, 25, 99 Bermuda, 42 Bernson, Irving, 159 Biancardi, Nikol, 55, 61, 65, 67 Biasini dei Conti Stagno Navarra, Robert, 60 Bingley, Alexander, 83 Binns, Graham, 28 Birgu/Vittoriosa, 57 Birkirkara, 2, 37, 185 Birkirkara Boys’ Primary School, 132 Birkirkara Railway Station, 28 Blackburn, Tony, 188 Blata l-Bajda, 13, 190 Blyton, Enid, 82 Boffa, Paul, 69, 132 Bonaparte, Napoleon, 43 Bonavia, George, 64 Bonavia, Karmenu, 144, 145 Bonello Conti, Louis, 114 Bonham-Carter, Charles, 44, 51, 54

Bonnett, Joe, 194, 204, 209 Bonnici, Ġuzè, 55, 66, 97 Bonnici, Joseph, 209 Books and newspapers: A History of Broadcasting in the United States, 27 A Tale of Two Cities, 67, 98 An Introduction to Maltese Folklore, 141 Anġli tan-Niket, 97 Ars Poetica, 140 B’Riħet il-Għaqda, 179 Big Business and Radio, 27 Daily Express, 62 Daily Malta Chronicle, 5, 47 Dunlap’s Radio and Television Almanac, 27 East Lynne, 97 Fuq Ġwienaħ il-Għana, 122 Government Gazette, 135, 136 Gwida, 12, 222 History of Radio to 1926, 27 Il-Berqa, 66, 93, 108, 156 Il-Ħajja, 207 Il-Logħba tal-Qerq, 18 Il-Qawwa tal-Imħabba, 97 In-Nazzjon Tagħna, 207 Information Service Bulletin, 59 Is-Salib tal-Fidda, 97, 115 Ix-Xandir f ’Malta, 18 Iż-Żarmuġa l-Griża, 82 L-Orizzont, 154, 189, 201, 202 Leħen il-Malti, 141 Leħen is-Sewwa, 66, 89, 118, 128 Leli ta’ Ħaż-Żgħir, 97 Little Grey Rabbit, 82 Madwar il-Ħajja, 138 Malta Review, 59 Maltese Folklore Review, 141 Mela Darba, 122 Meme Grech – Detective Privat, 114 New York Times, 41 Poetics, 140 Radio Times, 3 Raġel Bil-Għaqal, 95 The Bulletin, 154 The Critic, 112 The Daily Telegraph, 45, 183 The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom, 27

230

INDEX

The Malta Independent, 85 The Post Office Magazine, 188 The Right Way to Radio Playwriting, 70 The Suez Affair, 179 The Sunday Times of Malta, 85 The Untruth Game, 18 The Young Listener, 8, 134, 136, 138 Times of Malta, 44, 45, 46, 47, 49, 92, 110, 128, 156, 157, 182, 183, 207 Tlett Itfal Iħarsu Lejn is-Sema, 80 Wenzu u Rożi, 19, 119, 122 When the Clock Strikes Eight, 108 Borg, Jackie, 21, 24 Borg, Lolly, 92 Borg, Oscar, 124 Borg, Paul P., 65 Borg, Tankred, 55 Borg, Teddie, 211 Borg Olivier Eddie, 133 Borg Olivier, Ġorġ, 11, 149, 181, 187, 188, 189, 198, 210, 215, 223 Borges, Luis, 20 Bormla/Cospicua, 57 Born, Harry, 10, 24, 25, 28, 55, 56, 76, 96, 97, 111, 114, 115, 146, 149, 153 Borough Hill, 38 Botti, Cardenio 46 Boult, Adrian, 50 Braintree, 42 Briffa, Rużar, 55, 66 Briffa, Victoria, 101 Briggs, Asa, 27 Brincat, Carmel, 209 Brincat, Indri, 144 Brincau, Sonny, 200, 203, 204, 205, 207, 208, 215 Britain, 3, 24, 32, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 50, 52, 53, 54, 59, 130, 177, 179, 181, 188, 197, 198, 214 British Forces Broadcasting Corporation (BFBS), 7, 184, 185, 188, 191 British Guyana, 28 British Institute, 98, 143 Broadcast Relay Services (Malta) Ltd, 4, 5, 8, 42, 47 Brockdorff, Joe, 138 Bugeja, Reno, 17 Buġibba, 49 Bulgaria, 179

