Enquiries made about Maltese buried in Greece

The Maltese embassy in Athens has already received enquiries about its research on Maltese servicemen buried in Greece.

The research was carried out by Ambassador Evarist Saliba, whose uncle had served in Salonica during World War I, in the wake of the Gallipoli campaign.

Mr Saliba carried out the research because he realised that there were probably other Maltese who, like his uncle, had served in Greece.

Following an invitation by the embassy earlier this month to relatives who may be interested in learning about Maltese servicemen buried in Greece to contact it for information, the embassy has already received a query from Australia and it has been contacted by persons involved in genealogical research in Malta for more information about the research.

This showed that there were 125 Maltese servicemen buried or commemorated in 13 cemeteries and memorials all over Greece.

The ambassador said that of the 125, 60 are buried in the Kirechkoi-Hortakoi cemetery, 19 in Salonika cemetery and 16 in Mikra-Kalamaria cemetery, all of which are near Thessaloniki.

Most of the servicemen, 90 in all, served in the Malta Labour Corps, while 13 served in a Motor Transport Company of the Royal Army Service Corps.

Six were in the King's Own Malta Regiment. There are also five seamen from HMS Berberis, HMS Europa, HMS Blenheim, HMS Nile and RFA Cherry Leaf.

All died in World War I except for two seamen and one soldier. Mr Saliba said the cause of death was not known in most cases.

Two, 2nd Lt Arthur H. Vella, from Valleta, of the 1st Bn East Lancashire Regt Attached to the 9th Bn Of the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), and 2nd Lt John J.F. Shand of the Royal Garrison Artillery, whose father was a Surgeon Rear-Admiral at the Royal Naval Hospital in Malta, were listed as "killed in action".

Other causes of death listed include pneumonia, 11, malaria two, and influenza and appendicitis. No fewer than 95 died in 1918, 85 of these between September and December. This would indicate that health reasons, possibly an epidemic, was the main cause of death.

The only non-Maltese surnames in the list are Shaughnessy, a Lance Corporal from Rabat who served in the 1st Bn Durham Light Infantry, who died in September 1943, and Shand, one of the two listed as killed in action.