Today is Sette Giugno, a public holiday in Malta. Meaning ‘Seventh of June’ in Italian, this public holiday in Malta commemorates four rioters who were killed by British troops on June 7th 1919.
In 1800, the British had assisted Malta in removing the occupying French forces and the Maltese people had asked to become a sovereign nation in the British Empire. This was ratified in the treaty of Paris in 1815.
Following the end of World War I, tensions had been rising due to the inability of the colonial government to ensure basic supplies to the island. This had led to some merchants being seen to have made a lot of money from the situation, while others fared badly. Added to this was the feeling that political moves for greater autonomy and independence for Malta were seemingly going unheard.
In early June 1919, a change in the governor of the island was treated with scepticism by some and on June 7th, a crowd started removing British flags from buildings that had been flying at half-mast across the island due to the recent death of the President of the Court.
The mob grew in size and turned their attention to the homes of the merchants who had been doing well from the recent supply issues. It was at one of these houses that a standoff between the mob and the army ended in tragedy with the soldiers firing and killing three protestors and injuring fifty others. The uprising continued for a few days during which time, a fourth civilian died from injuries received while resisting arrest.
The uprising was short-lasting, but the bloody events of June 7th 1919 led to the National Assembly drafting the new Constitution. Two years later, Malta was given responsibility for self-government and home affairs and the first Maltese Parliament was set up.
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Today is the birthday, in 1940, of Thomas Woodward, (Tom Jones), Welsh singer who has sold over 100 million records. Scored the 1965 UK No.1 and US No.10 single ‘It’s Not Unusual’ plus over 20 other UK and US Top 40 hit singles. Jones was awarded an OBE in 1999 and received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for “services to music” in 2006. From 2012 to 2015 Jones was one of the four coaches on the BBC television talent show The Voice UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIIU9xkGAMs
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