Burns, Hugh, 58, 59 Buskett, 142, 143, 168 Buttigieg, Anton, 210 Buttigieg, Frans, 174, 175 Buttigieg, Gaetano, see Gejtu Kanta Buttigieg, Louis, 110 Cable and Wireless Company, 13, 200, 203, 208, 215, 216 Cachia, Joe, 198 Cachia, Wattie, 108 Cachia Zammit, Alexander, 124 Cairo, 12, 189 California, 197 Calleja, Ċensu, 93 Calleja, Henry, 21 Calleja, Joe, 63, 64 Calleja, Oreste, 112 Camilleri, Anthony, 206 Camilleri, Charles, 61, 68, 88, 222 Camilleri, Frankie, 21, 127, 216 Camilleri, Mary C., 108, 113 Campbell, David G.M., 51 Cana Movement, 105, 153 Canada, 2, 31, 32, 28, 41, 42, 63, 64, 99, 154, 222 Capello, Fabio, 129 Capital Radio, 216 Carabott, Charles, 171 Carabott, P., 142 Carachi, Paul, 156, 198 Carbonaro, Carmen, 8, 63, 73, 101, 103, 104, 105, 145, 175, 199, 223 Cardona, Carmelo, 144 Cardona, Ġużè, 144 Carosio, Nicolò, 128 Caruana Galizia, Victor, 153 Caruana, F.S., 55 Caruana, Peter, 61, 62, 89, 218 Caruso, Enrico, 34, 39 Casaletto, Victor, 26 Cassar, Alex, 151 Cassar, Anton, 154 Cassar, Charles, 142 Cassar, Ġużè, 182 Cassar, Mike, 109 Cassar, Salvu, 93 Cassar Pullicino, Ġużè, 112, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 149

231

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

Cassola, Dwardu, 123 Catania, Johnny, 64, 107, 109, 113 Catholic Action, 7, 72, 79, 80, 89, 118, 119, 122, 123, 128, 221 Cauchi, Colin, 21 Cauchi, Gejtu, 65 Cauchi, Toni, 129 Celentano, Adriano, 100 Central Office of Information (COI), 29, 61, 132, 134, 135, 136, 138, 149, 150, 157, 172, 180, 183 Ceylon, 42 Charles V, 43 Chelmsford, 38 Chetcuti, Ġużè, 6, 55, 58, 59, 60, 64, 65, 96, 110, 131, 140, 156 Chinaglia, Giorgio, 129 Chircop, Twanny, 168 Christian Workers Party, 217 Ciantar, Effie, 5, 7, 8, 10, 19, 28, 54, 56, 57, 58, 63, 64, 6, 72, 73, 79, 80, 93, 95, 96, 98, 99, 102, 107, 108, 114, 115, 118, 119, 143, 144, 161, 164, 174, 175, 177, 197, 221, 222 Ciantar, Paul, 199 Ciantar, Peter Paul, 164 Ciarlo, Lina, 151 Cilia, Ġanni, 133, 144 Cini, Anthony, 138 Clacton, 4, 42 Clark, Petula, 100 Clement VII, 43 Cleverdon, Douglas, 138 Clews, Charles, 101, 107, 109, 144, 145 Clews, Hilary, 157 Coleiro, Charles, 138, 145, 148 Colley, John, 7, 28, 123, 144, 174 Conan Doyle, Arthur, 89 Conrad, Frank, 3, 34 Coolidge, John Calvin, 40 Costa, Carmelo, 21, 89, 124, 125, 128, 129, 130, 199 Cremona, Ninu, 55, 61, 112, 140, 141 Crossey, Robert, 211 Csida, Joseph, 32 Curmi, Joe, 101, 165 Curmi, John, 70 Curmi, Paul, 168 Cutajar, Catherine, 154, 155

Cutajar, Tony C., 97, 104 D’Amato, Antonio, 142 Damone, Vic, 100 Daniels, Bebe, 62 Daniels, Josephus, 32 Darmanin, Richard, 28, 115, 203, 204, 211 Daventry, 38, 39 De Forest, Lee, 1, 31, 33, 34, 35 De Porres, Martin, 114 Debono, Anton, 171 Debono, Raymond, 101 Debono, Tony, 218, 219 Decesare (Dr), 103 DeCesare (Mr), 46 Delia, Ġużè, 24, 221 Delimara, 190, 198 Demanuele, Pullu, 126 Demarco, Guido, 182, 210 Department of Information (DOI), 29, 64, 130, 135, 139, 140, 149, 150, 151, 154, 156, 157, 159, 172, 217 Detroit, 63 Deutsche Welle, 190, 191, 198 Di Stefano, John, 172, 174 Diacono, Ġużè, 111, 140 Dickens, Charles, 67, 97 Dimech, John, 174 Dimech, Lorry, 64 Dobbie, William, 54, 56, 57 Dorman, Maurice, 143 Dougall, George, 64 Dowling, Jimmy, 168 Duke of Wellington’s, 51 Dundas, Hugh, 194 Dunkirk, 54 Dunlap, Orrin E., 27 Ebejer, Francis, 111, 112 Eckersley, Peter, 38 Eden, Anthony, 183 Edinburgh, 50 Education Broadcasting Office (EBO), 8, 29, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138 Edward VIII, 52 Egypt, 59, 179 Ellis, Edgar, 47, 54, 72 Ellul, Antoine, 147, 152, 153 Ellul Mercer, Ġużè, 8, 9, 97, 182 Ellul Vincenti, Karm, 122

