Brumby (DE 1044) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 46 text:

at the Straits of Tunisia. The harbors are natur- ally deep and beautiful. During the last War, the presence of British and allied sea and air forces there made Malta a prime target for Axis bomb- ers. Malta has been occupied in turn by the Phoeni- cians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. The Arabs seized it in 870. Later the Emperor Charles V bestowed it upon the Knights Hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem. The Order of St. John began as an aid to weary and ill crusaders upon their arrival in Jeru- salem. The Order built the fortifications that are today the world's best example of medieval battle- ments. In 1565, Grand Master Jean de La Valette, 9,000 troops defended Malta against 29,000 Turks over a period of four months Napoleon seized Malta 1n 1798 His forces were blockaded there by the British Malta requested to become a British protectorate Some self rule was granted in 1939 and in 1947 Malta was then autonomous except 1n foreign affairs and defense Failure of talks on the island s status in 1958 led to riots, the revo cation of the 1947 constitution and government by an appointed governor and council After climbing the w1nd1ng stairs or takin the precarious elevator to the top of the walls by the harbor, Valetta appears to be an endless 11ne of taxis or horse drawn carriages The business , 7 ,, I, ,,,, Tw f A W W x ,fff 6 QC , ,ff f ' ,,,, L, ,,,,, ,,,, 5 ...M rrvl ZZWZVX I I' ,W ,ff WW' vw ZWWW 7 V 'Z I X Y 'Z f , ' ff Q, f ',1' Wa 'f , W ,fl 7. ,f ' Qf , ' ,I H ,m'ij,,WW XXMXMM f ,' ,WM WW7, 1 , ftif ff X V f M , 44 g 5 QV 4.43

Page 45 text:

LENINGRAD. After a long wait, the Russians flashed a Thank you . Happy New Year to you, too. That was our first communication with the Russians. BRUMBY continued to follow the Russians. Most of the time was spent near Egypt, but we also followed them westward to Sardinia and eastward to Crete. We thought BRUMBY would rejoin the 6th Fleet when relieved by another destroyer. But old reliable was not relieved. Orders were given to dash to Augusta Bay, Sicily for fuel while U.S. Navy PC-3's took over tracking the LENIN- GRAD from the air. With a full load of fuel and some mail from home, BRUMBY was back on station in a few hours. We were going to learn a few more tricks about flexible scheduling in the future. . On 13 January, we pulled into the Grand Harbor of Valetta, Malta. We had steamed constantly for 19 days and some well-deserved liberty was ahead. We moored alongside the tender USS GRAND CANYON and other destroyers. Soon we were going ashore to explore this little island at the cross- roads of the Mediterranean. Malta consists of the islands of Malta, Gozo, Comino and a few islets. It is a former British protectorate and lies 60 miles south of Sicily and has long been an important strategic island because of its position in the center of the Mediterranean Mlswsgsgygyzsf NW' f , fsw X WX WSW if f f X f f sw f f is Wt X X Z sw X WNW' X 4 Q: sf Q, ,, A is Zsfysf 4-,wks 15 KAW w? C

Page 47 text:

district is around the parallel streets of King's Way and Market Street. Here are countless shops in the style of England selling all manner of arti- cles. There is china, textiles, suits, dresses, crystal, jewelry, and lace to name a few of the bargains. These shops lure the natives, tourists, and BRUMBY men as well. Quite a few souvenirs were brought back from Valetta. Between King's Way and Market Street is the church of St. John. This church, dedicated to the one who founded Christianity on the island, is not impressive from the outside. The structure was designed by an architect who was one of the best builders of battlements and appears to be a castle rather than a church. Inside there is a wealth of decoration making this church one of the richest in the world. The Order of St. John con- sisted of noblemen who had large personal treas- ures. This was their church and the result was the building of a wealthy place of worship. The walls and pillars are of limestone that is carved ornately and gilted with solid gold. The ceiling is covered with paintings. The painting was done in oil di- rectly upon the limestone ceiling. The technique for doing this is unknown today. Protecting the altar of the holy sacrament is a solid silver fence 20 feet wide and eight feet tall. During an invasion by the French the Maltese painted the fence black and the French mistook it for a common metal