Pembroke Army Garrison Explained

Pembroke Garrison
Location:Pembroke, Malta
Type:Fortifications, Barracks, military families' quarters and Wartime Military Hospitals in WW1 and WW2
Coordinates:35.925°N 14.475°W
Ownership:Government of Malta
Controlledby:Pembroke Town Council
Built:1862 with several development phases up til 1941
Used:1869–1977
Builder:British Empire
Materials:Limestone
Height:Low rise
Condition:Largely intact with some derelict buildings
Battles:Logistic and medical support to World War I and the Siege of Malta (World War II)

Pembroke Garrison is a dispersed collection of former British Army barracks built in the vicinity of Fort Pembroke,[1] northern Malta.

History

Pembroke Garrison developed around a Victorian fortification (Fort Pembroke), a gun emplacement, a barracks, a tented musketry camp, rifle ranges and training areas.[2] St George's Barracks[3] was built first, followed by Fort Pembroke, then St Andrew's Barracks and finally St Patrick's Barracks; built by the British in four main building phases 19th and 20th centuries.[4] Part of the garrison (St Andrew's Barracks) was used as a military hospital during the First World War;[5] during the war Malta's military hospitals and convalescent camps, particularly those at Pembroke, dealt with over 135,000 sick and wounded, most of whom were casualties of the Gallipoli and Salonika campaigns.[6] It remained in use by the British military until 1977.[7] St Patrick's Barracks was not constructed until World War Two.[8]

Army units based at Pembroke Garrison between 1954 and 1967 would have been subordinate to Headquarters Malta and Libya.[9]

At the height of its occupancy the British garrison at Pembroke included St George's,[10] St Patrick's[11] and St Andrew's Barracks,[12] places of worship,[13] firing ranges and Fort Pembroke itself; as well as a military repair base, a medical centre, a military cemetery,[14] a garrison school[15] and other soldier and family welfare facilities (i.e. a NAAFI shop, military post office and beach club (the 'Robb Lido' along the northern edge of St George's Bay[16]) and regimental messes).

In May 1940 naval and army families living on the island were moved to Pembroke Garrison (into St George's and St Andrew's Barracks).[17] Once St Patrick's barracks were constructed in 1941 Pembroke Garrison would be a critical medical support base for the island.[18]

British Army and Royal Marines units based at Pembroke Garrison

This is not an exhaustive list of the British Army and Royal Marines (RM) units that occupied the Pembroke Garrison, but it represents those that are recorded:

St Georges Barracks - constructed between 1859 and 1862
St Andrew's Barracks - not occupied until April 1905[29]
St Paul's Hutments
St Patrick's Barracks - constructed in 1941

Although the Pembroke Garrison was nominally an Army facility able to house three infantry battalions, it is clear that the Royal Marines had a long post-war association with Pembroke.

Transfer of ownership to the Maltese Government

The bulk of the garrison's sites were decommissioned and handed to the Government of Malta in 1977. The barracks and their environs are now divided into a thriving community of Pembroke made up public and private housing; and a number of notable colleges and schools, many of them located in re-purposed original British Army barrack blocks.[40]

The limestone karst countryside around promotes a unique ecology called garigue which the local authorities are keen to promote as a visitor attraction, along with the military heritage.[41]

Legacy Pembroke site reuse noted:

