Size does not matter, but location does! And unfortunately for tiny Malta its location, bang in the
middle of the Mediterranean, placed it in the midst of the fighting during World War Two. Malta,
being a British colony, became a base for the Allied forces. This meant that it was targeted several
times by the Italians and Germans who frequently raided the island via air. Although Malta did not
present itself as a formidable enemy on fighting grounds, much was done from over here to disrupt
Hitler’s and Mussolini’s plans with many an enemy operation thwarted. And, most importantly,
many an allied operation taking off and being successful. These operations were planned and
directed from the Lascaris War Rooms, some 40 feet below ground the Upper Barracca Gardens in
Valletta.
The Lascaris War Rooms are frequently referred to as Malta’s WWII best kept secret and thus, as you can
imagine, the way leading to their entry is anything but glamorous or eye catching. A bleak
underground tunnel leads the way into the actual rooms. Once you get in it will feel like you went
back in time, and it doesn’t take much imagination to feel the almost palpable stress and high
tension that these rooms have been witness to. The rooms you will find yourself into did not exist
prior to the Second World War; they were dug by British forces with the intention of becoming the
centre for all operations based and departing from Malta together with the centre for the
administration of the British Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet.
One such operation was the well-known Operation Husky, It was the year 1943 and the invasion of
Sicily by land and sea, known as Operation Husky, was in the hands of General Dwight Eisenhower,
an American Army general who was, during World War II, a five-star general in the United States
Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe. This included
2,500 ships and 4,000 aircraft allied forces vehicles waiting for directions regarding take off on the
African coast. The huge map of Sicily used in this operation that mapped enemy position is still one
of the impressive relics still visible today in these rooms. The success of this operation was also one
of the turning points of the Second World War as it led Italy to surrender.
Other interesting items also include bunk beds hooked to the wall; these were used by officers
needing to rest during long shifts. Score Boards affixed on the walls of the Royal Air Force Sector
Operation Room; these were used to keep track of how many aircrafts and vessels were destroyed,
giving the officers a moral boost. Working in the Lascaris War Rooms you’d have found both British
and Maltese, men and women. The most important positions were however held by male British
officers. Different workers per department were employed; this prevented any one employee having
a complete picture of any operation being tackled. Maximum secrecy was the order of the day and
employees were kept under a secrecy oath for the following 15 years.
Following the end of the War, the Lascaris War Rooms became the Head Quarters of the British Mediterranean Fleet. Some 15 years after, and for the following ten years, the NATO also used the Lascaris War Rooms to intercept Soviet Union submarine activity in the Mediterranean.
The above is just a small introduction to what these underground interconnecting towels have heard
and seen. Join us for an in depth tour of the rooms from where the fighting services (detect, identify,
attack) were carried. We promise you won’t need to know the Morse code for this one!
