Wednesday 27 April 2022

Grants and registrations from the Chief Herald of Malta

It has come to my attention that the Chief Herald of Malta has now complied with the requirement to publish his grants and registrations for the previous year (in this case years). Details can be found on the following link however to see the actual records of grants and registrations you will have to scroll down quite a way. The transparency is refreshing however, I am disappointed that the Chief Herald has taken it upon himself to enhance foreign grants with coronets. It would seem that a Scottish baron, although not entitled to a coronet in Scotland, is somehow entitled to a Maltese coronet of rank. In addition,  he appears to have accepted Rwandan titles despite them being mere promissory notes from a now deceased King. He has, it seems added a veneer of officiality to what has otherwise been frowned upon. Why am I not surprised.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v43bnxbx210xm5e/Government-Gazette-22nd-April-22-Chief-Herald-Malta.pdf?dl=0

Friday 1 April 2022

"Walts" and all - Malta again!

I understand that in Military circles there is a name for people who pretend to be something they are not, by either claiming to have served in a campaign that they have not served in, to wear a medal to which they are not entitled, to have attained a rank to which they are not entitled, or in fact, not to have served at all; that word is "Walt", as in Walter Mitty*.

A post made recently on a Facebook forum called "Maltese Nobility & Heraldry" has been brought to my attention; it states that Dr Gauci has been awarded the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal.


I can't verify the source as I don't know who is behind the post however, the image quite clearly shows the Chief Herald of Malta proudly holding "a" medal. It is hard to tell but I'm not quite sure if it is the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal he's holding as, to me at least, the ribbon looks quite different. 

This is the real Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal for comparison:


Regardless, I doubt very much that our friend, the Chief Herald of arms of Malta, is entitled to the Platinum Jubilee Medal despite his undoubted past service as a medical officer in the army simply because his service was "in the past"; he is no longer a serving member of H.M. uniformed services. The official guidance states quite clearly that recipients must be "individual George and Victoria Cross recipients and serving members of the Armed Forces and emergency services, among others, and acts as a token of the nation’s thanks to those who diligently serve the public". 

The post also reveals, if it is genuine, that Dr Gauci "was also awarded the Order of the League of Mercy (founded by Queen Victoria) for his pro bono work in the field of Pain relief." This is simply impossible: The League of Mercy was a British foundation established in 1899 by Royal Charter of Queen Victoria. The goal of the organisation was to recruit a large number of volunteers to aid the sick and suffering at charity hospitals. It was disbanded at the establishment of the National Health Service in 1947, with its Royal Charter subsequently surrendered. **

So, is the post on that Facebook page a genuine one, which would surely imply that Dr Gauci is a "Walt", or is it perhaps and attempt to smear his character by someone who doesn't actually reveal their own identity?  Well, I hope that the Chief Herald of Arms of Malta isn't claiming to be the recipient of these medals but I'm afraid that his track record of accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. 
  

*Walter Jackson Mitty is a fictional character in James Thurber's first short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World—and Welcome to It in 1942. Thurber loosely based the character, a daydreamer, on his friend Walter Mithoff.

** Edit July 2022. Apparently there is a private Charity called the League of Mercy Foundation created out of new cloth on 30th March 1999 however, although this charity emulates the work of the original, long defunct, Order of the League of Mercy, it is NOT an "Order" and it most certainly is NOT the Order of the League of Mercy founded by Queen Victoria. Again confirming that the accuracy of many statements made leave a lot to be desired. It comes as no surprise to me that Lord Lingfield is President of the League of Mercy Foundation.  

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