Royal Garrison Regiment Memorial

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Return to Military Memorials of St Paul's Pro-Cathedral

The Royal Garrison Regiment Memorial in St Paul's Pro-Cathedral, Valletta commemorates the non-commissioned officers and men of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Garrison Regiment who died while stationed in Malta between September 1901 and April 1904. Unlike the Second World War memorial panels elsewhere in the cathedral, this brass plaque records individual soldiers by name, rank and date of death.

The memorial commemorates sixteen non-commissioned officers and men of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Garrison Regiment who died during the battalion's tour of duty in Malta between September 1901 and April 1904. However, contemporary military records show that additional members of the battalion, together with family members, also died during this period but are not named on the memorial. Those records are summarised below.

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Memorial Inscription

To the Glory of God and in Memory of the Undernamed Non-Commissioned Officers & Men of the 3rd Battalion Royal Garrison Regiment who died at Malta during the time the Battalion was Quartered in the Island, September 1901 to April 1904.

Those Commemorated

Service No.	Rank	Name	Date of Death
2789	Sergeant	Charles Gallagher	4 October 1902
226	Sergeant	James Barrett	21 January 1903
1923	Sergeant	Albert Henry Jackson	3 October 1903
755	Corporal	Hugh McMahon	12 May 1902
2620	Corporal	George W. Marfleet	11 January 1904
3037	Lance Corporal	Christopher O'Shea	30 October 1902
7239	Lance Corporal	Arthur Edward Atherley	18 October 1903
2467	Private	John Gray	8 October 1901
828	Private	George Peters	23 February 1902
3034	Private	Matthew Seymour	13 February 1903
2322	Private	Thomas Gammage	2 April 1903
3189	Private	Lawrence Moriarty	24 June 1903
6184	Private	Henry Charles Fay	2 October 1903
6366	Private	Alfred Edward Evans	13 November 1903
7072	Private	John Henry Taylor	23 November 1903
6997	Private	Charles Aston	17 April 1904

Men Commemorated on the Memorial

The brass memorial records sixteen non-commissioned officers and men of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Garrison Regiment who died while the battalion was stationed in Malta between September 1901 and April 1904. Contemporary military records provide additional information about many of these soldiers, including their civilian occupations, dates of enlistment and burial places.

Service No.	Rank	Name	Known Details	Burial
2789	Sergeant	Charles Gallagher	Born at Shorncliffe, Kent. Former clerk. Enlisted on 2 July 1901. Married to Ada Elizabeth Perrett. Died in Malta on 4 October 1902 aged 29.	Imtarfa Military Cemetery, Plot 4, Row 2, Grave 5.
226	Sergeant	James Barrett	Born at New Ross, Ireland. Former stevedore. Enlisted on 7 March 1901. Married to Margaret. Died in Malta on 21 January 1903.	Burial location currently unknown.
1923	Sergeant	Albert Henry Jackson	Born at Romford, Essex. Former clerk. Enlisted on 1 May 1901. Died in Malta on 3 October 1903 aged 40.	Pietà Military Cemetery.
755	Corporal	Hugh McMahon	Born in Liverpool. Former labourer. Enlisted on 28 March 1901. Married to Mary Katherine Howard. Died on 12 May 1902.	Burial location currently unknown.
2620	Corporal	George William Marfleet	Born in Liverpool. Former seaman. Enlisted on 19 June 1901. Died on 11 January 1904.	Imtarfa Military Cemetery, Plot 4, Row 3, Grave 1.
3037	Lance Corporal	Christopher O'Shea	Born at Chatham, Kent. Tailor by trade. Enlisted on 25 July 1901. Married to Mary Jane. Died on 30 October 1902.	Burial location currently unknown.
7239	Lance Corporal	Arthur Edward Atherley	Born in Belfast. Former musician. Died in Malta on 18 October 1903 aged 33.	Plot 1 Row 2 Grave 11 Imtarfa Military Cemetery.
2467	Private	John Gray	Died on 8 October 1901, only days after the battalion arrived in Malta.	Further research required.
828	Private	George Peters	Died on 23 February 1902 aged 41.	Pietà Military Cemetery.
3034	Private	Matthew Seymour	Died on 13 February 1903 aged 37.	Pietà Military Cemetery.
2322	Private	Thomas Gammage	Died on 2 April 1903 aged 36.	Pietà Military Cemetery.
3189	Private	Lawrence Moriarty	Died on 24 June 1903 while serving with the battalion in Malta.	Further research required.
6184	Private	Henry Charles Fay	Died on 2 October 1903 aged 39.	Buried in the former military cemetery at Fort Chambray, Gozo
6366	Private	Alfred Edward Evans	Died at Verdala Barracks on 13 November 1903 aged 36.	Rinella Military Cemetery.
7072	Private	John Henry Taylor	Died on 23 November 1903 aged 34.	Plot 4 Row 2 Grave 12 Imtarfa Military Cemetery.
6997	Private	Charles Aston	Died on 17 April 1904 shortly before the battalion left Malta for South Africa.	Further research required.

