Gozo during the Second World War - a glimpse

Abstract

The part played by Gozo during the war was somewhat different from that of Malta. Gozo, though subject to the same rules and regulations of wartime Malta, was not a military objective and it was only in early 1942 that Gozo became an enemy target. Yet Gozitans feared the enemy especially in 1942 since the island was defenceless and had nothing to fight with. Therefore certain exigencies that were introduced in Malta from the outbreak of the hostilities with Italy, became in force in Gozo only after the Luftwaffe intensified the attacks on the island in 1942. Thus in Gozo public shelter digging and construction did not start before March 1941, the Demolition and Clearance was not established until February 1942 and the Home Guard only came into being by mid-1941. The Air Raid Precautions squad was not set up in Gozo during the war and British soldiers, who started to visit Gozo in March 1941, were only stationed in Gozo primary schools or other private buildings just for short periods, to relax and also for their military exercises and parades to boost the local morale. It was only in mid-1943 that, because of the temporary Gozo Airfield, some defence precautions were taken to guard against any air attacks.