Malta means all things to all people, ranging from the days of sacrifice and suffering in WW2 from the bombs dropped by German and Italian aircraft through to recent prosperity brought about by virtue of full European Community Membership. It is above all else a 'jewel' in the Mediterranean Sea, blessed with a moderate climate in the early and later parts of the year, and with long beautiful summers which stretch on for ever and ever.

  Britons have much to thank dear Lord Nelson for, and we must not overlook that it was he who saw the great potential of these islands which together form Malta for all pragmatic reasons. Lord Nelson defeated the French and supplanted the tricolour with the union jack and from the very beginning of the 19th century Britons have been visiting, working, home making, protecting and holidaying in lovely Malta.

  It hasn't always been easy though, and there have been several times when we fell out with one another.

  Throughout the greatest part of this period, certainly from 1803 until 1976 (173 years) the majority of Britons on the Island were, in some way or other, directly associated with defence. The Royal Navy once had a very high profile and used Malta as the base for their Mediterranean Fleet. Malta was also a much valued port of call for warships travelling between the United Kingdom and Near/Far East bases.

  Inevitably, after all those years, the Royal Navy had a significant presence on the Maltese coastal infrastructure and used many areas/buildings to house and support their vast and complicated hierarchical system of command and control. When the British left their Malta bases, they left behind a massive portfolio of real estate, which was largely inherited by the Maltese Government.

  All buildings/facilities no mater where sited geographically, are but mere artefacts, but the use of them and the incumbents who work or live there, animate them and add a soul to the bricks and mortar. Whilst the British, who, in many cases had inhabited buildings which were centuries old, past back the rightful ownership to the Maltese people, they didn't pass back the 'soul of their tenure' and therefore, in several cases, they handed back soulless artefact.

  That brings me to the reasons for this page. The Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet had four direct areas of influence. These were his residence at Marsa; his office Admiralty House in Valletta's South Street which, having passed through the arch leading into Valletta from the bus station and entering 'Kingsway' now called 'Republic Street' is the second turning left (opposite the Old Opera House)>; his yacht (permanent Flagship) HMS Surprise, and Valletta's Lascaris as his Operations Room (Ops Rm) when required.

  We are going to concentrate on his office, Admiralty House, South Street, Valletta. I have received a correspondence from Matthew ELLUL in Malta, and note the data 2009, but that doesn't matter as the request is timeless! This is what he said:-

Admiralty house south street malta
From: Matthew Ellul
Sent: 05 February 2009 15:45:28
To: godfreydykes
Dear Mr Dykes I would like to congratulate you on such an interesting and informative website. Let me introduce myself, my name is Matthew Ellul and I live in Malta. My grandfather served in the royal navy and enlisted in 1945. In the years 1959 to 1961 he was the chief steward to Admiral Sir Alexander Bingley and his wife Lady Bingley. He was in charge of Admiralty House and also travelled with them on HMS Surprise. Unfortunately he died in 1962 due to cancer. Our family remained very close to the Bingleys till today. Nowadays Admiralty House is the National Museum of fine arts, it was transformed in a museum during the early 70s. Being that my grandfather used to work there and knowing the historical value of the house, I am doing some research regarding the time when British sailors and Admirals occupied the House. The Curator of the museum and myself are trying to get hold of photographic or video evidence of the building, so that it can be useful for the restoration of the house. It would also be great if we would have some kind of contact with any sailors who used to work there. Is there any way in which we might get hold of a list of names pls? The Bingley's have given us some photographic evidence dating to the 1959-1961 period. We need to understand more about previous years. By any chance would there be a possibility of maybe tracing any evidence in the UK. I would like to thank you in advance, our hope is that the history of the Royal Navy in Malta will not be lost for the future generations still to come. I believe that Admiralty House is one of the landmarks in Valletta that any British seaman must visit. Thanks once again in advance.

Best Regards
Matthew Ellul

  So, I am trawling for information from some of you lucky people who were stationed ashore in Malta and had in some way, an association with Admiralty House in South Street Valetta. Matthew is interested in all inputs but particularly so in knowledge of the building prior to 1959. If you can assist in any way MATTHEW would be pleased to hear from you. His email address is shown here for your convenience platinumzam@gmail.com and in the subject matter box put Admiralty House Valleta Malta.

My best and warmest regards to all.

Post Script The 140 year-old link between the Royal Navy and Admiralty House in Valletta was broken when C-in-C Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Sir Deric Holland-Martin and his family, moved to their new official residence called 'The Villa Portelli' in Kalkara on the other side of Grand Harbour. The house, built between 1761 and 1763 was leased to the Navy in 1821.