232

INDEX

EMI, 142 Empire Stadium, 21, 128 Endrigo, Sergio, 101 England, 21, 22, 31, 38, 45, 49, 50, 51, 53, 62, 63, 98, 99, 129, 130, 197, 219 Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR), 4, 39, 43, 128 Essex, 4, 38, 42 Ethiopia, see Abyssinia European Broadcasting Union (EBU), 162 Exeter, 28 Falcone (Prof.), 45 Falzon, Carmelo, 120, 121 Falzon, Joe, 114 Farrugia, John, 25 Farrugia, Lino, 112, 206 Farrugia, Nené, 122, 123 Fascist Party (Malta), 44, 46 Fatima, 80, 111 Federal Radio Commission (FRC), 4, 41 Fenech, Francis Xavier, 98 Fenech, Victor, 148, 189 Fenech Adami, Eddie, 218 Fenech Azzopardi, Victor, 189 Ferry Cafè, 188 Fessenden, Reginald A., 1, 31, 35 Fgura, 26 FIFA, 129, 130 Fino, Joe, 179 Fiott, Mike, 194, 200 Fish, Bessie, 19 Flores, Charles, 17, 148 Floriana, 7, 58, 90, 92, 119, 126, 128, 184, 191, 221, 222 Foley, George, 123 Fontana, Jimmy, 100 Fort St Elmo, 6, 54 France, 43, 54, 179 Frendo, Frans, 123 Frendo, Johnny, 123 Frendo Azzopardi, Jackie, 181 Friggieri, Joe, 148 Friggieri, Oliver, 148 Gaitskell, Hugh, 179 Galdes, Albert, 163, 164 Galdes, Victor, 19, 63, 74, 75, 79, 93, 95, 96, 102, 124, 161, 174, 206, 222

Galea, Ġużè, 55, 96 Galea, Robert Frederick, 2, 37 Galea, Vitorin, 109 Gallipoli, 37 Ganado, Freddie, 174 Ganado, Godwin G., 132 Ganado, Herbert, 66, 182 Ganado, Lina, 72 Gatt, Frankie, 205 Gatt, Salvu, 58 Gejtu Kanta, 85, 88, 123 General Electric (GE), 3, 27, 34, 35, 36 General Workers Union, 12, 13, 18, 154, 190, 194, 205, 215 Geneva, 157, 159 George V, 4, 40, 52 George VI, 52, 59 Germany, 2, 32, 50, 52, 59, 179 Gershwin, George, 39 Għammieri, 60, 61 Għana Festival, 143 Għaqda Letterarja Maltija, 148 Għaqda Maltija Bajda u Ħamra, 67 Għaqda tal-Bdiewa, 60 Għaqda tal-Kittieba tal-Malti, 55 Għaqda tal-Malti, 66, 95 Għaqda tas-Sajjieda, 60 Ghirlando, Dennis, 109 Ghirlando, Nosi, 107, 109 Gialanze, Michael, 90 Gielgud, John, 70 Gielgud, Val, 70, 108 Gigli, Beniamino, 39 Giovine Malta, 44 Giuliano, Joseph, 209, 211 Gonzi, Michael, 43, 85, 86, 91, 187, 222, 223 Government Tourist Bureau, 135 Gozo, 6, 8, 9, 48, 60, 62, 65, 66, 85, 112, 144, 171, 182, 209, 218 Grantham, Guy, 83, 84 Grantham, Beryl, 84, 85 Grech, Gerry, 25 Grech, Lino, 171 Grech, Mary, 19 Grech, Michael, 124 Grech, Salvatore, 209 Grima, Joe, 12, 13, 20, 29, 100, 101, 112, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 162,

233

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

164, 165, 188, 189, 190, 191, 194, 207 Grimm (Brothers), 67, 70, 82 Grupp Kultura Marjana, 122 Gruppetta, Karmenu, 109 Guitareros, 223 Guyana, 42 Gusman, Enzo, 163, 164, 165 Gwardamangia, 10, 21, 22, 25, 93, 99, 111, 114, 116, 121, 123, 124, 127, 136, 139, 143, 154, 155, 169, 172, 186, 189, 204, 207, 209, 215, 219, 222 Gżira, 21, 68, 83, 128, 157, 181

Inglott, Mary, 103 Isla/Senglea, 57, 148 Isouard Orchestra, 123 Israel, 91, 179 Istituto di Cultura Italiana, 44 Italy, 3, 5, 28, 31, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 52, 53, 54, 100, 129, 130 It-Tespjani, 110, 111, 133, 137 Jamaica, 42 Joanna of Castile, 43 John XXIII, 221

