Some island stories

Big country India, tiny Malta, Commonwealth politics and me Edwina

The Commonwealth of 53 member countries is a deep-seated paradox; something of a colonial relic, a pointless neo-imperial 8216;talk shop8217;. But this month India is looking at it as a route to lobby for a UNSC seat. To begin with, by pushing its boat out to secure the post of Commonwealth Secretary General. It is fine to woo a group whose membership includes rich European nations, emerging economies and dirt-poor tiny island states. But is 8216;big brother8217; India grinding the jackboot in the face of the small guys? Like Malta, for example, which is fielding its foreign minister, Michael Frendo, for the job.

That Malta connection is what got me fired because of my association with the Maltese people in the 1950s. The commander-in-chief was Earl Mountbatten of Burma and one of his pet projects was the 8216;outward-bound scheme8217; to encourage the naval fraternity in adventure sports. He himself played polo and was an enthusiastic scuba diver, frequenting the splendid beaches with an aqua-lung slung on his back.

One day he ordered the navy to be pulled out of barracks to run a race round the island. Ship companies were also expected to run and thus my ship, HMS Peacock, had sent a team. Somewhat foolishly, having just received my Commission onboard that ship of the 2nd Frigate Squadron, I had volunteered and was the only non-white in the field. Half-way round the course, as I was huffing and puffing, I was signalled to pull to the side. Countess Edwina Mountbatten, the last Vicereine of India, wanted to have a word, seeing an Indian in the pack! She was graciousness personified of course, and it was an unforgettable moment for a breathless, 19-year-old me.

But let8217;s look at the CHOGM gathering in Uganda next month. Malta will figure for another little-publicised event because Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, and the Duke will halt there en route to Lusaka. They will celebrate their diamond jubilee wedding anniversary at the place they lived on their own between 1947 and 1951. Lieutenant Commander Philip Mountbatten was stationed there then, commanding HMS Magpie, also of the 2nd Frigate Squadron!

Malta is famous too for the unique honour of receiving a 8216;George Cross8217; from King George VI in 1942, for extra-ordinary bravery. During world war two, Axis powers had launched against that Mediterranean island a murderous air- assault led by the Luftwaffe. Three thousand raids occurred, making it the most heavily bombed place on earth. Convoys carrying vital supplies were sunk, leading to pangs of hunger and disease among the islanders. The arrival of a battered convoy on August 15 was ascribed by the inhabitants to a miracle interceded by the Virgin, on whose Feast of the Assumption it occurred! The Maltese had heroically survived.