Malta Story (1953)

On Malta while in transit to Cairo, Flight Lieutenant Peter Ross (Sir Alec Guinness), an aerial reconnaissance specialist, finds himself assigned to duty on the beleaguered island. Located only fifty-seven miles from the coast of Sicily, Malta was a key Naval and Air base during World War II. During one of the frequent air raids, he meets a local girl and wants to marry her. Life is precarious however and the local population in particular suffered severe hardships. Apart from the daily bombings, they faced severe food shortages with only limited access to the island by Allied convoys. In 1942, King George VI awarded the island the George Cross, the civilian equivalent of the Victoria Cross.