the anzac experience in malta - malta.embassy.gov.aumalta.embassy.gov.au/files/mlta/one anzac...

At the start of the Gallipoli campaign, in April1915, the wounded were evacuated to Egypt, butit was immediately evident that facilities therecould not cope.A week after the landings at ANZAC Cove, at thebeginning of May, the first convoy of casualtiesarrived in Malta; by the end of the month morethan 4,000 sick and wounded were being treatedon the island.

In 1915 57,950 servicemen from the Gallipoli ex-peditionary force were evacuated to Malta, andduring the last three months of the year the sickand wounded continued to arrive from the Dard-anelles at the rate of about 2,000 weekly, and inone week in December 6,341 were landed inMalta.Despite the best efforts of the medical staff, somecasualties did not recover and were buried in

Malta. Among these are 202members of the AustralianImperial Force and 72 service-men from the New ZealandExpeditionary Force.When war was declared in

August 1914 there were just fourmilitary hospitals on the islands. Within a yearthere were 21 plus seven convalescent depotsand homes – earning Malta the soubriquet ofNurse of the Mediterranean.

The ANZAC experience in Malta - Arrival • 1

The landing at Anzac, 25 April, 1915, by Charles Dixon

Tour 1 - ArrivalValletta, Floriana and PietaMilitary Cemetery

Mode: Linear, on footStart: Valletta, city gateDistance: 6.5kmsDuration: approx 4hrs, at aleisurely pace

Archives New

Zealand

/www.warart.archives.g

ovt.nz/node/1085 The ANZAC

experience in Malta

The ANZAC experience in Malta is a set of four self-guided tours to the principal sites associated withthe personnel of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during, mainly, the First WorldWar.These tours will show you where wounded Anzacs where hospitalised, convalesced, were entertained,and the locations where those who lost their personal battles are buried.Tours may be followed in one of two ways: circularly, ending where they begin, or in a linear fashion.The walking man (_) and car (%) pictograms denote travel directions on foot or by car, whilst thereading man (R) indicates information about the locale and provides historical insights. A map is rec-ommended for car tours, otherwise one is not necessary.The tours also highlight points of interest on the islands – places where recovering servicemen andoff duty personnel may have visited, and so can you.

Background

map - App

le Inc

1 City Gate 200m2 Central Bank of Malta 220m3 Upper Barrakka Gardens 330m4 Triq ir-Repubblika 520m5 Triq l-Arcisqof 110m6 The Pub 49m7 Lower Barrakka Gardens 309m8 Mediterranean Conference Centre 120m

9 Site of the former St Elmo Hospital 200m10 Military History Museum 360m

11 Auberge de Bavière 290m12 Triq l-Arcisqof 280m13 Triq Santa Lucija 190m14 Fortress Builders 280m15 Vincenti Buildings 180m16 St Andrew’s Scots Church 80m

17 Triq l-Ordinanza 210m18 City Gate 430m19 Independence Arena 430m20 Argotti Botanical Gardens(ANZAC Memorial)

550m21 Portes des Bombes 770m22 Pieta Military Cemetery

Valletta’s original city gate (left) and themilitary gymnasium in the background —now site of the central bank

Richard Ellis Archive Malta


_ Turn rightas you enterValletta – thenew ‘gate’ wascompleted atthe end of 2014– and walk upthe stairway,turn left to-wards MisrahKastiljamak-ing for theUpper Bar-rakka Gardens.You’ll pass, onyour left, whatis known as acavalier, a for-bidding, win-dowlessmonolith in-tended to beused as a lastmeans of de-fence in siegewarfare. Onyour right isthe CentralBank of Malta.At the out-break of warthis was themilitary gym-

nasium, converted into an en-tertainment centre in mid-1915for servicemen recuperatingfrom Gallipoli wounds.The imposing building on Mis-

rah Kastilja is the Auberge deCastile, now the prime minis-ter’s office.During the First World War itwas British military headquar-ters and the building to its leftis the former Garrison Chapelthat now houses the stock ex-change. The entrance to the gar-dens is to the left and behindthe stock exchange.The Upper Barrakka is thehighest point in Valletta and itsterrace offers a panoramic viewof the Grand Harbour.

