Offered is a bronze British War Medal issued to P. Ho served with the 1st. Battalion of the Maltese Labour Corps. Possibly in the Gallipoli theatre and certainly in the Salonika Campaign. British War Medal 1914-20 in Bronze impressed named 1182 P. Comes with the original ribbon, as worn, showing fraying to suspension rod area. Some 5600 men served in the Maltese Labour Corps. An analysis of the regimental numbers of the recruits of the MLC that had died in service indicate that numbers between 992 to 5,051 belong to those that served with 1. It is recorded that, almost from the very beginning, Maltese Labour battalions were doing splendid work. Gallipoli and Salonika knew well the lilting music of the swarthy gangs of broad-shouldered men who sang as tirelessly as they worked. Today, however, even Maltese authors hardly feature their contribution in the writings on the Maltese war effort. In August 1915, there was a request for 750 volunteers from Malta to form a labour battalion for service with the British Army. More than 1,000 applied and by the start of September 864 of these had been selected. The excellent rate of pay (2 shillings & 6 pence per day, plus 6 pence a day if married and one penny for each child) and a flexible 3-month contract was very attractive. The men were allocated roles as labourers, drivers, and stevedores and placed under the command of Major JV Aspinall of the King’s Own Royal Malta Regiment of Militia. Many of the unit’s other 14 officers were also drawn from the island’s militia. The unit served at Mudros, a Greek port being used to support the Gallipoli Campaign from September 1915. Some 234 men volunteered to serve close to the front at Gallipoli as stevedores. These were accompanied by a quartermaster, sergeant, corporal and five men from the Malta Corps of the St John Ambulance Brigade and three Roman Catholic chaplains. The unit suffered one man killed in action and two slightly wounded. The corps was said to have performed well under Turkish shellfire. The unit worked closely with the ANZAC forces during the campaign and two of the officers who led the MLC at Gallipoli later served as Maltese commissioners to Australia. Major-General Walter Campbell, on behalf of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, wrote to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Malta (Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen) that “I have much pleasure in informing you that the Battalion performed most excellent work, both at ANZAC and elsewhere, and I shall be grateful if you will be good enough to express to the Commanding Officer, and through him to the NCOs and men of the Battalion, my high appreciation of the services they have rendered”. In 1916, the British Salonika Army was formed to support the Serbian Army fighting German, Austrian and Bulgarian forces on the Macedonian Front and to resist the Bulgarian invasion of Greece. In August, it was decided to reform the 1st Battalion MLC to serve in this theatre. The unit, under Major S. Samut-Tagliaferro (from the militia) and comprising a dispenser, six hospital orderlies, 502 labourers, and 307 stevedores, arrived in Salonika on 26 September 1916 and established themselves at the Ordnance Depot. A further 216 men arrived in October. All of the British Army’s supplies had to be transported by boat and landed at Salonika whereas the Central Powers could make use of shorter overland supply routes. The 1st battalion MLC is believed to have assisted in the construction of two new deep-water piers near the Standard Oil Depot, these being known as Malta Pier and Pinto Pier. The unit served outside of Salonika on the lines of communication and suffered 49 deaths during the deployment. We list militaria and coins weekly. We provide quality mounted medals, badges and historical research. We can mount your miniature or full size medals, ribbon bars or supply replacement ribbons or badges. We can also conduct military research on your behalf and value cherished objects with a current market or insured value. 2/135 Russell St, Morley, WA. We run two specialist military auctions per year. Items are accurately described & photographed. Additional costs for this standard service will be added for this service based on publicly available Australia Post rates. Please note, these items are located and will be posted from Australia. We appreciate fair feedback from you once you receive the item. We aim to give you, the customer our best customer service. The item “RARE WW1 BRITISH WAR MEDAL IN BRONZE 1182 P. BUSUTTIL MALTESE LABOUR CORPS” is in sale since Monday, January 6, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectables\Militaria\1914 – 1918 (WWI)”. The seller is “jb_military_antiques_14″ and is located in 2/135 Russell St, Morley, Perth, WA. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Campaign: World War I
- Modified Item: No
- Country: Britain
- Product Type: Medals
- Authenticity: Original
- Era: 1910s