Anthony Darmenia

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 entered the state registry on Tuesday 27 April 1915¹.

Eight days later, his parents baptised him in the Roman Catholic parish of Stella Maris². His paternal grandparents were his godparents². Reverend Father Amadeo Bonello² baptised him.

A photo of the parish church of Stella Maris - Sliema, Malta — *The parish church of Stella Maris – Sliema, Malta*

Family

On Thursday 25 November 1937 he married 27 year old Mary Carmela Felice from Hamrun³ ⁴.

A colourised photo of Nannu Twanny — *Nannu Twanny (Colourised)*

The state certificate lists him as Anthony Mary⁴ as Malta had anglicised records by then. Church records list his name in Latin as Antonium Maria Darmenia³.

The Right Reverend Monsignor Canon Dean Di Albert Pantalleresco conducted the ceremony³ ⁴.

They married in the Oratory of the Assumption of Our Lady Annexed to the Gesu Church in Valletta⁴.

They registered the marriage on Thursday 02 December 1937⁴. It entered into the state records a week later on Thursday 09 December 1937⁴.

A photo of Anthony M Darmenia and Maria Carmela Felice - Balzan, Malta — *Anthony M Darmenia and Maria Carmela Felice – Balzan, Malta*

Together Anthony and Maria had seven children:

Alfred
Margaret
Louise
Marion
Christine
Simone
Carole

Notable events

By the time Anthony married in 1937, he declared himself a resident of St Julians⁴. I have not yet found any record of when this move happened.

After marriage he moved to Balzan, Malta⁵. I have not yet found any record of when this move happened.

On 10 August 1940, a Mr Darmenia from Balzan donated 2 shillings and sixpence to the “Fighter ‘Plane” fund⁶. It is unclear if this was Anthony, or his father Paolo, who may have already been living in Balzan by then.

Social life

On 27 January 1952, Anthony bore witness at the wedding of Mr Carmel Borg of Sliema, to Miss May Pisani of Floriana⁷. The ceremony was at Sarria church, Floriana, and the reception was at the Hotel Phoenicia⁷. I am unaware of any family connection, but since Mr Borg was a fellow chemist, I conclude the two were good friends.

On Friday 3 February, religious orders’ representatives were at the Palace in Valletta for the traditional Candlemas ceremony⁸. Anthony attended, and was mentioned in the Times of Malta’s gossip column Heard in the hive⁸.

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Professional life

Anthony was a dispensing chemist by the age of 22⁴.

He was the District Secretary for Balzan 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.

A photo of a World war 2 anti-gas mask for infants — *World war 2 anti-gas mask for infants*

By September 1943, Anthony was a chemist at the Medical and Health department¹¹. On 28 September 1944, the department appointed Anthony as a Junior pharmacist¹². This post carried one year’s probation¹². Less than a year later, Malta’s Governor “confirmed Anthony as a Junior Chemist“¹³.

Anthony received a British Council post-graduate scholarship for 1946-1947. You can find the full details of this scholarship separately.

In December 1948, the government appointed Anthony “Pharmacist and assistant Medical store keeper”¹⁴. On 6 October 1949, the Medical and Health department appointed Anthony as Chief Pharmacist and Medical storekeeper¹⁵. The Times of Malta reported this on 11 January 1950¹⁵.

The government appointed Anthony to the Medical Board in 1958¹⁶. In November 1960, he was elected as a member to the Council¹⁷. On Saturday 7 January¹⁸, the Times of Malta carried an advert for the election of a medical officer and an apothecary to the government’s Advisory and Executive Board¹⁸. The election was to be held on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th¹⁸, and Anthony was one of 2 apothecaries contesting the election¹⁸.

On Saturday August 21 1965¹⁹, Anthony formed part of a panel on a radio show called “Ngħixu maż-żagħżagħ” (EN: Living with teenagers)¹⁹ which was broadcast at 21:00 on the B network of the Rediffusion¹⁹.

Malta Government Joint Council

Anthony was the Vice-Chair of the staff side of the Malta Government Joint Council for 1959-1960²⁰.

Royal Society of Health (Malta branch)

On Wednesday 18 October 1961, Sir Arthur Massey CBE MD FRSH inaugurated the first Malta branch of the Royal Society of Health at the Palace in Malta²¹. Anthony was appointed vice-chairman of the society²¹. Sir Arthur was treated to an intensive 2-day visit which included cocktails at the Phoenicia hotel, after the inauguration²¹ ²².

Anthony was re-elected the following year²³.

In February 1963, the Royal Society entertained the Chief Government Medical Officer, Professor C Coleiro, to dinner at Villa Bologna²⁴. They wished to celebrate his recent election to the fellowship of the society²⁴. In the absence of the chair, Anthony toasted their guest, noting his work in Malta to promote hygiene and health²⁴.