Haber, Emanuel, 194, 209 Habib, Fortunato, 142 Haile Selassie I, 52, 98 Haise, Fred W., 223 Haise, Mary, 223 Hal Far, 84 Hales, Charles, 209 Hamilton, Doris, 72, 95, 185 Hamilton, Norman, 19, 117, 158, 160, 162, 164, 185, 188, 191, 216 Hamilton Hill, Edward, 11, 12, 28, 85, 87, 94, 116, 130, 168, 170, 174, 180, 184, 198, 222 Ħamrun, 7, 22, 25, 48, 49, 58, 60, 61, 65, 83, 86, 87, 93, 100, 111, 123, 132, 172, 174, 182, 210 Handel, Georg Friedrich, 118 Handley, Tommy, 62 Hay, Frank, 174 Hedley, Tommy, 128 Henry Hall Orchestra, 79 Hill-Norton, Peter, 84 Hiroshima, 59 Hitler, Adolf, 82, 183 HMS Ark Royal, 83, 84 HMS Aurora, 59 HMS Illustrious, 57 Holland, Patrick, 198 Hollywood Theatre, 83, 86, 87 Holwell, Peter, 185, 188 Hong Kong, 42 Hoover, Herbert, 40, 41 Horace, 140 Hull, 42 India, 38

Kalkara, 115 Kent, 42 King’s Own Malta Regiment, 51 King’s Own Scottish Borders, 51 Kirkop, Oreste, 19 Kissaun, Michael, 60, 108 Kronkite, Walter, 222 Laferla, Albert V., 47 Laiviera, Rose, 109 Lanfranco, Guido, 91, 92 Lanza, Mario, 100 Lanzon, Michael, 174 Lascaris War Rooms, 59 Laspina, Salv, 119 Lauri, Marlene, 100 Laycock, Angela, 116 Laycock, Robert, 8, 116, 184, 222 League of Nations, 46, 52 Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation, 191 Liggeri, Paolo, 80 Lincolnshire Regiment, 51 Listz, Franz, 176 London, 3, 6, 10, 17, 28, 38, 39, 40, 45, 50, 62, 63, 65, 83, 100, 117, 129, 130, 132, 137, 139, 141, 149, 154, 183, 185, 188, 203, 205, 216 Lovell, James A., 223 Lovell, Marilyn, 223 Lucas, Oscar, 164, 165, 168 Luke, Harry, 45, 51 Luqa, 26, 95 Lux Press, 59 Lyons, Ben, 62 Mahoney, Josephine, 109

234

INDEX

Mahoney, Lina, 138 Malaya, 42 Maleth, 98, 108, 110, 112, 114 Mallia, Carlo, 43, 44, 46, 47 Mallia, Giannikol, 118, 119, 123 Mallia, Ġużi, 64, 65, 78, 80, 82, 83, 96, 135, 136 Mallia, Noel, 163, 164, 204 Malta Amateur Radio League, 3, 37 Malta Amateur Radio Society, see Malta Amateur Radio League Malta Broadcasting Authority, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20, 29, 134, 136, 138, 147, 150, 151, 152, 172, 189, 190 Malta Bums, 21 Malta Drama League, 8, 110, 111, 112, 114, 133, 145 Malta Electronics Limited, 197, 204, 213 Malta Employers Association, 205, 209, 210 Malta Football Association, 21, 129 Malta Labour Party, 12, 18, 132, 154, 177, 181, 189, 197, 198, 216 Malta Song Festival, 100 Malta Sub-Aqua Club, 130 Mamo, Anthony, 223 Manduca, John, 12, 147, 152, 153, 199, 203, 205, 209, 216 Mangion, Salvatore, 183 Manila, 91 Mansfield Robinson, Leonard, 4, 47 Marconi House, 3, 38 Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, 2, 3, 33, 34, 38 Marconi, Guglielmo, 1, 28, 31, 35 Marinelli, Tano, 114, 137 Marks, John F., 55 Marmarà, Nenu, 116, 125 Marsa, 179 Marsaxlokk, 180 Marshall, Albert, 148, 187 Marshall, Johnny, 199 Masini, Franco, 63 Matrenza, Richard, 138 Maxim, Hiram Percy, 2, 33, 34 Maxwell Fyfe, David, 149 Meadows, Alan, 211 Meccia, Gianni, 101 Melbourne, 90

Mellieħa, 130 Mercieca, V.A., 147 Mercieca, Victor, 109, 139 Metropolitan Opera House, 34 Micallef, Brian, 163, 164 Micallef, Charles, 137, 163 Micallef, Gino, 90 Micallef, Giuseppe, 47 Micallef, Joe, 199 Micallef, Romeo, 6, 62, 63, 64, 65, 132, 133, 161, 164 Micallef, Żeppi, 119 Miceli, Pauline, 103 Middle East, 45, 91 Middlesex, 62 Mifsud, Leli, 142 Mifsud, Mary Rose, 165 Mifsud, Pawlu, 123 Mifsud Bonnici, Karmenu, 204, 207, 209, 219 Mifsud Bonnici, Rikardu, 55 Miggiani, Antoinette, 123 Milan, 142, 164 Miles, Malcolm, 6, 28, 172 Milva, 100 Mintoff, Dionisju, 207 Mintoff, Dom, 10, 12, 13, 149, 160, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 184, 188, 189, 190, 194, 197, 198, 200, 208, 211, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219 Mizzi, Achille, 148 Mizzi, Enrico, 43 Mizzi, Freddie, 164 Mizzi, Laurence, 82, 114, 133, 137, 139, 145, 151, 190 Modugno, Domenico, 76 Mohan, T., 47 Montanaro-Gauci, Anthony, 147, 152 Moore, Bobby, 129 Mortimer, Margaret, 132 Mosta, 90 Mountbatton, Edwina, 46, 51 Moviment Qawmien Letterarju, 148 Moviment tal-Malti, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 80, 93, 107, 110, 112, 137, 141, 145, 148 Mqabba, 171 Mulvaney, Susan, 103, 104, 105, 218 Mumford, Leonard, 48, 199

