Malta Command was an independent command of the British Army. It commanded all army units involved in the defence of Malta. Once mobilised the Command deployed its headquarters to underground hardened shelters and its combat units were deployed to fixed points in the Maltese countryside, from where they operated from. This mobilised, but largely static army garrison would be tested by aerial bombardment and naval blockade during the Second World War. Whilst Malta Command was already a functioning command structure before 1939, it had existed in the Great War and was specifically mentioned in a

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

debate of 12 February 1917; the Second World War would see the Command operate as a genuine war-fighting headquarters, albeit in a static defensive role. On 15 April 1942 the Island of Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI in recognition of the stalwart defence and fortitude of service personnel and civilians against a much more powerful Axis foe. Malta an Island of only 117 square miles had been more heavily bombed than London had been during their blitz.

World War 1 and the Interwar Years

There is evidence that Malta Command existed in 1916, 1917 and in 1929. Between 1935 and 1936 the following infantry battalions were on the Island and part of Malta Command: * 2nd Battalion The Lincolnshire Regiment * 2nd Battalion

The Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

* 1st Battalion

The King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

1939 - the Peacetime Garrison Transitions to War

Malta's garrison was a single infantry brigade; comprising the 2nd Battalion the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

, 2nd Battalion the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

, 1st Battalion the

Dorsetshire Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1 ...

and the 2nd Battalion the Royal Irish Fusiliers. An infantry territorial unit was also present, the 1st Battalion The King's Own Malta Regiment. The Malta garrison's artillery was largely fixed and consisted of light and heavy anti-aircraft; and coastal defence artillery regiments drawn from the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

(RA) and

Royal Malta Artillery The Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) was a regular artillery unit of the British Army prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889. Initially on the British Esta ...

(RMA). The Royal Engineers were also in evidence with British and Maltese serving in the Corps on the Island.

The Reinforced Army Garrison

On 11 March 1942 Malta Command became subordinate to General Headquarters (GHQ)

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Infantry

In late 1939 the pre-war garrison was reinforced up to an infantry division (commanded by Major General Sir Sanford John Palairet Scobell). The original infantry garrison, plus the three brigades that reinforced the island's regular British Army were titled 1, 2, 3, and 4 Brigades; but were subsequently renumbered in 1943 as follows: * 231 Infantry Brigade – assigned to the Southern Sector under Brig L H Cox. HQ Southern Infantry Brigade at Luqa. Its infantry battalions were: ** 2nd Battalion The Devonshire Regiment ** 1st Battalion The

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regim ...

** 1st Battalion The Dorsetshire Regiment ** 2nd Battalion The King’s Own Malta Regiment ** 3rd Battalion The King’s Own Malta Regiment * 232 Infantry Brigade – assigned to the Northern Sector under Brig W H Oxley. HQ Northern Infantry Brigade at Melita Hotel Attard next to San Anton Gardens. Its infantry battalions were: ** 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers ** 8th Battalion,

King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the r ...

** 8th Battalion,

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...

* 233 Infantry Brigade – formed on 30 July 1941; assigned to the Central Sector under Brig I De La Bere. Its infantry battalions were: ** 11th Battalion The

Lancashire Fusiliers The Lancashire Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that saw distinguished service through many years and wars, including the Second Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and had many different titles throughout its 28 ...

** 2nd Battalion The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment ** 10th Battalion The King’s Own Malta Regiment * 234 Infantry Brigade – assigned to the Western sector under Brig F Brittorous. Its infantry battalions were: ** 4th Battalion The Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) ** 1st Battalion The

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

** 1st Battalion The

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

Light Support Weapons

Personal weapons such as the .303-in SMLE, 9mm

Sten The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...

or .38 service revolver are not included in this study.

Artillery

* The Island's regular Royal Artillery force component was like its Maltese counterpart performing a mainly fixed defence role, even wheeled artillery tended to occupy fixed positions to defend against a hostile landing at beaches: ** 4th Coast Regiment, RA made up of (a HQ Battery, 6th, 10th & 23rd Coast Batteries) ** 12th Field Regiment RA - initially equipped with 18 Pounder Field Guns, but later equipped with 25 Pounder Field Guns (the only real mobile artillery support for the infantry brigades). ** 26th Defence Regiment, RA made up of (a HQ Battery, 15th/40th & 48th/71st Defence Batteries). * The Royal Malta Artillery ** Headquarters, RMA ** 1st Coast Regiment, RMA composed of (a HQ Battery, 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Heavy Batteries) The anti-aircraft defence was understandably dense and British and Maltese anti-aircraft (AA) units were interwoven into the following ORBAT: * 7th Anti-Aircraft Brigade ** 32nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA ** 65th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA ** 74th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA ** 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment RMA ** 4th Searchlight Regiment RA/RMA * 10th Anti-Aircraft Brigade ** 4th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA ** 7th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA ** 10th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RA ** 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment RMA ** 11th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery RMA.

