Wartime Maltese Satire

[GTB]

I just love ephemera. The attached scan is of the front page of one in a popular series of pocket-sized (14cm x 10cm) satirical pamphlets printed in Malta during the war and that poked fun at the Axis. These pamphlets consisted of an illustrated front-page describing the theme, and 7 pages of satirical verse.
The example shown depicts Italian soldiers surrendering en masse to a lone British tank. The captions (translated) read thus:
"MUSSOLINI is ashamed to meet with HITLER / The Italians receive hammering after hammering / New Year's presents for Hitler and for Mussolini"
The final caption informs readers that the content is written in verse.
It should be obvious to everyone that the subject concerns the disastrous defeat of the Italian Army by the Allies in North Africa in December 1940. Each snippet of news would be the catalyst for other pamphlets and it goes without saying that they are collectables in their own right. Like to share.
GTB

[Kevin Elliott]

My late father served on Malta, with the Hampshire Regiment, during the war. I'm now wondering if he ever read these pamphlets?

[GTB]

Thanks for your message, Kev. The Hampshires were part of the Malta Garrison and along with the other Battalions on the Island at the time, their cap badges are (or were) quite common. A few years back I dug one up.
As for the pamphlets I doubt if he would have read them as they were written entirely in Maltese, for the local population. He would most certainly have known about them and I have no doubt that the Maltese would have enjoyed translating the contents to British servicemen. After all, it was a common front at the time and every snippet of good news would keep spirits up.
GTB