235

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

Murgo, Sammy, 165 Murray Edwards (Commander), 43 Muscat Azzopardi, Gino, 63, 147 Muscat Azzopardi, Ġużè, 97 Muscat Azzopardi, Ivo, 55, 108, 110 Muscat Drago, Joe, 136 Muscat Scerri, John, 145 Mussolini, Benito, 3, 368, 44, 46, 52, 54 Nadur, 55, 60, 65 Nagasaki, 59 Nally, Edward J., 2, 33 Nasser, Gamal Abdel, 177, 179 National Advisory Council on Radio in Education, 42 National Broadcasting Company (NBC), 27, 33, 36 Nationalist Party, 13, 18, 43, 181, 182, 189, 197, 198, 207, 210, 215 NATO, 100, 197, 198 Naudi, Charles, 123 Naudi, Paul, 138 Navarro, Johnny, 113 Nelson, Andy, 126 New Jersey, 52 New Scotia, 31 New York, 1, 34, 35, 164 Newfoundland, 31 Nicholl, Sammy, 129 North Africa, 45 O’Neill, Albert, 207 Oliver, Vic, 62 Opera Nazionale Balilla, 44 Opus Four Plus Two, 165 Orchestra Mandolinistica di San Giuseppe, 123 Orchestra Santa Cecilia, 123 Order of St John, 43, 45 Orlandini, Vincenzo, 129 Orlando Smith, Ġużè, 60, 61 Orpheum Theatre, 83, 181 Oscar Lucas Sextet, 168 Pace, Arthur, 150 Pace, Carmelo, 123 Pace, Frans, 22, 119, 164 Pace, Giuseppe, 8, 9 Pace, John, 124

Pace, Tony, 165 Pace Bonello, Eric, 130 Pace Bonello, Louis, 7, 28, 169, 172, 174 Palazzo Carafa, 7, 89, 119, 123, 145 Palermo, 43 Paola, 83, 137 Paris, 100 Paris, Antonio, 181 Parlato, Lucy, 72, 95 Parnis, Marion, 124 Parnis, Tony, 113, 133 Partit Demokratiku Nazzjonalista, 182 Pearl Harbour, 56 Pellegrini, Toni, 19, 30, 115, 117, 132, 133, 135, 137, 140, 149, 150, 211, 212, 216, 217, 220 Peresso, Ġorġ, 19, 122, 219 Peru, 28 Philippines, 91 Philips, Mark, 129 Phoenicia Hotel, 168 Pirotta, Joe, 90 Pisani, Ġorġ, 55, 58 Pittsburgh, 3, 34 Pius XII, 10, 23 Portelli, John, 163, 164 Portelli, Lewis, 10, 78, 89, 90, 92, 94, 126, 129, 130, 133, 136 Portugal, 80 Powler, George, 47 Princess Anne, 129 Programmes and Plays: A Tale of Two Cities, 67, 98 Aladdin and His Lamp, 82 Ali Baba, 82 Beach Party, 188 Beat u Letteratura, 148 Ben Hur, 137 Bijografiji Immortali, 162 Bird on a Wire, 112 Brains Trust, 138 Cabaret Il-Maltija, 101, 222 Dick Barton – Special Agent, 98, 114, 137 Din hija Londra li qed issejħilkom, 62 Daqqa fuq Oħra, 89 Fid-Dinja Illum, 154 Ġabra Letterarja, 66, 67, 70, 89, 140, 141, 145

