A look at those who were wounded in the Sette Giugno riots

Now 101 years ago, the Sette Giugno riots remain one of the most significant events in Maltese history.

Spanning across the 7 and 8 June while a National Assembly met to hash out what a new Maltese constitution should look like, the riots were brought about by a combination of economic – the frequently rising price of bread throughout the previous years had left many Maltese on the brink of starvation – and political – the Maltese were yet to have a constitution which gave them any form of political authority over the faith of the island – factors.

Thousands had gathered in the Valletta streets to greet the members of the National Assembly as they met to continue their discussions, but the atmosphere soon – unbeknownst to the Assembly members who were inside – turned sour, with several buildings being ransacked, including the Daily Malta Chronicle’s printing press and the homes of the island’s three most prominent milling families; the Cassar Torregianis, the Francias, and the Farrugias.

Sixty-four British soldiers were eventually sent and split across various areas to quell the riots. They were subject to a tirade of insults and a shower of rocks before their commanding officer, the somewhat inexperienced Lieutenant Shields, gave the order to open fire.

Emmanuele Attard and Giuseppe Bajada were both killed near the Cassar Torreggiani house, while Lorenzo Dyer was shot as soldiers tried to escape the Daily Malta Chronicle printing press as it leaked gap. Dyer did not die instantly – he was carried to the Palace Square where he eventually succumbed to his wounds.

By this point, the National Assembly members had become aware of the happenings outside, after members of the crowd burst in. The riots were subsequently stopped – but protests returned the day after, this time around the house of Colonel John Lewis Francia.

This time, 140 marines were sent to disperse the crowd. Karmenu Abela was looking for his son near the house when he was arrested by two marines. He resisted arrested, and was stabbed with a bayonet as a result. He died of his wounds on 16 June.

Attard, Bajada, Dyer, and Abela are all now commemorated on the monument to the protests which was unveiled in 1986 and sits in Palace Square.

These four were not the only Maltese to be injured – or to have even died – as a result of the riots.

Archival documents list 19 people besides Attard, Bajada, Dyer, and Abela as having been wounded during the riots on 7 and 8 June.

The wounded, all men, range from being 15 years old to 77 years old and suffered from injuries ranging from bayoneting to bullet wounds.

The records show that a total of eight people along with Attard, Bajada, and Dyer, were wounded on 7 June, and a further 11 besides Abela were wounded on the following day.

The wounded are detailed in a list which can today be found at the National Archives of Malta. The list offers an intriguing insight into those who were wounded, including their addresses and family nickname as well.

The wounded were as follows:

Emmanuele Borg, 19 years old, “Tal Fazzulett” and from Valletta – wounded by a bullet in Strada Teatro on 7 June.

Francesco Seichell, 21 years old, “Taz-Zeirei” and from Cospicua – wounded by a bullet in Strada Forni on 7 June.

Paolo Bonnici, 21 years old, “Ta Flippeville” and from Sliema – wounded by a bullet in Strada Forni on 7 June. Carmelo Salerno, 15 years old, “Tal Chennies” and from Cospicua – wounded by a bullet in Strada Forni on 7 June. Paolo Zammit, 25 years old, from Valletta – wounded by a bullet in Strada Forni on 7 June. Vincenzo Zammit, 20 years old, “Ta Pecicia” and from Valletta - wounded by a bullet in Strada Forni on 7 June. Vincenzo Bugeja, 16 years old, “Tal Armla” and from Floriana - wounded by a bullet in Strada Forni on 7 June.

Antonio Mifsud, 25 years old, from Valletta – bayonetted in Strada Fianco on 8 June.

Emmanuele Zammit, 18 years old, “Ta Meloni” and from Valletta – wounded by a bullet in Strada Fianco on 8 June.

Nazzareno Seguna, 21 years old, “Ta Ghanna Cajjii” and from Zebbug – bayonetted in Strada Fianco on 8 June.

Federico Attard, 19 years old, “Ta Gruma” and from Vittoriosa – wounded by a bullet in Strada Reale on 8 June.

Paolo Camilleri, 18 years old, “Tal Ghauci” and from Valletta – bayonetted near Colonel Francia’s house on 8 June.

Francesco Saliba, 34 years old, “Il Lais” and from Hamrun – bayonetted near Colonel Francia’s house in 8 June.

Nicola Attard, 32 years old, from Valletta - bayonetted near Colonel Francia’s house in 8 June. Antonio Drago, 24 years old, from Valletta – bayonetted in Strada Reale on 8 June.

Luigi Attard, 23 years old, “Ta Petona” and from Floriana – bayonetted in Strada Fianco on 8 June. Emmanuele d’Emmanuele, 34 years old, “Ta Ricardo” and from Floriana - bayonetted in Strada Fianco on 8 June.

Antonio Cassano, 77 years old, “Ta Pisella” and from Vittoriosa

– fractured leg through a fall in Strada Reale on 8 June. A committee dedicated to gathering funds for the families of the dead and for the wounded was set up on 8 June – ironically, the day the riots continued.

The committee ultimately managed to gather a total of £2,380 for the victims – that is the equivalent of over £120,000 today. The bulk of the money went to the families of the four who died: Carmelo Abela’s wife and six children received £697 and 18 shillings; Emmanuele Attard’s wife and four children received £534 and five shillings; Giuseppe Bajada’s four siblings received £303 and 10 shillings; and Lorenzo Dyer’s family received £203.

The remaining money was split across those who were wounded at the riots.

Antonio Cassano, the final name on the wounded list, is of particular interest. He died in November 1919, after which his family sent a letter to the Committee responsible for gathering funds for the victim stating that he had ultimately passed away from the injuries he had sustained at the riots. The Committee had resolved to pay Cassano £36 out of the funds received.

A name not mentioned in this list is that of Francesco Darmanin. He died less than a month after the riots on 3 July, but was not physically injured in the course of those two days. Nonetheless, he died in a mental asylum, with his cause of death listed as “per mania acuta sviluppatasi in lui in seguito ad un forte patema d’animo sofferto durante i moti popolari del 7 Giugno” – meaning that he died from acute mania which came about as a result of a strong heartache during the uprisings of 7 June. He is shown in the list of people to have received money from the Committee which gathered funds for the victims however – he received £15.

Another person who received money but was not on the list of wounded persons was Antonio Zammit. He received £20 from the Committee, and it is recorded that he was arrested on 7 June after shouting the soldiers who were killing the Maltese to be set aside. He was thrown into prison in Cottonera, where he went mad. He ultimately spent until 17 September 1921 inside a mental asylum.

Cassano and Darmanin are both not recognised on the monument commemorating Sette Giugno. A letter sent to the President, Prime Minister, and leader of the Opposition by journalist Dione Borg, and backed by several historians, in 2018 asking for the two victims to be considered as such on the monument is, as of yet, undecided.