Regiments
Of the Malta Garrison
53rd (Shropshire)

The 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot

1834 53rd (Shropshire)

7 Apr 1834 18 officers, 481 men, 57 women and 84 children arrived from Gibraltar on the transport Jupiter. The 53rd relieved the 73rd Foot which embarked for Corfu.

In April, fever broke out at Lower Fort St Elmo Barracks. The sick developed a deep yellow colour of their skin and tenderness of their epigastrium. This was probably viral hepatitis which is spread through fecal contamination of food and water.

Marriages in 1834:

• 18 Dec Bachelor Sgt Edward Rickards to Mary Hurley, spinster of the City of Cork, Ireland.
• 18 Dec Bachelor L/Cpl Samuel Ralphs to Margaret Kelly, spinster of the Parish of Kilcooley County Tipperary.
• 18 Dec Bachelor Pte Robert Fletcher to Jane Bladen, spinster from Liverpool in the County of Lancaster.
• 18 Dec Bachelor Pte Thomas Lambden to Ellen Stokes, spinster of the Parish of St Brides in the City of Dublin.
• 19 Dec Bachelor Pte Joseph Purslow to Bridget Kilfoyle, spinster of the Parish of Fethard, County Tipperary.
• 19 Dec Bachelor Pte Henry Donington to Ellen Cornery, spinster of the Town of Carrick-on-Suir, County Waterford Ireland.
• 19 Dec Bachelor Pte Thomas Hitchen to Margaret Toohay, spinster of the Parish of Emly, County Tipperary.

Baptisms in 1834:

• 19 Apr Thomas Hitchen son of Pte Thomas Hitchen and Margaret, born on 22 March 1834.
• 12 May Matilda Ingold daughter of Pte John Ingold and Bridget, born on 15 April 1834 was privately baptised by Archdeacon John Thomas Howe Le Mesurier Chaplain to the Forces. She was publicly received into the church on 23 May 1834.
• 20 May Alice Chart daughter of Pte William Chart and Elizabeth, born on 20 May.
• 7 June Edward Fletcher son of Pte Robert Fletcher and Jane, born on 5 June.
• 30 Oct Maria Cooper daughter of Sgt William Cooper and Maria, born on 28 July.
• 2 Nov Charlotte Elizabeth Dunning daughter of CSgt William Dunning and Anna Maria, born on 26 June.
• 7 Dec Eliza Anne Carroll daughter of Pte John Carroll and Dorothy, born on 22 November.

Burials in 1834:

• 12 Apr William John Flandis aged 5 years, son of William Charles Flandis.
• 20 May Pte Isaac Green aged 27 years.
• 30 May Alicia Chart aged 9 days, daughter of Pte William Chart.
• 1 June Pte Francis Davidson aged 27 years.
• 4 June Pte Edward Dunn aged 34 years.
• 10 June Pte John Nicholson aged 29 years.
• 12 June Edward Fletcher aged 7 days, son of Pte Robert Fletcher.
• 19 June Pte Thomas Peace aged 29 years.
• 24 June Pte Edward Rhodes aged 29 years.
• 4 July Christiana Hillier aged 11 months, daughter of Thomas Hillier.
• 18 July Pte Robert Batty aged 27 years.
• 25 July Jane Neat aged 5 months, daughter of William Neat.
• 27 July Margaret Frampton aged 5 months, daughter of Joseph Frampton.
• 17 Aug Pte William Boyd aged 25 years.
• 2 Sep Alfred Wells aged 14 months, son of Henry Wells.
• 25 Oct James Purslow aged 16 months, son of Joseph Purslow.
• 5 Nov Pte James Cheshire aged 26 years.
• 15 Nov Maria Cooper aged 3 months, daughter of Sgt William Cooper.
• 25 Nov Drm Thomas Coghlan aged 25 years.
• 8 Dec Sgt Band Master William Sinclair aged 26 years.
• 15 Dec Pte Henry Ellis aged 34 years.
• 29 Dec Eliza White aged 9 months, daughter of Pte D. White.

1835 53rd (Shropshire)

1835 Strength: 495 men. The battalion was made up of 437 Englishmen, 55 Irishmen, and 3 Scotsmen. The corps had been primarily recruited in the western and mid-land counties of England. The average age was 29 years, the average height 5 feet 8 inches.

15 June Eleven soldiers embarked as invalids on board the transport Maitland under the medical charge of Assistant Surgeon Munro 2nd Dragoons.

