Malta in the first world war: An appraisal through cartography and local newspapers

The Great War in the Mediterranean affected Malta more in the form of services rendered to the British Empire and to the Allied war effort than in the direct confrontation of hostilities. The aim of this chapter is to present a detailed study of two 2-inch scale maps (1:31,680) of Malta produced in the early decades of the twentieth century (1910 and 1923) that, in their differences, demonstrate the public, military and other works performed on land and on the coast to enhance the island’s services in the war effort and its immediate aftermath. These can be divided into three: the north-based hospitalization facilities, the southern-based new fuel installation depot and the seaplane base at the southern extremity. The changes affected the main harbours to accommodate the immediate needs of war will also be reviewed. Other details drawn from contemporary newspaper reports, adverts, images and hospital capacity, before and during World War I, together with the upgrading of vital roads, were taken from a 1:175,000 map in Sir W.G. Macpherson’s History of the Great War (1921). By using the map and other information provided in the book, other sources and the resource Google Maps Engine GIS-lite, an end product has been developed to provide users with interactive possibilities to explore further information pertaining to Malta’s contribution to the Great War effort.