R It’s Tuesday,4 May 1915,nine days afterthe Gallipolilandings, andthe first hospi-tal ship — theHT ClanMcGillivray —steams into theharbour. Thewounded wereunder the med-

ical care of Captain (laterMajor) Vivien Benjafield of theAustralian Army Medical Corps.Within minutes the HT ClanMcGillivray docks and the 600wounded Anzacs on board “feelthat they have reached a havenof rest.“Quietly big barges come along-side, and almost tenderly the

steam cranes lower the stretch-ers, swinging them gently intotheir places. Thus they arebrought ashore.”1One hundred and sixty se-verely wounded were ferried toValletta Military Hospital in am-bulances drawn by six horses;the remainder were taken tospecialised hospitals._ Make your way to Triq ir-Re-pubblika, retracing your stepspast the Auberge de Castile, thestatue of Grand Master deValette and the renovatedPjazza Teatru Rjal – the originalopera house was destroyed in1942.

R The ambulances made theirway slowly to Valletta, enteringthe capital through Porta Realeand proceeded down StradaReale, now Triq ir-Repubblika.“Masses of people packed theStrada Reale…Large crowdslined both sides and waitedsilently…Many had broughtpackets of cigarettes while oth-ers carried bags of chocolates…Others carried bunches of beau-tiful, sweet scented roses and

Valletta’s Grand Harbour from the Upper Barrakka Gardens with: A - Ricasoli Hospital; B - Bighi Naval Hospital; C - Fort St Angelo, known asHMS Egmont in WWI; and, D - Cottonera Hospital

Matthew

Mirabelli

During the Great Siege of 1565 Fort St Elmo guarded the entrance to the GrandHarbour. The Sciberras Peninsula – modern-day Valletta – was largely uninhab-ited scrub.The strategic height of the peninsula was not lost on the Ottoman Turks. As atGallipoli, Turkish heavy artillery had the advantage of an elevated position

over the defending knights of the Order of St John, occupying the lowerground, across the harbour in Fort St Angelo. In 1565 what are now theUpper Barrakka Gardens were used as a platform for the Ottoman canons.Today it is used as a saluting battery with canons fired daily by re-enactors inVictorian-era military uniforms at noon and at 16:00.

On 5 May 394wounded arrivedon the HS Sicilia.A further 641were disembarkedfrom HT Aragonon the 6th. By theend of May morethan 4,000 sickand wounded hadlanded in Malta.

The many sickand wounded fromGallipoli requiredentertainmentand the militarygymnasium - builtin 1872 for theValletta and Flori-ana garrisons -was turned into asoldiers andsailors institute.The VernonUnited ServicesClub, as it becameknown, main-tained its functionas a social clubfor the militaryuntil 1967.The governmenttook over thebuilding in 1968,demolished andrebuilt the inte-rior but retainedthe externalwalls. It was inau-gurated as theCentral Bank ofMalta on 13 Feb-ruary 1971.

Australian servicemen in Valletta after anAxis air raid

Courtesy Bay Retro


flowers that bloom in spring”,writes Herbert Ganado in hismemoirs Rajt Malta Tinbidel2.“Some clapped but werequickly shushed by the crowd.It was not an occasion for noiseand shouting”, Ganado recalls.

“The people,particularlymothers in thecrowds, be-came veryemotional andthrew choco-lates, packetsof cigarettesand flowers.“Some of thewoundedwaved, smiledand lookedhappy thatthey had beenwelcomed withsuch love andspontaneousaffection.”_ Turn right

at the intersection with theWembley Store, walking downTriq ir-Repubblika passing theAuberge de Provence (on yourleft). In the days of the BritishEmpire the building’s top floorwas the Union Club, the hub ofMalta’s social life, today ithouses the National Museum ofArchaeology.At the next intersection, withTriq San Gwann, you’ll pass the16th century Co-Cathedral of StJohn. Once the conventualchurch of the Order of St John,it is artistically and historicallyone of the most important mon-uments in Malta and certainlyworth a visit.Two squares along, on Misrahir-Repubblika, is a statue famil-iar to all from former Britishcolonies: Queen Victoria.The austere building next tothe Victoria monument is thePalace, formerly the grand mas-ter’s palace later the governorgeneral’s and now the presi-dent’s office. It also housesMalta’s parliament and a medi-aeval armoury, the latter andthe staterooms deserve to beseen.R In 1915 the ambulanceswould have continued their