23 Dec 1835 The regiment occupied Floriana Barracks. In December, it moved to Cottonera on the opposite side of the Grand Harbour. Consequently the sick in the regimental hospital at Floriana were transferred to the General Hospital Valletta.

Floriana Barracks were a bomb proof barracks situated close to the eastern shore of the Quarantine Harbour between Valletta and the Floriana lines. The floors were flagged. It had an abundance of good water. The school, regimental workshops, stores, were within the barrack walls. There were also detached sheds for washing.

The regimental hospital at Floriana was part of the convent of La Nostra Signora di Manresa but that portion of the building used for military purposes was completely separated from that occupied by the ecclesiastical fraternity. The surgeon described it as admirably adopted for a military hospital. The site was elevated and close to the barracks. The wards were small and capable of holding only four patients, but were lofty, well ventilated and opened from a long and spacious corridor which in an emergency was capable of being converted into a ward. A long yard was connected to the hospital. It enclosed the cook house, privies and dead house and held a large water tank filled from the Wignacourt Aqueduct. Convalescent patients used the yard for exercise in fine weather, and walked the corridor in bad weather. The number of distinct wards in the hospital made it possible to separated patients according to different diseases.

In 1835 the average daily sick was 28, the majority having very mild illnesses. Simple Continued fever was usually of short duration. It was almost always attributed to excessive drinking. Those afflicted by it had a flushed face, complained of headache, nausea, rigors, back pain, general aches and suffusion of the eyes. 153 cases of simple continued fever were treated during the year, with one fatality. His postmortem examination revealed that death was the result of a liver abscess which had occupied most of his right lobe. There were no cases of intermittent or remittent fever.

Marriages in 1835:

• 5 Oct Bachelor Cpl John White married Catharine Walsh, spinster daughter of Sgt Solomon Walsh 53rd Regiment.

Baptisms in 1835:

• 31 Jan Robert Osbron son of Pte Abraham Osbron and Mary, born on 12 January 1835.
• 14 Feb William Rickards son of Sgt Edward Rickards and Mary, born on 13 January.
• 6 Mar Thomas Sullivan son of Pte William Sullivan and Catherine, born on 1 February.
• 17 Apr John Edwin Comes son of Sgt John Comes and Margaret, born on 8 March.
• 16 May Henry O'Byrne son of Pte William O'Byrne and Mary Ann, born on 11 May.
• 8 June Thomas Alexander Baxter son of QM Sgt Thomas Baxter and Mary Ann, born on 7 March 1834.
• 13 July William Fletcher son of Pte Robert Fletcher and Jane, born on 9 June.
• 4 Aug Elizabeth Laff daughter of Pte William Laff and Elizabeth, born on 7 July.
• 30 Aug Anne Purslow daughter of Pte Joseph Purslow and Bridget, born on 9 August.
• 21 Oct Jane Baker daughter of Cpl Thomas Baker and Hannah, born on 14 October.

Burials recorded at Floriana in 1835:

• 6 Mar William Rickards aged 7 weeks, son of Sgt Edward Rickards.
• 14 Mar Pte John Taylor 4 Coy aged 30 years was admitted to hospital on 6 January 1835. He died on 13 March from chronic catarrh after an illness of 67 days.
• 9 May Pte I. Langford 3 Coy aged 25 years shot himself through the heart with a musket ball in the barrack room Floriana on 9 May.
• 29 Mar Sarah Redgate aged 5 years, daughter of James Redgate.
• 6 May Pte B. Galoin 3 Coy aged 27 years was found drowned in a well on 6 May at the Civil Prison.
• 11 May Frances Valentine aged 31 years, wife of Pte William Valentine.
• 21 July Sergeant Major Francis Lane 4 Coy aged 33 years was admitted to hospital on 20 July, and died the same day from Delirium Tremens after a short illness of 3 days.
• 3 Aug Pte Dale 2 Coy aged 31 years died suddenly at Floriana on 3 August from a ruptured aneurysm.
• 17 Aug Pte Charles Lovell 2 Coy aged 38 years was admitted to hospital on 24 June. He died on 16 August from Febris Continua Communis after an illness of 54 days.
• 14 Sep Pte Thomas Miller 3 Coy aged 31 years was admitted to hospital on 29 May. He died on 14 September from Phthisis Pulmonalis after an illness of 109 days.
• 23 Nov Sgt James Stevenson 2 Coy aged 38 years was admitted to hospital on 1 October and died on 22 November from what was described as "Anasca" after an illness of 53 days.
• 8 Dec Pte Thomas Hitchen 1 Coy aged 34 years was admitted to hospital on 7 December and died the same day from laryngitis. Hitchen had been ill for 16 days.

