Anthony Darmenia, known and remembered as Nannu Twanny, was a Maltese pharmacist.

He is my grandfather.

He was born in Sliema, Malta, at 11:00 am on Tuesday 20 April 1915, son of Paolo Darmenia and Paola née Bonnici1 2. They recorded his name as Antonio1 since all Maltese state records were in Italian in those days.

His maternal grandfather Salvatore Bonnici was present at the birth and registered it two days later on Thursday 22 April 19151. The act of birth entered the state registry on Tuesday 27 April 19151.

The following day, Anthony was baptised in the Roman Catholic parish of Stella Maris in the presence of his paternal grandparents who were his godparents3. Reverend Father Amadeo Bonello3 baptised him, and had previously married his parents, two years’ before.

Family

On Thursday 25 November 1937 he married twenty-seven year old4 Mary Carmela Felice from Hamrun5 2.

The state certificate lists him as Anthony Mary5 as records were anglicised by then. On the contrary, the church records list his name in Latin as Antonium Maria Darmenia4.

The Right Reverend Monsignor Canon Dean Di Albert Pantalleresco conducted the ceremony5 2.

They married in the Oratory of the Assumption of Our Lady Annexed to the Gesu Church in Valletta5.

A colourised photo of Nannu Twanny
Nannu Twanny (Colourised)

They registered the marriage on Thursday 02 December 19375. It entered into the state records a week later on Thursday 09 December 19375.

Together Anthony and Maria had seven children:

  • Alfred
  • Margaret
  • Louise
  • Marion
  • Christine
  • Simone
  • Carole

Notable events

The Darmenia family later moved to St Julian’s. I conclude this because by the time Anthony married in 1937, he declared himself a resident of St Julians5. I have not yet found any record of when this move happened.

After marriage he moved to Balzan, Malta6. I have not yet found any record of when this move happened.

Balzan, Malta

On 10 August 1940, a Mr Darmenia from Balzan donated 2 shillings and sixpence to the “Fighter ‘Plane” fund7. It is unclear if this was Anthony, or his father Paolo, who may have already been living in Balzan by then.

On 27 January 1952, Anthony witnessed the wedding of Mr Carmel Borg of Siema, to Miss May Pisani of Floriana8. The wedding took place in Sarria church, Floriana, and the reception was held at the Hotel Phoenicia8. I am unaware of any family connection, but since Mr Borg was a fellow chemist, I conclude the two were good friends.

Professional life

Anthony was a dispensing chemist by the age of 225.

He was the District Secretary for Balzan, possibly for medical matters, during World War II9 10. He signed notifications carried by the Times informing the public of the following:

  • Tuesday 13 August 1940: A notice to residents of Balzan that air-raid wardens will carry out instructions on how to fit gas masks9.
  • Wednesday 16 October 1940: A demonstration, in Lija, of anti-gas respirator helmets for infants10.

By September 1943, Anthony was a chemist at the Medical and Health department11. On 28 September 1944, Anthony was appointed a Junior pharmacist with one year’s probation12. Less than a year later, the Times reported that Malta’s Governor “confirmed Anthony as a Junior Chemist“13.

On 6 October 1949, Anthony was appointed Chief Pharmacist and Medical storekeeper in the Medical and Health department14. This was reported in the Times of Malta of 11 January 195014.

The British Council Logo

Anthony received a British Council post-graduate scholarship for 1946-1947. Using this scholarship he studied pharmaceutics at the University of London15. He also gained valuable work experience at some of the best United Kingdom hospitals15.

In December 1948, the government appointed Anthony “Pharmacist and assistant Medical store keeper”15.