St George's Barracks (the oldest of Pembroke Garrison's unit location) has not survived intact (as did St Andrew's and St Patrick's) and this probably reflects the fact that after British withdrawal from Malta there was not the imperative and funds that there is now to preserve and use heritage imperial building stock. Australia Hall,[51] the former REME workshops and the White Rocks Officers' Quarters[52] areas are still in need of development and restoration.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Darmanin. Denis A. Pembroke From a British Garrison to a Modern Civilian Town. 2010. 9789993208631.
  2. Web site: Pembroke Heritage Project - Visitors' Site Guide . Issuu . 26 May 2014 . 7 April 2020 . en.
  3. Web site: Military Hospitals of the Malta Garrison - Pembroke Camp District - Forrest Hospital St Julian's. archive.li. 9 July 2017. 11 January 2016. bot: unknown. https://archive.today/20160111084954/http://maltaramc.com/articles/contents/reghosp.html. 11 January 2016.
  4. Web site: About Pembroke . www.maltatogo.org. 9 July 2017.
  5. Web site: The ANZAC experience in Malta - Page 7. Australian High Commission Valletta. 8 July 2017.
  6. Web site: Military Cemetery, Pembroke. Protecting the most significant buildings, monuments and features. MEPA. 11 July 2017.
  7. Ltd. Allied Newspapers. Pembroke: from war symbol to spacious modern town. Times of Malta. 15 September 2013 . 8 July 2017.
  8. Web site: Malta Garrison 1941. maltaramc.com. 8 July 2017. en.
  9. Web site: UK. The National Archives. War Office, Headquarters Malta and Libya. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. UK Government. 10 July 2017.
  10. Web site: Archives. The National . St George's Barracks, Malta. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Suffolk Regiment Archives. 8 July 2017.
  11. News: Ltd. Allied Newspapers. Protecting the most significant buildings, monuments and features of Pembroke (9) . 8 July 2017. Times of Malta. 11 February 2010.
  12. Web site: St Andrew's Barracks. MEPA. 8 July 2017.
  13. Web site: Archives. The National. Christ Church, Pembroke Garrison, Malta. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. 8 July 2017. WO 156/601.
  14. Web site: PEMBROKE MILITARY CEMETERY. Cemetery Details. CWGC. 8 July 2017.
  15. Web site: Malta Garrison 1903 - Army Education Department, List of School Masters/Mistresses. maltaramc.com. 8 July 2017. en.
  16. Web site: Environment and Transport World, Pages 6 & 7. The Department of the Environment and the Department of Transport. 10 July 2017.
  17. Web site: Malta Garrison 1940 - Medical Aid Posts. maltaramc.com. 8 July 2017. en.
  18. Web site: Malta Garrison 1941. maltaramc.com. 8 July 2017. en.
  19. Web site: Loyal North Lancashire Regiment . www.maltaramc.com . 7 April 2020.
  20. BMJ . Military Health . AN OUTBREAK OF SIMPLE CONTINUED FEVER ASSUMING EPIDEMIC FORM AMONGST NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN OF C COMPANY, 4TH BATTALION RIFLE BRIGADE . BMJ Military Health . September 1909 . 13 . 3 . 252–258 . 7 April 2020.
  21. 2 Apr 1911, England & Wales National Census - Overseas Regimental Returns
  22. Web site: The ANZAC Experience in Malta . 6 April 2020.
  23. Book: Leese . James . Going for a Soldier . 2013 . Lulu.com . 9781291407334 . 49–50 . en.
  24. Book: Felton . Mark . China Station: The British Military in the Middle Kingdom, 1839–1997 . 2013 . Pen and Sword . 978-1-4738-2960-2 . 6 April 2020 . en.
  25. Web site: The National Archives . The National Archives. The Suffolk Regiment at St George's Barracks, Malta . discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk . The Suffolk Regt . 8 July 2017 . GB 554/B12/72.
  26. Web site: 40 Commando RM, 'A' Troop, July 1949. . gallery.commandoveterans.org . 9 July 2017.
  27. Web site: Heavy Air Defence Regiment - Regiment History, War & Military Records & Archives . www.forces-war-records.co.uk . 6 April 2020.
  28. Web site: Royal Marines Aviation . www.aviationinmalta.com . 6 April 2020.
  29. Web site: Malta Garrison 1905 - Barracks . maltaramc.com . 9 July 2017 . en.
  30. Web site: Malta Garrison 1941 . maltaramc.com . 8 July 2017 . en.
  31. Web site: The Royal Marines . maltaramc.com . 9 July 2017 . en.
  32. Web site: X Troop St Andrews Barracks Malta 1957 . www.40commandoassociation.com . 8 July 2017.
  33. Web site: About Pembroke . www.maltatogo.org . 9 July 2017.
  34. Web site: St Paul's Hutments . MEPA . 11 July 2017.
  35. Allied Newspapers . Their skills helped to defend Malta . . 13 April 2003 . 9 July 2017.
  36. Web site: Malta Garrison 1941 . maltaramc.com . 8 July 2017 . en.
  37. Web site: The Royal Marines . maltaramc.com . 9 July 2017 . en.
  38. Web site: 36 Regt RA Associated Units . www.36reg.com . 8 July 2017.
  39. Web site: Royal Leicestershire Regiment - Looking back - Various photos page 1 . sites.google.com . 9 July 2017.
  40. Web site: Mitev . Georgi . Pembroke, Malta - Information and interests . www.malta.com . 8 July 2017 . en.
  41. Web site: Pembroke Heritage Project - Visitors' Site Guide . issuu . 26 May 2014 . Pembroke Heritage Project . 8 July 2017 . en.
  42. Web site: Contact Us . www.its.edu.mt . ITS Malta . 10 July 2017 . en-gb.
  43. Web site: Verdala International School Malta - VIS Malta . www.verdala.org . 10 July 2017.
  44. Web site: Kunsill Lokali Pembroke - Dħul . mt . Pembroke Local Council - Income . www.pembroke.gov.mt . 10 July 2017.
  45. Web site: Malta Middlesex University London. www.mdx.ac.uk. 10 July 2017. en.
  46. Web site: Home. STC Higher Education . 10 July 2017 . en.
  47. Web site: Home . www.stmeduc.org . 10 July 2017 . en.
  48. Web site: Malta . Sprachcaffe . Sprachcaffe Malta . www.sprachcaffe-malta.com . 11 July 2017 . en.
  49. Web site: National Sport School . nss.skola.edu.mt . 10 July 2017.
  50. Web site: St Clare College Pembroke Secondary School . edumalta.gov.mt . 10 July 2017 . en.
  51. Web site: The Ruined Australia Hall in Pembroke, Malta - Urban Ghosts Media. Urban Ghosts Media . 10 July 2017 . 7 June 2017.
  52. Web site: White Rocks project hits the rocks . MaltaToday.com.mt . 10 July 2017 . en.

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