I was the token aviation enthusiast in Nimrod ASF 75-78 at Luqa and thus have a fair few Nimrod slides which might help with your project. PM me for details.
It is often forgotten, and in fairness was probably not known to the aircrew on 203, that right up to the day we left there were RAF Malta personnel in the same uniform as us, supporting the Sqns. These were local people who joined the RAF and were trained in the UK, but only signed on to work in Malta. We had a Cpl and 2 SACs on the Nimrod; there were many more in Canberra ASF. They obviously lived at home and occasionally you would hear of their difficulties with other people on the island.
To an outsider it seemed, you were either for the Nationalists or for Labour; there were no half way houses. Each had their own social clubs and when we lived out in Fgura during the 1977? elections, one side set about the other’s club in the square with such violence that supposedly a full sized (slate) snooker table was pushed out through the wall and onto the road. From the first floor.
A couple of happier memories from a good tour. Well respected Chief is walking through the hangar with a Royal Marine, as we were working on a Nimrod tail. Arms are being pointed in our general direction. We were asked if we had heard any bangs earlier in the morning? The Nimrods used 2 Park, beyond which lay 3 Park – used by APCs and the few NATO visitors. It was guarded by 41 Commando and earlier in the day one of them had accidently fired a burst from his GPMG. When asked which direction, he pointed at the then biggest building on the airfield, Nimrod ASF! We were OK and never heard anymore of the incident.
The hangar had been relocated from Kalafrana, where it had been used by Sunderland’s. In an interesting turn of history, when I last heard it was being used by Lufthansa for Airbus maintenance.
Finally, there were two flag poles at RAF Luqa – one for the Station and another outside the Air Commanders complex. One Sunday morning both the Ord Cpl and the Ord Officer were from 203. The former had a bicycle, the latter, as befitted his rank and station, a Mini. A race was set up and on the 2nd whistle blast from the Cpl at the Station flag pole, both ran for their steeds.
The Mini, though faster, had to follow the road layout - the cyclist just set off across the bondu, in a virtual straight line. Evidently the Cpl got to the 2nd flagpole first and tossing the bicycle to one side, he started clipping the ensign to the rope, as the strained snarl of the Mini got ever closer. `Sir’ arrived in some disarray, and ran for his spot, hat in hand. But when the single blast of the whistle announced the end of the race, who won became irrelevant for the Air Commander was in his office, come grandstand, and had seen the whole event! Just another day in RAF Malta...