236

INDEX

Għal Malta minn Londra, 188 Għannejja u Daqqaqa Maltin, 143, 144 Għeġubijiet tal-Ħolqien, 91 Għidli X’Taf, 89 Għoxrin Mistoqsija, 123 Go Greet the Moon, 112 Gran Gala Maltija, 100, 160 Ħaġa Moħġaġa, 123 Hawn Ħaġa, 123 Heading for the Top, 185 Hefen Plus Zero, 112 Hi Gang!, 62 Il-Farfett l-Aħdar, 115 Il-Farfett l-Aħdar Jaċċetta, 117 Il-Fidwa tal-Bdiewa, 112 Il-Fil tat-Tiġdid, 14, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 82, 84, 85, 104, 144 Il-Find-Outers, 82 Il-Folklore Malti, 141, 144 Il-Ħajja Maltija, 114 Il-Ħajt Għandu Widintu, 89 Il-Lukarda, 108 Il-Magazine tal-Emigranti, 64 Il-Magazine għat-Tfal, 80, 92 Il-Merqtuxi, 108 Il-Milied fil-Kastell, 112 Il-Mistenni mill-Ġnus, 110 Il-Mużika li Nħobb Jien, 99 Il-Pariri tal-Avukat, 122 Il-Programm tan-Nisa, 8, 101 Ilħna u Msiebaħ fil-Katakombi ta’ Sant’Agata, 148 Inwieġbu lis-Semmiegħa, 138 Is-Siegħa tal-Morda, 7, 89, 118, 123, 145 Is-Sieħeb, 112 It-Tieġ ta’ Karmena Abdilla, 108 ITMA (It’s That Man Again), 62 Ittra mill-Amerika, 63 Ittra minn Londra għal Malta, 6, 62 Korrespondent Speċjali – Morgan, 82 Kiddie’s Playbox, 115 Kritika Letterarja, 140 L-Apprezzament tal-Mużika, 162 L-Argument tal-Ġimgħa, 138 L-Avventuri ta’ Peter Charles, 114 L-Għaref tax-Xandira, 67 L-Għenieqa ta’ Wiżu, 6, 67 L-Għoxrin Mistoqsija, 67

Ladies Please, 24 Lil Hinn Minn Xtutna, 67 Madwar Malta, 90, 94 Malta Magazine, 153, 156 Malta u l-Olympic Games ta’ Ruma, 90 Melodiji Immortali, 162 Melody Maker, 185 Menz, 112 Meta l-Arloġġ Idoqq it-Tmienja, 108 Mid-Djarju ta’ Patri Gwido, 91 Mill-Bidu Nett, 24 Mill-Ġnejna Maltija, 148 Minn Triq Trumbull fil-USA, 63 Mis-Swali tal-Kunċerti, 162 Mistoqsija u Tweġiba, 135 Music Express, 185 Music Shop, 101 Mużika ta’ Kull Żmien, 162 Nargumentaw Flimkien, 137 Next Dance Please, 99 Nitkellmu fuq il-Poeżija, 148 Norman and Henry Bones, 82 People in the News, 156 Popping the Pops, 101 Quartet, 168 Radio College, 138 Rendezvous, 154 Ritratt Mużikali, 162 Sincerely Yours, 160 Smash Hit Parade, 99 Spiru Cefai Imur Għall-Gwerra, 114 Spiru Cefai Wara l-Gwerra, 114 Sports Magazine, 130 Sports Panorama, 127, 130 Staqsini Għoxrin, 123 Stars of the Hit Parade, 99 Taħbil il-Moħħ, 67 Taħt il-Blat Samm, 114 Taħt is-Swar, 148 Taqbida Mal-Ħin, 67 Teatru Għat-Tfal, 82 Tiġrib il-Għerf, 67 Tnejn u Tlieta, 162 Trio, 168 Wara l-Ħajt tas-Sejjieħ, 114 What’s On, 175 Wiġi l-Iblaħ, 136 Words and Music, 175 Żewġ Parilji, 136

237

REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

Żminijietna, 154 Progressive Constitutional Party, 181, 183 Psaila, Karm, 55, 122, 221 Public Broadcasting Services, 217 Pulè, Vanni, 163, 164 Pullicino, Joseph, 199, 203 Qormi, 60, 144 Qrendi, 179 Rabat, 48, 142, 148, 168 Radio City Opera House, 100, 111 Radio Corporation of America (RCA), 27, 33, 35, 36 Radio Distribution (Malta) Ltd, 4, 47 Radio Luxembourg, 185 Radio Malta, 17, 18, 19, 20, 89, 117, 124, 184, 191 Radio Mediterranean, 191, 216 Radio One Live, 20 Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), 4, 10, 39, 79, 112, 129, 162, 215 Radju Malta, 10, 12, 13, 29, 98, 164, 188, 190, 191, 200, 214, 216 Radju Muskettieri, 72, 107, 109, 110, 123 Ragonesi, Victor, 11, 182 Ramsgate, 42 Raniolo, Marianne, see Parnis, Marion Ransley, George, 55 Rediffusion Group of Companies, 20, 194, 200, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209, 210, 213, 215, 220 Rediffusion International, 216 Rediffusion Limited, 4, 42 Reith, John, 3, 4, 29, 41 Ribalta, 98, 108, 112 Rice, E.W., 35 Richard, Cliff, 100 Rinella Naval Station, 47, 51, 184 Rinella Wireless Telegraphy Service, 38 Rinella, 5, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 213 Rizzo, Carmen, 199 Rome, 10, 38, 90, 91, 129, 130 Royal Army Service Corps (RASC), 185 Royal Malta Artillery, 51, 174 Royal Navy, 37, 48, 56, 57, 83, 84, 179, 213 Royal Opera House, 6, 46, 58, 59, 68, 99, 164 Rustage, Melita, 115