journey down Triq ir-Repubb-lika with “the crowds pressingforward to catch a glimpse ofthe heroes recumbent onstretchers or comfortablyseated – according to the natureof their injuries – and as the sit-uation developed sympathy andenthusiasm, the spectatorscheered with vigour and hearti-ness…Those of the woundedwho were strong enough to re-ciprocate the compliment,waved hands and smiled uponthe sympathisers”3._ Past the Palace turn rightinto Triq l-Arcisqof and head to-wards Triq il-Merkanti. Just be-fore reaching it you’ll see ThePub, a favourite watering hole ofthe Royal Navy, and the placewhere actor Oliver Reed died on2 May 1999 whilst drinkingwith his wife Josephine andsailors from HMS Cumberland.Turn left at Triq il-Merkantiand, some 100 metres along, it’sright again into Triq SanKristofru and head for theLower Barrakka Gardens.These afford an equally goodview of the Grand Harbour.On exiting the gardens, turnright and you’ll see the SecondWorld War Siege Memorial. Un-veiled in 1992 by Queen Elisa-beth II, the memorialcommemorates the awarding of

the George Cross to Malta in1942 and honours the morethan 7,000 service personneland civilians who died on the is-lands between 1940 and 1943.R Facing the memorial is theMediterranean Conference Cen-tre, once the principal hospitalof the Order of St John. In 1915this was the Valletta MilitaryHospital, used mainly for triage.“Low-lying, one might at firstthink it unsuitable as a healthresort. Yet once inside its thick,ancient walls, and you feel as ifyou had passed beyond thereach of the sun. The very solid-ness of the old masonry actslike a refrigerator, and withinthere is coolness”, writes theRev Albert MacKinnon in MaltaThe Nurse of the Mediter-ranean.“Here is said to be one of thebiggest wards in the world, withits 200 beds, and it is a touchingsight to look down its greatlength and see every cot occu-pied.“Here are many of the danger-ous cases, which it would be un-wise to move farther.”At the outbreak of the war Val-letta Hospital had only 36 beds,but was increased to 440 justbefore the Gallipoli campaignwith the renovation of disusedwards and improvements made

When the firstbatch of woundedarrived in Maltaon 4 May, therewere no motorizedambulances on theislands.Six Ford ambu-lances arrived on26 May, shippedfrom Britain onthe SS Gibraltar.The followingmonth another 24arrived.By November1918 there were83 ambulances inMalta.

The Valletta Military Hospital, now the Mediterranean Conference Centre, was usedexpansively for triage and the treatment of the severely wounded



to existing medical facilities.The 18 May edition of TheDaily Malta Chronicle reportsthat “without bustle or confu-sion each wounded soldier wasborne on a stretcher carried bythe strong hands of the atten-dants, under personal supervi-sion of a medical officer, ledalong the long corridor, up thestairs into the ward, each beingplaced on the bed previously al-lotted to him.“In an incredibly short time all

available accommodation wastaken up; each wounded wasresting on his bed of comfort,where he was at once attendedto by skilled medicos and de-voted nurses.”One of the wounded Australianinfantry soldiers “found that abullet had struck the bible in his(breast) pocket. The bullet pen-etrated as far as the gospel of StMatthew, the last pages split bythe bullet being that containedthe 22nd chapter. The twoverses which were split were 43and 44, the end of the tear rest-ing exactly on the words: “Till Iput thine enemies underneaththy feet.”To accommodate the ever-in-creasing number of injured ser-vicemen from Gallipoli, andfurther to the expansion of Val-letta Hospital's bed capacity,Cottonera Hospital — across theharbour — provided 167 bedsand was the largest militaryhospital in Malta at the out-break of war. A month into theGallipoli campaign this had to

