RAMC Officers
Of the Malta Garrison
Lorenzo Manche
1846 – 1921

Service Record

1 Oct 1870 Resident Junior Surgeon number 2 at the Central Civil Hospital Floriana. Entered Government Service aged 23 years 10 months.

15 July 1871 Resident Junior Surgeon number 1 at the Central Civil Hospital Floriana.

27 Feb 1875 Commissioned Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

10 Mar 1875 Ophthalmic Surgeon at the Central Civil Hospital Floriana. Performed eye surgery and attended the wards gratuitously.

1876 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.
Was in charge of the eye wards at the Station Hospital Valletta.

1877 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1878 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1879 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1880 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

In his petition for an improved pension dated 29 July 1908, from 33 Strada Alessandra Valletta, Manche stated that over 13 years (10 March 1875 to 30 November 1888), he gratuitously served as ophthalmic surgeon at the Civil Hospital, and Lecturer in Ophthalmology at the University.

That the authorities woke up to the necessity of recognising this branch of science as a specialty by founding a Chair of Ophthalmology at the University, and by creating the situation of Ophthalmic Surgeon at the hospital both of which I was called to fill. That with a view to better assisting the medical students in pursuing their studies in Ophthalmology, I compiled, and at my own expense, published a treatise on the diseases of the eye, which has since been adopted as a textbook at the university.

1880–1908 Professor of Ophthalmology University of Malta. Manche advocated legislation to force midwives to instill a 2% solution of silver nitrate in the eyes of newborn babies as a preventive measure against ophthalmia neonatorum.¹

Manche claimed that his professional colleagues declared him to be the Founder of Ophthalmology in Malta. During his 13 years he neither received nor applied for any emolument. His work proved to be of the greatest benefit to the population at large in as much as his instructions, both theoretical and practical, imparted to all the Maltese medical practitioners, enabled the diseases of the eye which were very prevalent, being properly treated, thereby alleviating innumerable sufferers and enabling them to continue to earn their livelihood, as well as preventing so many causes of blindness.

1881 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1882 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1883 Recommended that the men should be allowed a meat ration daily, instead of four times a week as was current practice.

1884 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1885 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1886 Surgeon Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

14 Apr 1886 Manche was appointed Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Malta on a salary of £50 a year, but this was not carried out owing to the difficulty of recouping the expense of £50 from the fees paid by the students. Manche, however, volunteered to give his lectures for free.³

27 Feb 1887 Promoted Surgeon–Major Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1888 Surgeon–Major Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

1 Dec 1888 Ophthalmic Surgeon at the Central Civil Hospital, and Lecturer in Ophthalmology at the University, until 1903. He was the first occupant of the Chair of Ophthalmology in the University of Malta.

27 Dec 1888 Manche was appointed surgeon to the newly established eye wards at the Central Hospital, on an annual salary of £50. This alienated the professorial staff of the Central Hospital.

1888 Founder of the Malta and Mediterranean Branch of the British Medical Association. Acted as its Honorary Secretary from its formation in 1888 to 1902. Manche was several times President of the Branch, and at the time of his death in 1921, he was Vice-President both of the Malta Branch of the Association and of the Malta Medical Association. The president of the Malta and Mediterranean Branch of the British Medical Association in 1888 was Surgeon-General James Sinclair.

1889 Surgeon The Royal Malta Artillery.
In 1889 The Royal Malta Fencible Artillery became The Royal Malta Artillery (1889-1976).

1890 Surgeon–Major Royal Malta Artillery.

1891 Surgeon–Major Royal Malta Artillery.

1892 Surgeon–Major Royal Malta Artillery.

1893 Surgeon–Major Royal Malta Artillery.

1894 Surgeon–Major Royal Malta Artillery.

27 Feb 1895 Relative rank of Surgeon-Lieutenant Colonel Royal Malta Artillery.
Resident at 33 Strada Alessandro Valletta.

1896 Surgeon-Lieutenant Colonel Royal Malta Artillery.

1897 Surgeon-Lieutenant Colonel Royal Malta Artillery.

1898 Surgeon-Lieutenant Colonel Royal Malta Artillery.

1899 Surgeon-Lieutenant Colonel Royal Malta Artillery.

27 Feb 1900 Surgeon-Lieutenant Colonel Royal Malta Artillery.

25 Nov 1901 Placed on retired pay.

30 May 1902 Present at a General Meeting of the Malta and Mediterranean Branch of the British Medical Association, as its Honorary Secretary, which was held at Valletta under the presidency of Surgeon-General Thomas O'Farrell. Resigned as Honorary Secretary as was unable to find sufficient time to continue in office. Had been a member of the association since 1888 when the Branch was founded. On the resignation of Manche, Themistocles Zammit, MD, of the Public Health Department, became the new Honorary Secretary.²

1908 Renowned ophthalmologist. In 1908, he founded the Instituto Ophthalmico at Hamrun, conjointly with his son, Surgeon-Lt Colonel Charles Manche (1874-1936) for the treatment of trachoma in the poor.

1 Jan 1908 Retired as Ophthalmic Surgeon in the Central Civil Hospital and as lecturer on Ophthalmology at the University, due to ill health.

16 Feb 1921 Died at Valletta aged 75 years. As Vice-President of the Malta Medical Association, Manche brought together the naval, military, and civil members of the medical profession on the island.