Sacco, Remiġ, 18, 194, 197, 203, 204, 209 Saetta, Frank, 170, 171 Said, Frans, 74, 77, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 89, 91, 92, 93, 94, 113, 145 Said, Toni, 55 Saliba, Guido, 110, 111, 124, 133 Saliba, John, 204, 215 Salonika, 37 Sammut, Eddie, 139 Sammut, Filippo, 122 Sammut, Larry, 82 Sammut, Victor R., 182 San Anton Palace, 51 San Remo Festival, 100 Sant, Alfred, 152 Sant, Lorry, 12, 189, 209, 210 Sant, Toni, 219 Santa Venera, 91 Sarnoff, David, 2, 3, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 193 Saydon, Pietru Pawl, 141 Scalpello, Twanny, 98 Scerri, Carmelina, 135 Scerri, Charles, 151 Scerri, John E., 70 Scerri, John, 145, 151 Scerri, Tarcisio, 70 Scerri, Vincent, 164 Schembri, Guido, 78, 91 Schembri, Ġużè, 111 School Broadcasting Unit (SBU), 151, 191 Schumann, Walter, 115 Scicluna, Charles, 90 Scicluna, Emy, 113, 164 Scicluna, Joe, 90 Scicluna, Simon, 194 Scorey, Harold, 153, 154, 155, 156, 159 Second Arab-Israeli War, 177, 179 Second Italo-Abyssinian War, 45, 51, 52, 179 Seychell, Armando, 212 Seychell, Pawlu, 144 Shakespeare, William, 117 Shilton, Peter, 129 Sicily, 6, 43, 57, 59, 63, 144, 218 Sierra Leone, 223 Siġġiewi, 148, 189, 221 Simiana, Carmelo, 119, 122 Simpson, Wallis, 52 Sinatra, Frank, 168

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INDEX

Singapore, 42 Slater, Gerald, 28 Sledge, Percy, 205 Sliema Dramatic Company, 108 Sliema, 19, 49, 65, 72, 79, 80, 114, 122, 128, 137, 160, 168, 170, 188 Smith, Ethel, 79 Smith, Trafford, 180 Società Filarmonica Nazionale La Valette, 46 Società Italiana Radio Audizioni Circolari (SIRAC), 39 Società Santa Cecilia, 122 Socjetà Agraria, 142 Socjetà Filarmonica San Giuseppe, 123 Soler, Inez, 95, 110, 111, 124, 133, 138 Soler, Joseph, 203 South Africa, 42 South Wales Borders, 51 Spain, 3, 32 Spiru Zammit Quartet, 101 Spiteri, Frans, 203, 204, 205, 207, 208, 209, 215 Spiteri, Lee, 164 Spiteri, Lino, 154, 155 Spiteri, Manni, 30, 82, 113, 115, 133, 140, 151, 199, 211, 217, 220 Spiteri, Piju, 154 St Aloysius College, 185 St Edward’s College, 89 St Julian’s, 25, 223 St Mary’s College, 62, 63 St Paul, 99, 150 St Paul Shipwreck Church, 150 St Paul’s Bay, 144, 148, 180 St Vincent de Paule Hospital, 103 Stage Commandos, 72, 107, 110 Stagno Navarra, Richard, 154, 155 Stanton Blatch, Harriot, 34 Stanton Blatch, Nora, 33 Star of the Sea, 108, 137 Stella Maris College, 157 Stilon, Grace, 103 Strauss II, Johann, 101 Suez Canal, 177, 179, 181 Sultana, Ġużè, 6, 62, 63 Super 1 Radio, 216 Tabone, Ċensu, 197, 208

Tabone, Joe N., 12, 193, 194, 195, 197 Tagliaferro, Hilary, 21, 127 Tanti Burlò, Maurice, 187, 199 Teatro Costanzi, 38 TeleMalta Corporation, 13, 30, 200, 212, 216, 217, 218 Tellus, Salvinu, 7, 19, 74, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 89, 91, 92, 95, 113, 136, 145, 164 Tench, Wingrave, 58 Testaferrata Bonnici, Helen, 172 Thake, Charles, 124 Thomas, Howard, 138 Thomas, Hugh, 179 Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, 168 Tonna Barthet, Esprit, 2, 37 Treaty of Paris, 43 Trinidad, 28, 42 Tunis, 142 UEFA, 129 Umberto Primo Institute, 44 Union Press, 207 Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI), 3, 38, 39 United Fruit Company, 36 United Kingdom, 1, 4, 12, 32, 38, 43, 54, 149, 150, 177, 200 United Nations, 115, 157, 182 University of Malta, 8, 17, 95, 111, 138, 140, 141, 153, 207 University Theatre, 148 Urso, Armando, 107, 109, 165 USA, 2, 3, 27, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 56, 63, 99, 177, 179, 222 USSR, 177 Uttley, Alison, 82 Valente, Giarlando, 100 Valente, Val, 165, 168 Valletta, 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 22, 23, 25, 28, 37, 48, 49, 51, 57, 58, 59, 61, 4, 68, 73, 80, 93, 96, 97, 99, 103, 114, 128, 133, 135, 136, 145, 148, 150, 168, 170, 174, 183, 197, 198, 200, 223 Valletta, Anthony, 132, 133 Vassallo, Arthur, 6, 10, 55, 59, 62, 63, Vassallo, Freddie, 189 Vassallo, J.G., 153, 154, 155, 156, 159

