Speaker David Paterson

Rotary Club of Stirling meeting of 6/11/15

Members were very pleased to see President Peter Mehta back in the chair after his recent illness.

There will be a SGM on 20th November for the purpose of electing next year's office bearers. There will be no meeting of the club on 27th November, as this is Scatter Week when members are encouraged to visit other Rotary clubs.

The club was delighted to welcome a new member, Jane Wilson, introduced by Crawford Gordon. Jane is a retired senior theatre nurse who worked in a variety of hospitals, latterly SRI. She was attracted to Rotary as a voluntary organisation involved in service to the community, and we look forward to working with her.

Our speaker was David Paterson, his subject, the siege of Malta, not 1942, but 1565. Because of the strategic situation of Malta, both sieges were of crucial importance. Following the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman empire spread rapidly as far as Vienna and West along the Mediterranean. The Knights of St John on Malta found themselves defending the Christian West. The powerful Ottoman fleet was supported by the Barbary pirates who already dominated the Western Mediterranean. 

Possession of Malta would give the Ottomans a base from which they could retake Spain. Fortunately, they were slow to press their advantage, allowing The Knights time to improve the existing fortifications, construct extensive new defences and summon help from Philip the second of Spain, the Holy Roman Emperor.

The attackers were well equipped, experienced and large in number, but fortunately unable to agree on an overall strategy. Some wished to attack Medina the ancient capital, but in the end it was decided to attack the Grand Harbour and its fortresses. After a prolonged and bloody struggle, the Ottomans had taken all but the main fortress, when on the 8th of September the siege was lifted after the arrival of a large Spanish army. It is thought that 35,000 Ottomans died along with a third of the inhabitants of Malta. The strength of the fortifications was such that they were reused in the second world war, and the operation rooms can be visited today.

The Vote of thanks was given by Sandy Leven.

Next week's visitor's host Crawford Gordon, Speaker's host Alan Prentice For further information www.stirling.rotary1010.org