Actors in 18th-century military attire industriously cleaned their muskets and rolled their cartridges as onlookers were whisked back 200 years to when the Red Tower in Mellieħa was an important lookout for enemy ships and corsairs.

Members of the Historical Re-enactment Group Malta Militia (HRGM) and the Maltese Light Infantry executed period military drills and fired replica weapons to help visitors visualise what a day in the life of a tower guard in late 18th-century Malta was like.

Those manning the tower included the capo torre (head guardsman), the lancia spezzata (the corporal assistant of the commander), a bombardiere (charged with firing guns), the scrivano of the regiment (a clerk sent by the Order of St John to carry out inspections) and the cook.

John Stroud (a commander in the re-enactment), explained to Times of Malta that rigorous research by consulting authentic documents and manuals of the period was essential to ensure authenticity. He added that, from documents of the period, the HRGM discovered that the guardsmen would cook their meals directly beneath the spiral staircase. By opening the door leading to the tower’s roof, the staircase would have doubled up as a natural and effective chimney.

The guards’ diet would have consisted of bread and vege-tables, which were eaten raw to avoid using up precious wood. Very little meat was consumed.

The men manning the Red Tower would have hailed from Naxxar and Għargħur and would have made their way to the tower every day on foot.

The Red Tower, which is actually called St Agatha’s Tower, was built by Grand Master Jean Paul Lascaris in 1647 to guard and protect the straits between Malta and Gozo from incursions by marauding Ottomans.

The tower watchmen would have spotted oncoming enemy vessels a good 12 hours before their arrival. A fire brazier would then be lit as a signal to the other towers. When the flag of the Order was raised that would mean the enemy had landed.