A Service of Remembrance and Wreath Laying ceremony commemorating the centenary of Anzac Day is to be held this coming Saturday at Pietà Military Cemetery. The service will be open to members of the public.

In addition to the ceremony, an unveiling of two information panels will take place at the rear of the cemetery by Her Excellency Mrs Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, The President of Malta, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Area Director, Mr David Symons.

This year’s service of remembrance will commence at 10.00am. Participants are requested to arrive by 9.45am.

Wreaths will be laid at the service by: Her Excellency Mrs Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta; the Speaker; members of the Diplomatic Corp; community groups and associations; military representatives; and, members of the public who wish to lay a wreath are welcome to do so once invited by the Master of Ceremonies.

Anzac Day has been commemorated in Malta since 1916. Since 1979 the service has been held at the Pietà Military Cemetery as it contains the highest number of ANZAC war graves in Malta.

The Cemetery is located in Triq Id-Duluri (entrance at the junction of Triq Id-Duluri and Triq Santa Monika) Pietà.

Malta played a significant role in and during the Gallipoli Campaign with many Australians and New Zealand casualties being evacuated to Malta for medical treatment. From the spring of 1915, hospitals and convalescent camps were established on the islands of Malta and Gozo, to deal with the many thousands of sick and wounded from the Gallipoli and Salonika campaigns.

Despite the courageous efforts of the doctors and medical staff, some of the casualties could not be saved and they were buried on Malta. Of those buried on Malta there were 202 Australian and 72 New Zealanders.

The Commonwealth war burials in Malta are unlike those found anywhere else. Many joint and collective burials were made as graves had to be cut into the rock underlying the island’s shallow earth crust.

These graves are usually marked by flat tablets that could take several inscriptions and, for the sake of uniformity; the same type of marker was used for single graves.

The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Brian Schembri, is scheduled to perform on the evening of 25 April at the Mediterranean Conference Centre and will include in the programme Peter Sculthorpe’s piece “Small Town.”

The programme for the initial part of this concert features a close tie with Australia through the work by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe which is a homage to the effect of war on the Australian communities, and the Australian pianist Stefan Cassomenos, featured soloist in Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto.

The evening concludes with Dvorak’s eternally optimistic Symphony no 9 From the New World.

This concert recalls, commemorates but also celebrates the composers of all nationalities who wrote music while on active service during World War I.

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