In May 1963, the Royal Society entertained Professor A Semple to a reception at the Medical Health Department²⁵. Professor Semple was the Chair of the Council of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom²⁵. He, his wife and daughter were invited and they were welcomed by many in the profession, including Anthony, in his capacity as vice-Chair of the Malta branch²⁵. Later on that week, Professor Semple reciprocated with a cocktail party at the Green Lounge of the Phoenicia Hotel, to which Anthony and his wife were invited²⁶.

Malta Council of the European Movement

Anthony was a member of the Council of the European Movement which strove to have Malta join the Common Market. On Thursday 5 May 1966, he and his wife attended a reception at the Royal University hosted by the Council to mark Europe Day²⁷.

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 his speech, Borg Olivier suggested the association agreed with the government. 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 professional officers had received a salary increase. Anthony rejected this, noting that no one had²⁸.
On 20 July 1954, he penned a letter to the Times of Malta about the government’s treatment of professional officers. Using the statistics office as an example, he expressed the association’s dismay at their treatment.²⁹.
On 4 July 1957, he attended a meeting with the Prime Minister at the Auberge d’Aragon³⁰. At this meeting the association presented its desire to discuss wage and salary revisions, in light of the impending redundancies the British government was expected to announce³⁰.
On 15 June 1960, he posted a note in the Times of Malta announcing the association’s annual general meeting³¹. The meeting was held that same day at 17:15 at the Royal University of Malta³¹. The main item on the agenda was a proposed salary structure which members were expected to decide upon³¹. Given the importance of this point, Anthony stressed all members should attend the meeting³¹.

Chamber of Pharmacists

Between 1950 and 1954, Anthony was the President of the Chamber of Pharmacists. (In 1950, the President was a Mr Joseph Vassallo³²)

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. The Times of Malta reported this the following Tuesday³³.
In December 1966, he hosted a dinner at the Union Club, Sliema for the Chamber and for the Union of Pharmacists³⁴

Confederation of Malta Trade Unions

The Congress of the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions met on 16 May 1963 at its second session to elect its Council for 1963-1965. Anthony was elected as a vice-president³⁵.

On 2 and 3 November 1963, the Confederation held an educational weekend about their work³⁶. Anthony chaired lectures about the nature of trade unions in a changing world³⁶ at the Residential Holiday Centre in Marsaxlokk³⁷.

On Tuesday 10 December 1963, Anthony chaired a debate organised by the Malta Union of Teachers entitled “Our educational system does not provide adequate preparation for prospective Emigrants”³⁸. The debate was held at the Catholic Institute, under the patronage of the Archbishop³⁸.

Witness for the prosecution

In 1966, Aldo Camilleri was the chemist running the “Ta’ Xbiex Pharmacy” on Testaferrata Street, Ta’ Xbiex, Malta³⁹. Grace Cardona popped in and asked for “Aprecur”³⁹. She had been asked to do so by her own employer, Francis Formosa, who was also a chemist³⁹. This was a honeytrap Formosa had set because he’d heard that Camilleri was selling medicines without prescriptions³⁹.

“Aprecur” was a brand name for a drug known as ephedrine hydrochloride. This is a stimulant for the central nervous system that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia.

Camilleri allegedly handed it over without asking for a prescription³⁹.

Police Inspector F Vella charged Camilleri with³⁹:

selling prescribed medicine without a valid prescription
selling poisonous substances without not for hygienic or industrial use.

The case was heard in 1966 by Magistrate Dr J Formosa in the Court of Magistrates³⁹. Dr Guido de Marco, later to be president of the Republic, was the defence counsel³⁹. De Marco asked Formosa if he had any “Aprecur” for sale, but Formosa refused to answer that³⁹. He also denied sending Cardona as a honeytrap³⁹. He did admit that he’d had annual visits from the Medical and Health inspectors, with their most recent audit being a few weeks before the sitting³⁹.

Anthony was in court in his role as President of the Malta Union of Pharmacists³⁹. He testified that Formosa had handed the “Aprecur” over to him, claiming it had been bought without a prescription³⁹. This led Anthony to report the matter to the Medical and Health Department on 9 September 1966³⁹. The Union’s committee may have disagreed with this course of action; de Marco asked Anthony about this but didn’t get an answer³⁹.

Vella requested an adjournment to decide if any of the ingredients in “Aprecur” were on a restricted list, noting the list may be out of date³⁹. The Court adjourned to 12 January 1967³⁹.

National association of pensioners

Later in life, Anthony became the president of the National Association of Pensioners⁴⁰. He represented the association at the first World Assembly on Ageing in Vienna in 1982⁴⁰. At this Assembly, he proposed a United Nations Institute on Ageing in Malta⁴⁰. The Maltese government adopted this proposal as its own. The United Nations’ Institute opened its doors in Malta on 15 April 1988⁴⁰.

Death

He died in Pietà, Malta at St Luke’s Hospital on Wednesday 08 October 1986 at 07:15⁵ ⁴¹. He died of cerebral arteriosclerosis⁵. His family filed this with the state on Thursday 30 October, which recorded his death a day later⁵.