Heavy Support Weapons

By 1940 Malta Command had a small amount of modern mobile field artillery, much of its artillery was located in fixed positions in the anti-aircraft and coastal defence royal. It was manned by members of the

and Royal Malta Artillery. For details of fixed artillery see

's equipment list.

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the ...

* Malta Tanks (Royal Tank Regiment) - less than a full battalion of various reconnaissance and infantry support tanks.

Armour on Island

By 1942 Malta Command Tanks had a small mixed force of Royal Tank Regiment tanks known as "Malta Tanks" during its time on the Island. The only other armoured vehicles were the

Universal Carriers The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other ...

of the infantry units.

Combat & Service Support Units

* Royal Engineers ** 16th Fortress Company ** 24th Fortress Company ** 173rd Tunnel Company ** 2 Works Company ** 127th Bomb Disposal Section ** 128th Bomb Disposal Section * Malta Command Signals,

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

** 8 Special Wireless Squadron * Royal Army Medical Corps ** 39 General Hospital RAMC ** 45 General Hospital RAMC ** 90 General Hospital RAMC ** 15 Field Ambulance RAMC ** 161 Field Ambulance RAMC * 69 Field Security Section Intelligence Corps * 226 Provost Company

Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations ...

* Royal Army Service Corps ** 32 Company RASC (MT) ** Malta Supply Depot RASC ** Water Transport Company RASC *

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

* A static Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers Workshops at Pembroke Garrison * 72 Detachment

Royal Army Pay Corps The Royal Army Pay Corps (RAPC) was the corps of the British Army responsible for administering all financial matters. It was amalgamated into the Adjutant General's Corps in 1992. History The first "paymasters" have existed in the army before t ...

* Royal Army Chaplains' Department.

Local Maltese Units (Regular and Territorial)

Critical to the success and resilience of Malta's was local commitment and bravery the following units were fully integrated in Malta Command: * The Royal Malta Artillery * The King's Own Malta Regiment * The

Malta Fortress Squadron, Royal Engineers The Malta Fortress Squadron was a locally recruited Royal Engineers unit based on Malta and on the British Army colonial list prior to Malta's independence. Its history is intimately tied to the succession of engineer and sapper units that wer ...

The War Draws to a Close and the Post War Period

On 2 December 1944 Malta Command regained its status as an independent command and it ceased its command relationship with GHQ Middle East in Cairo. The British would remember the war in a somewhat detached and romanticised fashion in films like The Malta Story; the Maltese never had a chance to record their views being viewed as 'plucky' citizens of a British colony. In 1954 Headquarters Malta Command occupied the

Auberge de Castille The Auberge de Castille ( mt, Berġa ta' Kastilja) is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. The auberge is located at Castile Place, close to Saint James Cavalier, the Malta Stock Exchange, and the Upper Barrakka Gardens. It sits at the highest poin ...

, known locally as "The Castille". British Troops Malta became again part of

Middle East Land Forces Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

in 1960. Forces in Malta would be reduced from 1964 and this led to acrimony between the Maltese and British Governments, and the post independence period was a period of bitterness, British forces on the Island in the front line of Maltese antipathy. Major-General Henry Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 7th Baron Thurlow commanded in 1962-63. In 1965, 4th (Leicestershire) Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment arrived to join Malta Garrison at St. Patrick's Barracks on the north coast of Malta. Under Brigadier Lord Grimthorpe OBE, Malta Garrison consisted of 4 R Anglian; 1 Battalion The Loyal Regiment; 1st Regiment Royal Malta Artillery (partially a transport regiment); and 1st Battalion King's Own Malta Regiment (TA). Malta Garrison was in turn responsible to HQ Malta and Libya, under Major-General J D Frost, with the other components being HQ Cyrenaica Area and HQ Tripolitania Area in Libya. Later, Major General Rea Leakey commanded HQ Malta and Libya in 1967-68. Malta Command was largely wound up by 1977 with all major units repatriated to the UK. Salerno Company of

41 Commando 41 Commando or No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando was a unit of the Royal Marines trained as Commandos during the Second World War. They were part of the all Royal Marine 4th Special Service Brigade that took part in the Normandy landings in June 1 ...

Royal Marines finally left the island aboard a

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

Sir Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

Landing Ship Logistic on 31 March 1979.

External links

Malta at War Museum

Imperial War Museum Photographic Archive

A Malta-based living history group keeping the RMA's heritage alive

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malta Command Commands of the British Army Military units and formations disestablished in the 1970s Malta in World War II Military history of Malta