be increased to 314. Likewise,on the southern side of GrandHarbour was the Royal Navy’sBighi Hospital; this, too, playeda vital role (see Tour 3).In the Valletta area, mean-while, several public buildingswere converted into hospitals totreat the more severelywounded._ With the conference centreat your back, follow the signs tothe war museum. Along the wayyou will pass granaries, storagesilos with stone lids, and Fort StElmo (see the sidebar on page6).The fort was rebuilt after theGreat Siege of 1565 and nowhouses the Military History Mu-seum. Showcased are exhibitsthat highlight Malta’s role inboth world wars.R Opposite the fort a govern-ment school was converted intothe 218-bed St Elmo Hospital.Designated a surgical facility, itreceived its first patients on 12August 1915, “but very soonmore beds were needed and, by

Valletta’s Sacra Infermeria, built in1574, was the new, bigger and betterequipped hospital of the Order afterthe original in Vittoriosa was aban-doned. The Infermeria had six wards;the largest originally measured 155metres in length and is reputed to bethe longest room in Europe.Each patient had his own bed, un-usual at the time, and silverware wasused to serve meals and drinks.During the French occupation the in-firmary became the Hôpital Militaireand, as its name implied, was used asa military hospital. It retained thisfunction from 1800 until 1920 as aBritish military hospital.In 1887 Australia-born Dr DavidBruce (later Major General Sir) identi-fied the cause of undulant fever, thenknown as Malta fever, whilst servingat the Valletta Military Hospital.During the Great War the main en-trance to the hospital was in Triq il-Merkanti; however, that section of thebuilding was destroyed in the SecondWord War. The principal entrancenowadays is in Triq it-Tramuntana, bythe sea front.Sacra Infermeria tours are conductedby the Malta Experience, locatedacross the road.Housed in the Magazine Ward of theMediterranean Conference Centre,meanwhile, the walk-through KnightsHospitallers focuses on the medicalhistory of the Order of St John in a se-ries of life-size tableaux.

Departm

ent of Information, Malta

Recovering soldiers posing with nurses and ‘medicos’ at Valletta Hospital, that had “one of thebiggest wards in the world”

Courtesy Jo

hn Portelli


Recovering Anzacs ‘taking the air’ at St Elmo Hospital. It was here, in 1918, that a bullet wassurgically removed from a trooper’s heart - the first such operation in Malta


dint of usingthe fine veran-dahs, another100 beds werefound…Muchfine work hasbeen accom-plished there;in one series of531 operationsonly six deathsoccurred, atribute surelyto the opera-tive skill andnursing powersof the staff”,writes DrGeorge Brucein his historyof military hos-pitals inMalta4.Officialrecords saythat St ElmoHospital wasclosed in Octo-ber 1917;clearly, this isnot possible ifsurgical opera-tions were car-ried out therein February1918. Unfortu-nately, no con-temporarywriter providesthe precisedate of its clo-sure. There isno doubt, how-ever, that thebuilding wasdestroyed dur-ing an air raidin the SecondWorld War._ Continuingalong the seafront, some500 metres

from Fort St Elmo, past Triq il-Fran, you’ll see a large, some-what dilapidated, old building;this is the Auberge de Bavière,now offices of the GovernmentProperty Department.R Formerly the headquartersof the English and Bavarianknights of the Order of St John,in colonial times it had been an

officers’ mess and just beforethe war the Command Paymas-ter’s HQ.After renovation and “theusual sanitary fittings” in-stalled, the auberge opened on15 June 1915 as Bavière Hospi-tal with 100 beds, increased to130 in July and to 155 in Au-gust.“In spite of its smallness Bav-ière Hospital did excellentwork,” reports Dr Bruce, “forfrom the beginning many surgi-cal cases of a very severe typewere admitted, and shortly af-terwards it specialised in the re-ception of surgical injuries ofthe head and spine.”Bavière Hospital reverted tocivilian use on 14 August 1917.Possibly a good time for re-freshments? Across the road isthe GunPost Snack Bar, a con-verted WWII observation andmachine gun post that bills it-self a “mini war museum”, withemphasis on the ‘mini’. The mili-tary memorabilia on display isfascinating._Walk along Triq Marsamxett;turn left at Triq l-Arcisqof andup the flight of steps. At the top,you’ll be in Pjazza Indipen-denza; on the left is the Auberged’ Aragon, now a governmentministry but in WWI it was theMilitary Families’ Hospital.Opposite is the Anglican StPaul’s Pro-Cathedral, conse-crated as a church in 1844. Itcontains numerous memorials

to units that took part in the de-fence of Malta during the Sec-ond Word War. Healed GallipoliAnzacs, no doubt, attendedservices here.

