Dockyard Toolbox

On 30 April 1942, Rear Admiral Mackenzie, head of His Majesty’s Dockyard in Malta, signed a list of commendations for the Governor of Malta. The list honoured tugboat crews, dockyard workers, and constables who, during March and April, worked under bombs and shrapnel to keep ships afloat and unload supplies, even as the Dockyard was reduced to ruins. One of these men, Giuseppe D’Esposito, was part of a team of six from the Torpedo depot that pumped water out of a damaged ship until it could be docked. D’Esposito was from Senglea, but like many others, his family fled to safer towns during air raids in June 1940. He commuted daily from Birkirkara to Manoel Island, where British submarines, stationed there for much of the siege, constantly needed torpedoes to support Malta’s defence.

This collection consists of D’Esposito’s toolbox and provides clues about his trade as a joiner. Each object was individually digitised and catalogued, while the box itself, a self-made project, presents some insight into D’Esposito’s religious beliefs.