1st Battalion Royal Garrison Regiment Burials in Malta (1901–1904)

The following burials relate to the 1st Battalion, Royal Garrison Regiment during its service in Malta. They have been compiled from contemporary Malta Garrison records. None of the individuals listed below appear on the brass memorial in St Paul's Pro-Cathedral, which commemorates members of the 3rd Battalion.

Date	Name	Age	Rank / Relationship	Place of Death	Cemetery	On St Paul's Memorial?
15 Jun 1901	Frances Maude Lyne	8 months	Infant	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
15 Jun 1901	Mabel Irene Muir	4 months	Infant	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
2 Jul 1901	Garwaker	34	Soldier	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
25 Aug 1901	William Young	34	Soldier	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
26 Sep 1901	William Borling	38	Soldier	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
18 Nov 1901	Pte John Tipping	33½	Private	Cottonera Hospital	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
4 Jan 1902	Pte James Woodley	38	Private	Cottonera Hospital	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
23 Apr 1902	Pte Henry Boothman	36 years 4 months	Private	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery	No
2 May 1902	Sgt James McReynolds	40	Sergeant	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
3 May 1902	Pte Edward Cunningham Evans	37	Private	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
5 May 1902	Elizabeth McReynolds	39	Wife of Sgt McReynolds	Cospicua	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
18 Jun 1902	Ursula Sarah Coles	9 months	Daughter of Pte Coles	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
23 Jun 1902	George Hollis	4 months	Infant	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
30 Jun 1902	Florence Annie Gregory	8 months	Infant	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
11 Jul 1902	Frederick John Day	9 months	Infant	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
18 Jul 1902	Grace King	11 months	Daughter of L/Cpl King	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
27 Jul 1902	Edward Charles Lyne	7 months	Son of Pte Lyne	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
7 Aug 1902	Beatrice Ethel Gray	1 year 3 months	Daughter of Pte Gray	Ta' Silġ	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
21 Aug 1902	Pte George Cox	38 years 8 months	Private	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
30 Aug 1902	Pte Thomas Hodges	35 years 5 months	Private	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
6 Sep 1902	Pte Albert Bird	38 years 6 months	Private	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
1 Nov 1902	Gerald Gordon Grove	2 years	Son of Sgt Grove	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
9 Dec 1902	Samuel James Marshall	2 years 3 months	Son of Sgt Marshall	Corradino	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
15 Dec 1902	Ada Mary Day	26 years 5 months	Wife of Pte Day	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
7 Mar 1903	Pte Richard Beck	40 years 6 months	Private	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
13 Mar 1903	George Fuller	Few minutes	Infant	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
13 Mar 1903	Henry Fuller	Few minutes	Infant	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
13 Mar 1903	William Fuller	Few minutes	Infant	Cottonera	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
22 Apr 1903	Pte George Letts	34	Private	Valletta	Pietà Military Cemetery	No
1 May 1903	Sgt William Marshall	36	Sergeant	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
2 May 1903	Pte H. Whitewood	34	Private	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
25 Jul 1903	Cpl Arthur Thomas Rawlings	36	Corporal	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
4 Aug 1903	Dorcas Adshead	1 year	Infant	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery	No
3 Dec 1903	Pte George Ttribe	38	Private	Fort St Elmo	Pietà Military Cemetery	No
19 Jan 1904	Florence Edith Taylor	6 months	Daughter of Pte Taylor	Not recorded	Buried in the former military cemetery at Fort Chambray, Gozo	No
10 Mar 1904	Frances Kate Gray	33 years 6 months	Wife of Pte Gray	Not recorded	Buried in the former military cemetery at Fort Chambray, Gozo	No
26 Mar 1904	Ada Victoria Taylor	2 years 6 months	Daughter of Pte John Taylor	Not recorded	Buried in the former military cemetery at Fort Chambray, Gozo	No
28 Mar 1904	CSgt George Alfred Jarvis	41	Colour Sergeant	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery	No

Summary: This list contains 35 recorded burials associated with the 1st Battalion Royal Garrison Regiment in Malta between 1901 and 1904. They include soldiers, wives and children, illustrating the wider military community that accompanied the battalion during its Malta service.

Deaths Recorded During the 3rd Battalion's Malta Service (1901–1904)

Contemporary military burial registers record additional deaths associated with the 3rd Battalion Royal Garrison Regiment during its service in Malta. The table below compares those records with the brass memorial in St Paul's Pro-Cathedral. The 5 people mentioned on the Memorial who are not listed here in this table have at present no known burial site