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REMEMBERING REDIFFUSION IN MALTA

Vassallo, J.P., 132, 159 Vassallo, Karmenu, 55, 98, 111, 135, 140 Vassallo, Sonny, 172 Vatican II Ecumenical Council, 105 Vella, Charles, 105, 153 Vella, Dominic, 100 Vella, E.B., 55 Vella, Giannikol, 89 Vella, Ġorġ, 70 Vella, Ġużi, 73, 78, 128 Vella, J.C.J., 194, 204 Vella, J.J., 147, 205 Vella, Joe P., 89, 123 Vella, Vinny, 164 Vella Attard, Mary, 113 Vella Haber, Kelinu, 6, 55, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 83, 89, 93, 98, 107, 108, 112, 117, 137, 141, 149, 218 Vella Haber, Martin, 70, 145 Vella Haber, Michael, 70 Viceroy Theatre, 83 Victoria (Australia), 101 Victoria (Gozo), 8, 182 Von Brockdorff, Frank, 194, 204, 205, 209, 215 Wallace, Lew, 137 Warman, W.H., 47, 48 Waters, Clive, 185 Wells, H.G., 40 Wembley Stadium, 129 West Africa, 42 Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, 3, 27, 34, 35, 36 Whotcroft, Charles, 47, 56 Wilson, Anthony C., 82 Wilson, Woodrow, 2, 32, 34 Wogan, Terry, 188

Wood, Ellen, 97 World War I, 2, 32, 34, 35, 37, 50, 52, 53, 179 World War II, 6, 24, 26, 28, 29, 45, 46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 58, 64, 93, 99, 130, 141, 145, 177, 181, 183, 194, 214 Writtle, 38 Xandir Malta, 13, 14, 19, 20, 29, 30, 36, 101, 134, 150, 156, 162, 191, 206, 207, 211, 212, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221 Xerri, Mikelanġ, 171 Xerri, Mikiel, 70 Xirka Ġustizzja Soċjali, 207, 208 Xirka tal-Malti għat-Tfal, 95 Xirka tal-Malti tan-Nadur, 65 Xuereb, Cecilia, 164 Xuereb, Charles, 124 Xuereb, Ġużeppi, 144 Xuereb, Paul, 124 Xuereb, Tony, 163 Yardley, Frederick, 11, 196 Young, Owen D., 34, 35 Zabbar, 48, 144 Zammit, Charles, 162, 164 Zammit, Ġorġ (Dr), 19, 45, 103, 119, 122, 138 Zammit, Ġorġ (Fr), 108 Zammit, Joseph, 69 Zammit, Mary C., 26 Zammit, Temi, 6, 17, 67, 140, 141 Zammit Cordina, Joe, 82, 137, 151 Zammit Cordina, Josephine, 82, 94 Zammit Dimech, Francis, 18 Zammit Marmarà, Karm, 60, 61 Zarb, Emanuel, 168 Zarb, George, 58, 95, 96, 103 Zarb, Ġorġ, 58, 60 Zarb Adami, Godfrey, 58 Zecchino d’Oro, 101 Zejtun, 156 Zenith Radio Corporation, 40 Zgħażagħ Ħaddiema Nsara, 100

240

Rediffusion started operating a cable radio relay service in Malta in 1935. Over the following decades the company lead the development of broadcasting in the country, introducing regular Maltese language programmes in the years immediately after World War II and television in the early 1960s. Operating a veritable monopoly for almost forty years, Rediffusion’s presence in Malta came to an end in 1975. The cable radio service they created lingered on until 1989 and Malta’s national public broadcasting services still operate from buildings originally erected by Rediffusion.

This is the first book in English exploring the history of broadcasting in Malta through the relics of Rediffusion memories. The perspective presented here offers an initial critical analysis of the unprocessed archival resources that have accidentally survived over the years. While it is relatively easy to recover a significant narrative to tell a history of the Rediffusion years in Malta from the primary sources that still exist, albeit rather limited and scattered, it is rather harder to delve much deeper into many of the specific aspects arising from any close study of these materials. It is therefore essential now, more than ever, to remember Rediffusion in Malta before the surviving memories perish or become odd ruins over which media archaeologists will ponder for many years to come.

Toni Sant is Reader in Digital Curation at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom and Artistic Director of Spazju Kreattiv, Malta’s national centre for creativity. He is also associate editor of the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, as well as author of Franklin Furnace & the Spirit of the Avant-Garde: A History of the Future (Intellect - University of Chicago Press, 2011), numerous articles in academic journals, and chapters in books on performance and new technologies for preserving memories of creative processes. His next book is called Documenting Performance: The Context and Processes of Digital Curation and Archiving (Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2017). A former professional broadcaster, his weekly podcasts of Maltese music are available on iTunes and www.ToniSant.com