Alfred Michael Micallef

The S.S. Marine Perch left Malta with 121 other Maltese immigrants bound for the shores of Canada on May 8 1948.

Alfred (Fred) Micallef was 18 years old, could hardly speak any English and had no money to his name. Born into a family of 13 children to Paul and Lucia Micallef, he like many young Maltese, chose to go abroad to create a new life after the devastation Malta experienced in the air raids of WWII.

Leaving family and all that they knew in most cases, the trip across the ocean was not a smooth one. At one point, traveling across the Bay of Bisque, the waves were so rough and high, Fred remembers hearing the propeller out of the water as the boat was tossed up and down like a toy. Many were seasick, even many of the crew, and Fred remembers having to bring food to those who remained below in their hammocks, too sick to move.

They arrived at Pier 21 on the 19 May 1948 after being at sea for 14 days. Unable to speak English and knowing no one, Fred boarded a train to take him across country to Ontario. It actually says on his immigration papers that Fred was destined for the National Employment Service, London Ontario.

It must have been from there that work on a Tobacco Farm was acquired in St. Thomas Ontario. Fred fondly remembers the older couple who took him in and treated him as their son, giving him a new start in life.

It was from here that Fred moved onto Mattawa Ontario and married Canadian born Loretta Schembri (her family was one of the first to emigrate from Malta to Canada much earlier in the 1920s). For a few years, they worked on her father's farm, cutting timber to sell to the local mills.

Fred moved on to be the Lead Foreman for the Ontario Stock Yards in the 1950s while Loretta worked at Canada Packers. Fred oversaw the building of many of the barns and buildings that have since been torn down in the 1990s.

Together they built a family, created and ran a successful home improvement business throughout the 70s and 80s and have called Canada home.

Dad (Fred) celebrates 60 years as a landed immigrant in Canada in 2008. We are all very proud of his determination and bravery all of those year ago, traveling to unknown parts, with no idea of what lay ahead, persevering through the years, giving to his children one of the best places in the world to live. Dad, thank you very much.

Annmarie (daughter)