1836 53rd (Shropshire)

18 June 1836 HQ Coy 53rd Regiment with a detachment of 273 men embarked for Corfu.

11 July The 2nd Division of 231 men embarked for Corfu.

Baptisms in 1836:

• 7 Feb William Neate son of Pte William Neate and Rebecca born on 11 January 1836.
• 14 Feb William John Cooper son of Sgt Major William Cooper and Maria born on 19 January.
• 21 Feb Fanny Melita Hill daughter of Major Richard Frederick Hill and Maria Jane born on 17 February.
• 13 Mar Samuel Wingfield son of Pte William Wingfield and Eliza born on 12 February.
• 27 Mar Rhoda White daughter of Pte Daniel White and Isabella born on 16 March 1836. She was publicly received into the church on 1 April 1836.
• 27 Mar Eliza Hillier daughter of Pte Thomas Hillier and Sarah born on 14 March.
• 29 Apr Elizabeth Randall daughter of Sgt John Randall and Mary born on 13 February.
• 15 May Francis Talbot son of Hospital Sgt George Talbot and Dinah born on 27 April.
• 8 June Elizabeth Chard daughter of Pte William Chard and Elizabeth, born on 7 May.

Burials in 1836:

• 7 Feb Pte Charles Eaton aged 28 years.
• 12 Mar Pte John George aged 27 years.
• 5 Apr Pte Joseph Newbury aged 34 years.
• 6 May Pte James Redgate aged 33 years.
• 17 June Sarah Jones aged 41 years, wife of Pte John Jones.
• 1 July Jane Baker aged 8 months, daughter of Cpl Thomas Baker.
• 6 Aug Pte James Gage aged 31 years.

The 1st/The King's Shropshire Light Infantry

1 July 1881 The 53rd Regiment became The 1st Battalion The King's Light Infantry (Shropshire Regiment).

1883 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

18 Feb 1883 970 men (8 coys) of the 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry embarked in Egypt and arrived in Malta on 23 February.

The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry had an average strength of 714 men.

It had 542 admissions into hospital with 6 deaths including 1 among the invalids. 11 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 40.91. The average sick time to each soldier was 20.91 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 27.55 days.

A soldier committed suicide by cutting his throat while in a state of temporary insanity.

1884 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry had an average strength of 845 men.

It had 500 admissions into hospital with 8 deaths. 15 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 33.80. The average sick time to each soldier was 16.80 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 28.40 days.

A sergeant shot himself in the head with his rifle while in a state of unsound mind, induced by domestic trouble.

1885 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry had an average strength of 150 men. It had 84 admissions into hospital with 3 deaths. 10 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 10.65. The average sick time to each soldier was 25.91 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 46.27 days.

28 Feb 1885 The 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry embarked for Suakin where it disembarked on 11 March. The battalion was in Suakin and Cairo and embarked at Alexandria for Malta on 21 February 1887.

1887 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

21 Feb 1887 The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry returned to Malta from Alexandria.

It had an average strength of 542 men. It had 315 admissions into hospital with 4 deaths. 7 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 24.27.

The average sick time to each soldier was 16.34 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 28.12 days.

Burials in 1887:

• 28 Dec 1887 L/Cpl A Jones aged 21 years was buried in Pietà Cemetery.

Baptisms in the Garrison Church, Valletta in 1887:

• 22 May May Victoria Jackson daughter of Mary Ann and Sgt John William Jackson of St Nicholas Quarters Cottonera, born on 1 May 1887.
• 9 Aug Owen Coore Mein born on 28 July 1887, son of Florence Katherine and Maj Frederick Coore Mein of, Adjutant Shropshire Rifle Volunteers, St John's House Malta. Florence Katherine died on 5 Aug 1887.
• 18 Sep Agnes Mabel Mason daughter of Helena and Paymaster Sgt Alfred Mason of St Nicholas Quarters Cottonera, born on 20 Aug 1887.
• 22 Dec Raymond Cecil Leslie Roe son of Jeanetta and Lt (QM) George Roe of Verdala Barracks Cottonera, born on 22 Oct 1887.

1888 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry had an average strength of 797 men.

It had 316 admissions into hospital with 6 deaths. 11 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 24.25. The average sick time to each soldier was 11.13 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 28.08 days.