Proceed along the side of thecathedral, down Triq il-Punent;at the intersection with TriqSanta Lucija turn right and atthe end of the block take a left.Some 200 metres ahead you’llsee the Fortress Builders. Thisrecently opened museum offersan enthralling look at the devel-opment of fortifications inMalta and beyond.At the intersection of TriqMarsamxett and Triq San Mark,turn left and proceed to Triq il-Fran (Bakery Street). The largebuilding facing you is Vincenti

On 16 February1918 Colonel, laterSir, Charles Bal-lance (above) per-formed anoperation to re-move a bullet fromthe heart ofTrooper RobertMartin of the Der-byshire Yeomanry.Martin had beenshot in the cheston 14 November1917, his 21stbirthday, by a Bul-garian soldier inSalonika. He hadbasic surgery at afield hospital andwas then evacu-ated to Malta.On 13 January1918, Martin wasadmitted to StElmo Hospitalwith the bulletstill in his rightventricle.A month later, on16 February, ColBallance removedthe bullet with apair of artery for-ceps. Trooper Mar-tin survived theoperation but diedon 14 March of aninfection.This was the firstheart operation inMalta and thethird of its kindworldwide.

Courtesy Wellcom

e Images

The former auberge of English and Bavarian knights became Bavière Hospital in 1915 andspecialised in surgical cases of a very severe type, particularly head and spine injuries


The first lift in Malta was installed inSt Paul’s Modern Building, behind StPaul’s Cathedral, in 1908.The neo-classical cathedral, mean-while, was built on the spot where theAuberge d’ Allemagne – home of theGerman knights - had stood.When Britain’s dowager Queen Ade-laide learned that Anglicans did nothave their own purpose-built place ofworship, she commissioned and fi-nanced the building of the church; shealso laid its foundation stone on 20March 1839. It was completed in 1844and has the tallest spire in Valletta at60 metres.St Paul’s is one of three cathedrals ofthe Anglican Diocese of Gibraltar inEurope.


Buildings, on this site stood thebakery of the Order, destroyedin WWII. Turn right and walk upthe hill toward St John’s Cava-lier – a fortress within a fortressand now the embassy of theOrder of St John.R However, before reaching thecavalier, at the junction withTriq Nofs in-Nhar stands St An-drew’s Scots Church. Twostained glass windows in thechurch were gifts from Aus-tralian and New ZealandMethodists, as a memorial totheir compatriots who died in

the First World War._ Take a left into Triq l-Ordi-nanza and then right on reach-ing Triq ir-Repubblika.One must now leave Vallettaand head towards Florianapassing, once again, through thecity’s new gate, the imposingTriton Fountain and walkingdown Vjal ir-Re Dwardu VII andpast the Independence Monu-ment.Behind the al fresco car park,officially known as the Inde-pendence Arena, stands every-body’s least favourite

government department – theinland revenue.R In 1915 these buildings werebarracks, and the infantry bat-talion that occupied them va-cated on 5 June; within 48hours equipment began arrivingto convert this into FlorianaHospital with 600 beds, in-creased to 700 in November.Meantime, the first batch of249 patients arrived on 9 June,