Date	Name	Age	Status	Burial	Memorial
4 Dec 1901	Pte William Old	33	Attached from Pembroke	Pietà Military Cemetery	❌ Not commemorated
6 Jan 1902	Pte William Boswell	31	2nd Royal Warwickshire Regiment (attached)	Pietà Military Cemetery	❌ Not commemorated
25 Feb 1902	Pte George Peters	41	Private	Pietà Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
21 Jul 1902	Arthur Barnett	6 months	Infant son	Pietà Military Cemetery	❌ Not commemorated
6 Oct 1902	Sgt Charles Gallagher	28 years 11 months	Sergeant	Mtarfa Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
14 Feb 1903	Pte Matthew Seymour	37	Private	Pietà Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
31 Mar 1903	Amy Perks	13 years 6 months	Daughter of Pte Perks	Pietà Military Cemetery	❌ Not commemorated
4 Apr 1903	Pte Thomas Gammage	36	Private	Pietà Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
4 Oct 1903	Sgt Albert Henry Jackson	40	Sergeant	Pietà Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
4 Oct 1903	Pte Henry Charles Fay	39	Private	Buried in the former military cemetery at Fort Chambray, Gozo	✔ Commemorated
19 Oct 1903	L/Cpl Arthur Edward Atherley	33	Lance Corporal	Mtarfa Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
14 Nov 1903	Pte Alfred Edward Evans	36	Private	Rinella Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
24 Nov 1903	Pte John Henry Taylor	34 years 6 months	Private	Mtarfa Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
12 Jan 1904	Cpl George William Marfleet	35 years 5 months	Corporal	Mtarfa Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
18 Apr 1904	Pte Charles Aston	32	Private	Mtarfa Military Cemetery	✔ Commemorated
24 May 1904	Major & Quartermaster Evi John Crane	54 years 6 months	Officer	Mtarfa Military Cemetery	❌ Officer – not included

4th Battalion Royal Garrison Regiment Burials in Malta (1902–1904)

The following deaths are recorded in contemporary Malta Garrison burial registers for the 4th Battalion, Royal Garrison Regiment during its service in Malta. The list includes soldiers together with wives and children of serving personnel.

Date	Name	Age	Status / Relationship	Place of Death	Burial
1 Jan 1902	Pte James Taylor	33 years	Private, 4th Battalion RGR	Not recorded	Mtarfa Military Cemetery
13 Apr 1902	Thomas Wilson Goffe	6 years 8 months	Son of Cpl Goffe	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery
22 Jul 1902	Daisy Florence Wiggans	2 years 6 months	Daughter of CSgt Wiggans	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery
4 Aug 1902	Pte William Swain	38 years	Private	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery
1 Nov 1902	Robert A. Young	10 months	Infant son of Pte Young	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery
30 Dec 1902	CSgt James Bailey	33 years	Colour Sergeant	Not recorded	Mtarfa Military Cemetery
5 Feb 1903	Henry McDermott	2 years 6 months	Son of Pte McDermott	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery
6 Feb 1903	Leslie Bernard Scott	6 months	Infant son of L/Cpl Scott	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery
10 Feb 1903	CSgt Edward Waylen	30 years	Colour Sergeant	Not recorded	Pietà Military Cemetery
20 Apr 1903	William McLaren	2 years	Son of Pte McLaren	Sliema	Pietà Military Cemetery
21 Apr 1903	Beatrice Ede	1 year 1 month	Daughter of Pte Ede	Msida	Pietà Military Cemetery
11 May 1903	Pte Samuel Chubb	37 years	Private	Not recorded	Mtarfa Military Cemetery
14 Jun 1903	Pte Henry Richardson	34 years 6 months	Private	Mtarfa	Pietà Military Cemetery
21 Jun 1903	Albert George Bindings	8 months	Infant son of Sgt Bindings	Floriana	Pietà Military Cemetery
27 Oct 1903	Pte William Pegram	35 years	Private, 4th Battalion RGR	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery
8 Nov 1903	Gladys Mabel Willey	1 year 4 months	Daughter of Sgt George Willey	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery
25 Jan 1904	Pte James Welch	33 years 10 months	Private, 4th Battalion RGR	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery
23 Apr 1904	L/Cpl James Douglas	42 years 3 months	Lance Corporal, 4th Battalion RGR	Verdala Barracks	Rinella Military Cemetery
24 Apr 1904	Gladys Gough	1 year 4 months	Daughter of L/Sgt G. Gough	St Nicholas Married Quarters	Rinella Military Cemetery
19 Jun 1904	Winifred Alexandra Mew	7 months	Daughter of Sgt Mew	St Nicholas Married Quarters	Rinella Military Cemetery
13 Jul 1904	Alice Ethel Beard	10 months	Daughter of Pte Beard	St Nicholas Married Quarters	Rinella Military Cemetery

Summary: The records identify 21 burials associated with the 4th Battalion Royal Garrison Regiment in Malta between 1902 and 1904. These comprise 10 serving soldiers and 11 wives or children of serving personnel, reflecting the close-knit military communities established around Malta's barracks during the Edwardian period.

Historical Background

The Royal Garrison Regiment was formed in 1901 to undertake garrison duties at important military stations throughout the British Empire. Malta was one of Britain's principal Mediterranean naval and military bases, and the 3rd Battalion served on the island from September 1901 until April 1904. This memorial preserves the names of those members of the battalion who died during that period of service.