Malta

Malta is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, 50 miles south of Italy, 176 miles east of Tunisia and 207 miles north of Libya.  It became a British colony in 1815 and, with its prime location in the Mediterranean, it played a pivotal part in both World Wars. 

On 5th August 1914, the day after war was declared, the British governor to Malta, Leslie Rundle, received a cable from Great Britain informing him that “war has broken out with Germany”.  As soon as the cable reached Malta, the island started preparing itself for the Great War.  Between 1915 and 1918, Malta became known as “the Nurse of the Mediterranean” due to the large number of wounded soldiers who were accommodated there.  Cyril Sladden and Wilfred Brown Constable were amongst the soldiers who spent time on the island.