Guarding the approaches to both the Grand and Marsamxett harbours, Fort StElmo — built in 1488 — was the scene of a heroic defence during the Great Siege of1565. The fort withstood intense bombardment and was under siege for 28 days beforecapitulating to the Ottoman Turks on Saturday, 23 June.At sunrise on that fateful Saturday those too injured and unable to stand wereplaced in chairs behind the shattered ramparts, among them was the SpaniardCaptain Juan de Miranda. They were armed with pikes, swords and pistols andawaited the final assault. When it came, the Ottomans attacked as a howling massyet the handful of Christians still managed to fight for several hours. Eventuallythe Turks took their prize and killed all the defenders. De Miranda and otherknights were beheaded and their heads placed on spikes.Today, a descendent of the heroic Captain de Miranda is an Australian citizenand a reporter for News Corp Australia.Fort St Elmo was rebuilt and integrated into Valletta’s fortifications after theGreat Siege and has been in use since. It was the target of the first air raid overMalta in 1940.Today it houses the War Museum. It is also the location where the In Guardia andAlarm re-enactments are held.In front of the fort are the St Elmo Granaries, storage silos with stone lids.

Malta To

urism Authority

On 14 August 1915 21-year old Corpo-ral John Vasey of the 2nd Field Com-pany, Australian Engineers, died inMalta of wounds received at Gallipoliand was buried at the Pieta MilitaryCemetery.His father, George Vasey, of Malvern,Victoria, together with friends pre-sented two stained glass windows tothe Methodist Church in Floriana inmemory of his son and other Anzacswho died in Malta.The windows, designed and made byAbbot & Co of Lancaster, England,were installed in 1921 and were dam-aged in WWII. After the war they wereshipped to Abbot for repairs and werereturned to Malta by the Royal Navy in1947, and placed in their original set-ting above the communion table.The stained glass windows weretransferred to their present location in1988.

The window on the left depicts Christas The Light of the World, after thepainting by William Holman Hunt,whilst the other shows Our Lord asThe Good Shepherd.

Terence Mirabelli


“followed by 110 on the 10thand 236 on the 14th”. The ma-jority of cases treated at Flori-ana “were severe surgicalrequiring in many cases earlyoperative treatment”, writes DrGeorge Bruce. “As an example ofthe strain of work it may bementioned that, on arrival ofone convoy, two operating ta-bles were hard at work from 4pm till 3 am next morning, andagain from 7 am until 2 am thefollowing morning.“The hospital’s site”, explainsDr Bruce “was exceedingly con-venient, being close to both theMarsamxett and Grand Har-bours, each of which was thenin use for disembarkations.”Floriana Hospital was closedthe following April, but re-opened with 704 beds in Sep-tember. In December 1916 theaccommodation was increasedto 1,304 beds by erecting hospi-tal marquees on the paradeground – today’s football pitch.It finally closed on the 30 April1917._We now embark on the moresombre part of this self-guidedtour. Walk to the end of Triq il-Mall and enter the ArgottiBotanic Gardens on Triq Vin-cenzo Bugeja.One cannot miss the ANZACMemorial, inaugurated in May2013. Designed by a Maltesesculptor, the monument namesevery Australian and New

Zealand serviceman of the FirstWorld War who died and isburied in Malta.

The next and final stop is PietaMilitary Cemetery, one kilome-tre away.Turn right as you leave ArgottiGardens, past the formerMethodist Church (see the side-bar on the following page) andScout HQ, turn right on reach-ing Triq Sant Anna and con-tinue downhill passing theornate Portes de Bombes. Con-tinue along Triq l-Indipendenza,keeping the pinetum and the

Jubilee Grove commemorativecolumn to your right. At the bot-tom of the hill, and on your left,you’ll see the Satariano Homeshowroom (there’s a zebracrossing some 100 metres be-yond); the cemetery is locatedbehind the showroom and is ac-cessed from Triq id-Duluri – usethe farthest gate.R The cemetery was opened in1857, and is one of four admin-istered by the CommonwealthWar Graves Commission inMalta.Of the 1,303 Commonwealthcasualties of WWI buried or

(Above) In 1915 Floriana Barracks wereconverted into a hospital, seen on the left ofthe clump of trees and tents. (Left) In 1916the hospital was enlarged to includemarquees pitched on the parade ground