Malta Government Professional Officers’ Association

Anthony was the secretary for the Malta Government Professional Officers Association by 1952. In this role:

  • on 4 December 1952, he penned a letter to the Times of Malta to clarify a point made by Prime Minister George Borg Olivier. In the original write up of the PM’s speech, Borg Olivier suggested that the association agreed with the government’s decision regarding promotion of non-technical civil servants. Anthony’s letter clarified the association’s position.
  • on 25 May 1954, he co-wrote an article to the Times of Malta to clarify a point raised in that year’s budget speech. The Minister of Finance had suggested that professional officers had received a salary increase. Anthony rejected this, noting that no one had16.
  • on 20 July 1954, he penned a letter to the Times of Malta expressing the association’s dismay at how professional officers in goverment were treated, with the statistics office as an example17

Chamber of Pharmacists

Between 1950 and 1954, Anthony was the President of the Chamber of Pharmacists. (In 1950, the President was a Mr Joseph Vassallo18 )

  • On Saturday 11 December 1954, he attended a lunch hosted by Mr G Cuschieri at the Royal Hotel in Attard. Anthony appealed to all pharmacists to support each other and their profession and called for the creation of a pharmacy board. This was reported in the Times of Malta the following Tuesday19

National association of pensioners

Later in life, Anthony became the president of the National Association of Pensioners20. He represented the association at the first World Assembly on Ageing in Vienna in 198220. At this Assembly, he proposed a United Nations Institute on Ageing in Malta20. The Maltese government adopted this proposal as its own. The United Nations’ Institute opened its doors in Malta on 15 April 198820.

The logo of the United Nations International Institute on Ageing

Death

He died in Pietà, Malta at St Luke’s Hospital on Wednesday 08 October 1986 at 07:156 21. He died of cerebral arteriosclerosis6. His family filed this with the state on Thursday 30 October, which recorded his death a day later6.

His family buried him in the Maria Addolorata cemetery in Marsa, Malta6 21.

In memoriam

At 18:30 on 12 October 2023, his family held a mass at the Balzan parish church in his memory22.

Lineage

Anthony Darmenia is my grandfather.

  1. Birth certificate of Antoine Darmenia; 1915-04-22[↩][↩][↩][↩]
  2. Church certificate of marriage; 1937-11-25[↩][↩][↩]
  3. Baptism certificate of Anthony Darmenia; 1915-04-28[↩][↩]
  4. Extract from the parish records of St Paul Shipwreck; 1937-11-25[↩][↩]
  5. Act of Marriage of Anthony Mary Darmenia and Mary Carmela Felice; 1937-11-25[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
  6. Act of death of Antoine Darmenia; 1986-10-30[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
  7. “Fighter ‘Plane” fund, Malta; The Times of Malta; 1940-08-10[↩]
  8. Wedding | Borg – Pisani’; The Times of Malta; 1952-01-31[↩][↩]
  9. Notice to Balzan residents; The Times of Malta; 1940-08-13[↩][↩]
  10. Anti-gas respirator helmets; The Times of Malta; 1940-10-16[↩][↩]
  11. Obituary of Paolo Darmenia; The Times of Malta; 1943-09-13[↩]
  12. Appointment; The Times of Malta; 1944-09-28[↩]
  13. Appointments; The Times of Malta; 1945-09-06[↩]
  14. Medical and health department; The Times of Malta; 1950-11-01[↩][↩]
  15. Medical appointment; The Times of Malta; 1948-12-15[↩][↩][↩]
  16. Professional Officer’s case; Mr Anthony M Darmenia; Dr F Pullicino; The Times of Malta; 1954-05-25[↩]
  17. Professional officers; Mr Anthony M Darmenia; The Times of Malta; 1954-07-20[↩]
  18. Pharmacists of old; University of Malta; 1985 [↩]
  19. Pharmacists at a luncheon; Times of Malta; 1954-12-14[↩]
  20. Origins of INIA; Mr Joseph Scicluna; The Sunday Times of Malta; 2002-05-26[↩][↩][↩][↩]
  21. Death certificate of Antoine Darmenia; Church archives; 1986-10-08[↩][↩]
  22. Announcements – October 8, 2023; Times of Malta; 2023-10-08[↩]