The battalion was quartered at Verdala Barracks, Cottonera with detachments at Forrest Hospital.

Baptisms in the Garrison Church, Valletta in 1888:

• 22 Apr Lucy Eliza Naish daughter of Ellen and Armourer Sgt John Naish, born on 23 Feb 1888.
• 5 June Frederick Drayton Murphy son of Louisa Jane and Band Master John Murphy, born on 12 May 1888.
• 2 Dec William Arthur James Kelly son of Norah and Sgt Patrick Kelly, of St Nicholas Bastion Cottonera, born on 3 Nov 1888.
• 23 Dec Betsy Wilson daughter of Hannah and QM Sgt John Wilson of Verdala Barracks Cottonera, born on 19 Nov 1888.

Burials in 1888:

• 9 May 1888 Pte J Mills aged 22 years, was buried in Pietà Cemetery.

1889 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry had an average strength of 868 men.

It had 408 admissions into hospital with 3 deaths. 12 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 26.46. The average sick time to each soldier was 11.12 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 23.67 days.

The battalion was quartered at Verdala Barracks, San Francesco de Paola Barracks for six and a half months and Floriana Barracks and Citta Vecchia for five and a half months. It had detachments at Pembroke Camp.

Baptisms in the Garrison Church, Valletta in 1889:

• 17 Feb Editte Lilian Mason daughter of Helena and Paymaster Sgt Alfred Mason, born 16 Jan 1889.
• 7 Apr Walter James Grady son of Annie and CSgt James Grady, born 15 Mar 1889.
• 13 Apr Elizabeth Jane Reynolds daughter of Eliza and Sgt Herbert Reynolds, of St Nicholas Bastion Quarters Cospicua, born 25 Mar 1889.
• 6 Dec Sarah Ellen Davenport daughter of Ellen and Band Sgt Joseph Davenport, born 17 Feb 1880.
• 11 Dec Emily Ada Naish daughter of Elizabeth and Armourer Sgt John Naish, born 25 Nov 1889.

Burials in 1889:

• 16 Dec 1889 L/Cpl W Ballanger aged 21 years, was buried in Pietà Cemetery.

1890 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry had an average strength of 930 men.

It had 578 admissions into hospital with 7 deaths. 24 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 38.80. The average sick time to each soldier was 15.23 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 24.50 days.

The battalion was quartered at Valletta for 11 1/2 months with detachments at Pembroke Camp and Fort Chambray Gozo for 12 months.

Baptisms in 1890:

• 3 Mar Ernest Stevens born 20 Dec 1889, son of Christiana and Pte Thomas Stevens.
• 28 May Frank Arthur Murphy born 29 Apr 1890, son of Louisa Jane and Band Master John Murphy.
• 18 July Maria Annie Reynolds born 1 July 1890, daughter of Eliza and Sgt Herbert Reynolds.
• 20 Aug Beatrice Louise Mason born 22 July 1890, daughter of Helena and CSgt Alfred Mason.
• 5 Nov Alfred David Dyke born 13 Oct 1890, son of Annie and Sgt Alfred Dyke.

Burials in Pietà Military Cemetery in 1890:

• 14 Jan 1890 Mabel Agnes Mason aged 2 years, daughter of CSgt Mason.
• 3 Feb Pte W Griffiths aged 25 years.
• 13 Feb Mrs Elizabelle Teague aged 29 years, wife of Sgt Teague.
• 14 June Clara Teague aged 5 months, daughter of Sgt Teague.
• 12 July Pte Thomas Hughes aged 21 years.
• 14 Aug T Greatley aged 23 years.
• 30 Aug Pte H Reynolds aged 25 years.
• 7 Sep J Simmons aged 25 years.
• 27 Oct Ernest Stevens aged 10 months, son of Pte Stevens.
• 13 Nov Pte W Cadwallader aged 27 years.
• 9 Dec Infant of Sgt W Cook aged 8 hours.

1891 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry

The 1st/Shropshire Light Infantry had an average strength of 205 men.

It had 94 admissions into hospital. 6 invalids returned to England.

Its average constantly sick was 6.32. The average sick time to each soldier was 11.25 days. The average duration of cases of sickness was 24.54 days.

17 Mar 1891 The 1st/King's Shropshire Light Infantry was quartered at Pembroke Camp and Fort Chambray Gozo for 3 months. It embarked for Egypt where it arrived on 20 March 1891. It left Egypt for Hong Kong on 2 December 1891 arriving there on 8 January 1892.