Courtesy Walter Bonnici

Two hundred and five names are inscribedon the plinth of the ANZAC Memorial

The ANZAC memorial in Argotti Gar-dens, inaugurated on 25 May 2013, isthe first such monument outside ofAustralia, New Zealand and Gallipoli.In 2004 the Valletta-based MalteseAustralian Association (MAA) agreedto erect a monument to commemoratethe Anzacs of WWI who died and wereburied in Malta.A competition was held for the designof the memorial, won by sculptor GanniBonnici, and construction began in late2011.Contributions to fund its buildingwere obtained from the MAA, variousAustralian and Maltese associationsand from individuals.The monument’s two bronze figuresrepresent the soldiers who died andtheir families who suffered. Accordingto Bonnici “the idea was not to repre-sent war and weapons, but rather thehumanity that defended it, and thosewho lost their lives fighting for theircountry”.The plinth contains the names of 205casualties buried in Malta.

Terence Mirabelli

Terence Mirabelli


commemorated here, 170 areAustralians and 61 are NewZealanders. Pieta Cemetery isalso the site where the annualANZAC Day remembrance serv-ices are now held.ANZAC Day has been commem-orated in Malta since 1916, andwas originally two services. Aservice for non-Catholics washeld at Pieta Military Cemeteryand another at the AddolorataCemetery for Catholics, as ser-vicemen were buried in ceme-teries according to theirreligion.With the unveiling of the WarMemorial in Floriana, the com-memoration services were com-bined and held at this newlocation until 1977. A low-keyservice was held in 1978.Since 1979 an ecumenicalservice has been held at PietaMilitary Cemetery, as it con-tains the highest number ofANZAC war graves on the is-land.

“The day after the first batch ofwounded arrived, one witnessedthe first military funerals,” re-calls Herbert Ganado in hismemoirs Rajt Malta Tinbidel2.“This is how I learned Chopin’sFuneral march, and now, when-ever I hear the music, thisscene comes to mind: a firingparty, rifles at reverse arms,pointing downwards, a bandand a coffin draped in the Union

Jack on a gun carriage. Occa-sionally, one saw six or sevencoffins in the same funeral pro-cession.

“Later, perhaps not to createan atmosphere of despondency,funeral processions left fromPortes de Bombes and ended atthe Ta’ Braxia cemetery.“From Argotti gardens wherewe played, we could hear thesaluting party fire three timesin succession and, as the lastvolley was fired into the air, wesaid: ‘He has gone up toHeaven’.”

Building of the neo-gothic Robert Samut Hall was begun in 1881 and completed twoyears later. On 18 March 1883 it opened its doors as the first purpose-builtMethodist Church in Malta. It was also the first building on the islands to use elec-tric light bulbs.In 1921 two stained glass windows, gifts from Aus-tralian and New Zealand Methodists as a memorialto their compatriots who died in Malta during WWIwere installed (see the sidebar relating to St An-drew’s Scots Church).The Methodist Church was closed in 1974, sincethen its congregation has worshipped at St An-drew’s, where the stained glass windows weretransferred in 1988.The building, along with the adjoining ConnaughtHome - a refuge for soldiers and sailors run by theMethodists and used to entertain convalescingtroops during WWI – were taken over by the govern-ment in 1975. The church was renamed RobertSamut Hall and converted into a cultural centrewhilst Connaught Home became a home for the eld-erly.(Samut was a doctor and author of the Maltese national anthem; he lived in Aus-tralia for a short while.)

Anzacs paying their last respects to fallen comrades at the Pieta Military Cemetery


Terence Mirabelli

“Two qualities characterised the Aus-tralian soldier as a patient throughoutthe campaign. Under almost any suf-fering he was too proud to wince; andhe struggled like a plant towards lightand air and water. Stowed in thecrowded, unventilated chambers of theship any Australian who could movehimself used to get somehow to thedeck - and to the bath, if one could byany means be obtained.”5

Sources1Malta The Nurse of the Mediterranean(Rev Albert G MacKinnon MA, Hodderand Stoughton 1916)2Rajt Malta Tinbidel, translated intoEnglish by Michael Refalo and titled MyCentury (Be Communications 2004)3The Daily Malta Chronicle of 6 May1915 quoted in Gallipoli The Malta Con-nection (John Mizzi, Tecnografica Pub-lications 1991)4Malta Military Hospitals 1915-1917, ashort account of their inception and de-velopment (George Bruce, MA, MD,DPH, Capt, RAMC, (SR), Specialist Sani-tary Officer, Malta)5Official History of Australia in the Warof 1914-1918 Vol 1 (Charles Bean, 11thedition, 1941)


