Many visitors to these islands are intrigued when they see these defaced milestones. Some may wonder why these milestones have been defaced. It was not due to a thoughtless act of vandalism. These milestones were defaced during the last World War. During the worst of the war it was thought that an Axis invasion was imminent, so all existing milestones were defaced in the hope that any potential invaders would be confused as to their whereabouts. In some cases, even the name of the town was removed from the stone. Needless to say, in this day and age, such a precaution would be futile. These milestones still stand, serving as a reminder of a very different way of life.
Photographed at Fawwara
April 2011
'During the worst of the war it was thought that an Axis invasion was imminent, so all existing milestones were defaced in the hope that any potential invaders would be confused as to their whereabouts.'
ReplyDeleteWow! That is very interesting and I never would have imagined such a thing.
That is indeed very interesting, I had no clue!
ReplyDeleteYou live in such an interesting place!
ReplyDeleteFascinating Blog with some great photos, i am really enjoying exploring it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining this! I had already wondered when I saw this milestone in Mdina: http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/sign-post-mdina-malta/
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