Description
The Royal Malta Artillery was a unit of the British Army and was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889.
With its headquarters at Fort Lascaris, the unit had a total of eight companies two of which were earmarked for service overseas. One company of the RMA served in Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt in the early 1900s.
During the First World War, the Royal Malta Artillery grew in size with soldiers based at Forts Lascaris, Tigné, Fort Bingemma, Fort Mosta and Fort San Rocco. At the end of the war, the RMA were deployed to guard prisoners of war in Malta until 1920.
The RMA spent the inter-war years acting as a heavy anti-aircraft artillery regiment, guarding Malta’s coast. During the Second World War, the RMA played a vital role in the defence of Malta, operating searchlights looking for enemy aircraft in the skies above the island, defending the airfield at RAF Ta’ Kali, and operating anti-aircraft guns such as the Bofors 40mm QF Guns at locations across Malta and Gozo.
Following the war,1 Regiment Royal Malta Artillery served in West Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine. The regiment was based in Mulheim in the Ruhr area from 1962 to 1970. In October 1970s, around 500 officers and men from the Royal Malta Artillery took their oath of allegiance and were enlisted in the newly-formed Malta Land Force.
The war memorial paying tribute to all ranks of the Royal Malta Artillery is today located in St Anne Street in Floriana.
