Paolo Darmenia worked with the British Forces at their arsenal in Malta. Valletta-born, he also lived in Cospicua, St Julians, Sliema and Balzan.

He is my great-grandfather.

Paolo, or Paul, was born at 09:00 on Monday 9 November 1885 in Valletta, Malta, son of Emmanuele Darmenia and Rosina née Grech1 2. They named him after his grandfather and gave him three further names – Salvatore, Domenico, Edgardo2.

Emmanuele registered his son’s birth 3 days later on Thursday 12 November 18852. The act of birth entered the state registry on Saturday 14 November2.

Family

On Tuesday 25 November 1913 he married Paolina Bonnici from St Julian’s1 3. They were both living in Cospicua at the time of marriage3.

They both chose their own brothers as witnesses for the wedding. Paolo chose his 21-year-old brother Giuseppe, or Joseph, while Paolina chose her 22-year-old brother Giovanni, or John1 3.

A photo of the Church of our Lady of Divine Grace - Sliema, Malta
The Church of our Lady of Divine Grace – Sliema, Malta

State records show they married in the chapel of Our Lady of Divine Mercy in Sliema3, but the church’s records say they married in the then newly-built parish church of Stella Maris1. The Reverend Amadeo Bonello conducted the ceremony1 3. This is unusual because this chapel was not meant to be in use in 1913.

I’ve written about the history of this chapel. Since Sliema had a parish church in 1913 the authorities meant to use the chapel for storage rather than religious activities. State records for Paolo’s wedding suggests this is not the case.

When I went to check the Church’s record of Paul’s marriage, the priest in the parish office consulted page 320 of register #2. He noted that Paul and Pauline’s marriage took place in ‘The parish of Stella Maris’. This is ambiguous since the statement suggests that the wedding took place in the parish church but does not state this. He and I discussed this at length but he had no further information to shed on this matter, except to add that Fr Bonello filled in the register himself.

A photo of Paolo Darmenia
Paolo Darmenia – Aged 14 (7th July 1900)

They registered the marriage on Tuesday 01 December, and it entered the state records immediately3.

Together they had the following children:

  • Antonio (known as Antoine) 4
  • Annie, born in 1917.
  • Victor
  • John
  • Mary
  • Josephine, known as Josie, who emigrated to Sydney, Australia.

Notable events

Paolo’s parents moved to Cospicua at some point3 but I don’t know when or why.

By the time he got married in 1913, Paolo was working at the British arsenal but I don’t know how long he’d been there by then. His marriage certificate3 states his profession as impiegato all’arsenale (EN: Employed by the arsenal) so we don’t know what he did.

A copy of the reverse of Paolo Darmenia's photo
The reverse of Paolo Darmenia’s photo

By April 1915 he moved his family to Sliema4. I know this was between November 1913 (when he married) and April 1915 (when his eldest was born). I don’t know whereabouts in Sliema they lived.

By 1937 he described himself as a supervisor5 but I don’t know if he was still at the arsenal or not. It is possible the family had moved to St Julians by 1937 since his son, Antoine, listed St Julians as his home when he married in 19375. In Malta, people didn’t leave home till they got married, so this is a reasonable conclusion. Yet, I have found no evidence to back this conclusion up so far.

By 1943, he was an Inspector of Painters at His Majesty’s Dockyard6 7, which is another way of stating ‘supervisor’. Indeed, in a note for a requiem mass published a year after his death, he’s described as a ‘Supervisor of Painters'8.

Death

He died at 15:30 on Wednesday 08 September 1943 of typhoid fever at his temporary home7 9 at 127, High Street, Balzan6. This was his son’s, Antonio’s, home in Balzan.

Typhoid fever is a form of salmonella. If you drink unpurified water, or eat unwashed fruit and vegetables, you can catch typhoid fever. It’s not surprising this happened during the war, when fresh water would have been hard to come by. It is not clear if Anthony took his father in to care for him while sick of typhoid, or if Paolo contracted the disease while living there. Since Anthony was a pharmacist by profession, and aware of the importance of hygiene, it is reasonable to conclude Paolo was already sick when he moved to Balzan.

They registered his death in the neighbouring village of Lija on Friday 10 September6. The authorities entered this into the state records on Tuesday 28 September6. It is likely that the delay was because of World War II.

On Monday 13 September, The Times of Malta carried his obituary7, naming him as Paul Darmenia, rather than Paolo. On Sunday 03 October, the family published a note in the Times of Malta thanking all those who expressed sympathy at his death10

His family buried him at the Addolorata Cemetery in Marsa6 9.

On Friday 08 September 1944, the Times notified the public of a mass for the repose of the soul of Paul Darmenia8. This was at the Carmelite church in St Julians at 07:30 am on Saturday 09 September 19448.

Lineage

He is my great-grandfather.

  1. Extract from the registers of marriages kept in the Parish church of Stella Maris Sliema (Malta); 1913-11-25[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
  2. Act of Birth of P Darmenia; 1885-11-12[↩][↩][↩][↩]
  3. Act of Marriage of Paolo and Paolina Darmenia; 1913-12-01[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
  4. Birth certificate of Antonio Darmenia; 1915-04-22[↩][↩]
  5. Act of Marriage of Anthony Mary Darmenia and Mary Carmela Felice; 1937-11-25[↩][↩]
  6. Act of Death of P Darmenia; 1943-09-08[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
  7. Obituary; The Times of Malta; 1943-09-13[↩][↩][↩]
  8. Requiem masses; The Times of Malta; 1944-09-08[↩][↩][↩]
  9. Death certificate of Paul Darmenia; Church records; 2020-12-21[↩][↩]
  10. Note of thanks; The Sunday Times of Malta; 1943-10-03[↩]