Pietà Military Cemetery in

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, is a burial ground for military personnel and their dependants. It is located in the south western suburbs of

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, on a minor road (Triq id-Duluri). The following are cared for by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

(CWGC): * 1303 First World War commonwealth casualties buried or commemorated at the Cemetery (including 20 Indian servicemen and labourers of the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

who were cremated at Lazaretto Cemetery) * 166 Second World War burials * 772 non-war graves in the cemetery * 15 war graves of other non-Commonwealth nationalities. A large number of Australian and New Zealand service personnel are buried in the cemetery, the highest concentration on Malta. The first British serviceman buried at the cemetery was a group of British soldiers buried in 1866. The majority of those interred and remembered at the cemetery are casualties of the two World Wars (but mainly the First World War), many in communal graves. The last identifiable servicemen or dependant buried at the site is hard to ascertain as this is a mixed civilian and military cemetery. The cemetery did not escape the aerial bombardment that Valletta and its environs experienced in WW2, and in April 1941 a

Bomb Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

team was called to deal with eight UXBs that had impacted in the graveyard. The team successfully defused the bombs without incident. Malta's CWGC Cemeteries became the centre of a controversy when the then Prime Minister of Malta

Dom Mintoff Dominic Mintoff ( ; often called ''il-Perit'', "the Architect"; 6 August 1916 – 20 August 2012) was a Maltese socialist politician, architect, and civil engineer who was leader of the Labour Party (Malta), Labour Party from 1949 to 1984 ...

was recorded as considering doing away with the island's war cemeteries in 1978; the threat was never carried out. There are a number of CWGC graveyards and sites that are cared for by the British Government through the auspices of the CWGC and some of the larger collections of war graves can be found at the following locations: * Pembroke Military Cemetery * Capucinni Naval Cemetery (also known as

Kalkara Naval Cemetery The Kalkara Naval Cemetery (or Capuccini Naval Cemetery) is a cemetery in Kalkara in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The main entrance to the cemetery is at the junction of Triq Santu Rokku and Triq San Leonardu. The cemetery is divided into ...

) * Imtarfa Military Cemetery *

Malta Memorial The Malta Memorial is a war memorial monument to the 2,298 Commonwealth aircrew who lost their lives in the various Second World War air battles and engagements around the Mediterranean, whilst serving with the Commonwealth Air Forces flying fro ...

– Valletta (not graves but commemorating those with no known grave)

References

External links

* {{Find a Grave cemetery
CWGC Guide for Malta

British military memorials and cemeteries World War II cemeteries Pietà, Malta Cemeteries in Malta 1866 establishments in Malta Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Malta

See also

References

External links