WWI Military hospitals and convalescence facilities Hospital Name before Date Initial Maximum Dated conversion to a hospital opened beds beds closed Valletta Hospital 1801 36 524 1918Bighi Naval Hospital 1832 250 17-Sep-1970Forrest Hospital Palazzo Spinola 1860 30 186 1922Cottonera Military Hospital 28-Aug-1873 148 802 1920Blue Sisters Hospital 1910 80 1979as an officers’ hospital 06/06/15 80 120 30-Jun-1917Mtarfa Hospital 1896 42 1,853 Feb-19(Mtarfa Military Hospital 23-Jun-1920 196 2,000 1978)Tigné Hospital Tigné Barracks 2-May-1915 600 1,314 6-Jan-1919St George’s Hospital St George’s Barracks 6-May-1915 840 1,412 31-Oct-1917St Andrew’s Hospital St Andrew’s Barracks 9-May-1915 1,172 1,258 Floriana Hospital Floriana Barracks 4-Jun-1915 600 1,304 30-Apr-1917Hamrun Hospital Istituto Tecnico Bugeia 8-Jun-1915 108 117 5-Jul-1917Bavière Hospital Auberge de Bavière 15-Jun-1915 105 155 14-Aug-1917St Ignatius Hospital Jesuits’ college 2-Jul-1915 155 196 1917aSt David’s Hospital 25-Jul-1915 464 1,168 1-May-1917bSt Elmo Hospital Government Elementary Schools 12-Aug-1915 218 348 Oct-17St Patrick’s Hospital 15-Aug-1915 1,000 1,168 27-Apr-1917St Paul’s Hutments 25-Aug-1915 240 898 27-Apr-1917St John Hospital Government Elementary Schools 1-Sep-1915 400 520 9-Oct-1917Spinola Hospital Fort Spinola 6-Nov-1915 1,000 1,168 27-Apr-1917Ricasoli Hospital Fort Ricasoli 6-Nov-1915 800 800 19-Mar-1916Manoel Hospital Fort Manoel 16-Nov-1915 500 1,184 21-Dec-1918 Convalescence depots

All Saints Camp 12-Jun-1915 1,465 2,000 Nov-17Ghajn Tuffieha Camp 15-Aug-1915 2,000 5,000 Jan-19Fort Chambray Camp Fort Chambray 4-Oct-1915 400 400 13-Mar-1916Mellieha Camp 31-Jan-1916 1,250 2,000 5-Sep-1917 Convalescence homes

Villa Dragonara 14-May-1915 12 20 29-Aug-1917Juno House 60 60 Verdala Castle 9-Dec-1915 30 30 17-Apr-1916

a Mental hospital from 1917 to 1919. b Precise date unknown, operations were still being carried out here in early 1918

ANZAC casualties buried in Malta Cemetery Australian New Zealand WWI WWII Totals

Addolorata Cemetery 28 10 38 0 38Kalkara Naval Cemetery 27 7 3 31 34Mtarfa Military Cemetery 1 1 2 0 2Pembroke Military Cemetery 3 0 2 1 3Pieta Military Cemetery 170 61 231 0 231

Totals 229 79 276 32 308Written and designed by Terence Mirabelli, Island Publications Ltd, on behalf of the Australian High Commission in Malta.Australian High Commission: Ir-Rampa Ta’ Xbiex, Ta’ Xbiex XBX 1034. Tel 2133820 Fax 2134405 Site www.malta.highcommission.gov.au/mlta/home.htmlIsland Publications Ltd: 36/38 Triq l-Isperanza, Mosta MST 1309. Tel 21431864 Site www.travelmalta.comCopyright © 2015 Australian High Commission, Malta. Island Publications (IPL) was unable to locate the copyright holder of some photographs used in this document. IPL willpay a usage fee to the legal copyright holder if he identifies himself with proof of title.

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