Grand Master's Palace Armoury, Valetta, Malta

Malta is a tiny, dry limestone rock in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily and north-east of Tunisia. Thanks to its strategic position, Malta had been fought over for millennia, from the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Spanish, the Italians, the Ottomans, the Knights of St John, the French and the British. Each conflict has left its mark on this land, which can be seen in the buildings, fortifications and museums.

The Grand Masters Palace is located in St George's Square in the capital Valletta. Originally the private palace of the knight Eustachio del Monte, constructed in 1569. In 1571, Grand Master Pierre del Monte, the uncle of Eustachio, moved into the house. His stay was not intended to be permanent, but the location was conveniently located beside the Italian knights' auberge (communal offices). In 1574, Pierre expanded the palace and incorporated the auberge into the building's fabric. Over the next two centuries the palace was renovated and expanded to occupy the whole block along the square. 

In 1798, Napoleon stopped at Malta on his way to invade Egypt and with the help of the French knights on the island overthrew the Knights of St John. Napoleon established Malta as a republic and the knights - long an anachronism - slunk away to exile. Two years later the British besieged the French garrison and took over the island. Malta would become home for the British Mediterranean fleet. The palace then became the governor's mansion. The palace was left in a decrepit state after Maltese independence but has recently been restored. It now hosts an amazing collection of weaponry from the period of the Knights of St John.

The Knights of St John at the time of the Great Siege 1565

Crossbowman from the period of the Great Siege 1565

Musketeer from the period of the Great Siege 1565. Note he has quilted armour

Maltese sergeants

Pikeman from the Great Siege period 1565

Helmets and armour

Gilded 16th century armour

French steel armour for a mounted knight 17th century

Rapiers

Spanish style helmets

17th century bascinets

Full faced bascinets

Highly ornamented armour

Gilded armour of one of the Grand Masters

Italian 17th century helmet

Italian burgonet 16th century

Combed morion

Morion helmet. Lacking the high comb but still very tall

Close faced helms

Ottoman armour

The gilded armour of Grand Commander Jean Jacques de Verdelon

Extremely ornate armour of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (1601-22)

armour of Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt b.1547 - d.1622 

Full suit of armour

This particular knight enjoyed a little too much pasta

The above and below full faced helmets look like something out of Star Wars



Quite extraordinary designs

The Grand Corridor

Lion guard

The corridor leads to the private rooms

Sitting room



Private chapel

The council chamber

The chamber features murals of the great moments of the Knights of St John on Malta. This panel shows the Turkish besieging the Birgu peninsula.

The list of Grand Masters engraved in the corridor

The arms and armor collection in the Grand Palace is exceptional and a must see if you have any interest in the Great Siege of 1565. The history of the siege is only briefly covered in the War Museum (separate post). It's an amazing tale that could be much better told.

Lascaris War Rooms: https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2026/01/lascaris-war-rooms-valletta-malta.html

Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum: https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2026/01/fort-st-elmo-and-national-war-museum.html

Maltese Independence Day: https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2026/01/malta-independence-day-display-21st.html

Army Museum Fremantle Open Day 2024

n
The Army Museum in Burt Street, Fremantle was constructed in the early 1900s to house artillerymen manning the gun emplacements on the piers at the end of Fremantle harbour. Although the buildings are a considerable distance from the gun emplacements, they make logistical sense in that the site is close to the Old Fremantle Traffic Bridge, allowing the artillerymen to reach both sides of the harbour from this point. The only alternative arrangement would have been to build two barracks and given that Fremantle is very far from just about every other place on Earth, building two barracks to defend against attacks that would never come, would have been somewhat insane.

The grand old buildings now house the Army Museum of Western Australia. Every year they hold an open day with free entry. At other times the museum is open at limited times during the week. It's best to check the museum's website as hours and open days are limited. https://armymuseumwa.com.au/

We had long wanted to visit the museum (it is only five minutes drive from our house), so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Several military vehicle collectors in our car club were also attending. This is our friend John's 1944 KdF Kubelwagen. This car had been used in the movie "The Eagle Has Landed."

Volvo military jeep

Light Horse Great War re-enactors put on an excellent display. This reminded me of the filming of "Before Dawn" in Esperance a few years ago. Several of the attendees also participated. The film is now available on Netflix. https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2024/03/before-dawn-2024-australian-first-world.html

Great War field tent

Red Cross post

Get on your bike!

Or on your horse

WW2 field gun

One of the 100 tracked carriers (known colloquially as 'Bren Carriers') built at the Midland Railway Workshops (we visited the workshop museum only the day before: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2024/10/old-midland-workshops-and-powerhouse.html )

Jeep with recoilless rifle (aka bazooka)

Chevrolet Blitz truck

M3 Grant tank

M2 Stuart light tank

These were mainstay tanks for the Australian army during the Second World War

Armoured personnel carrier

M113A Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle

Leopard Tank (you could probably pick up a few of these for scrap in Ukraine right now)

Saracen armoured car

Greyhound armoured car

Ferret armoured car

I can remember when these were 'a dime a dozen' on the second hand car market. You could pick up a disarmed Ferret for as little as $500 Australian dollars. When we were kids, my dad teased my brother and I about buying one. We were keen, but he was only joking.

Willys Jeep the ubiquitous American military vehicle

Centurion Tank.

The galleries - lots of hats

Hat box for a pith or ceremonial helmet

Colonial uniforms and equipment from the 1880s.

The age of Redcoats

Ceremonial dress and the uniform of a local militia officer 1890s

West Australian army uniform 1890s (before Federation)

Uniforms around the turn of the century. Red is replaced with a less conspicuous deep blue.

Commemorative plate with the Allied national flags during the Great War (1914-18).

German Great War helmets

Great War flying uniform

Turkish uniform from the Great War

Australian Light Horse

Japanese bombing attacks on Australia. Note that Darwin was bombed 82 times!

Motorized one man canoe. These were used by special services to infiltrate harbours and lay mines. They were used in Singapore.

Afterwards we had a wander through the George Street Precinct of Fremantle. Very nice area.

The Army Museum in Fremantle is actually quite excellent with an interesting collection of artifacts and well put together displays. I expected we would spend an hour or so there but it took us at least two and half to three hours to visit. It does suffer from not being open very often however so do check the website for opening hours. https://armymuseumwa.com.au/ This all reminds me that I still have to finish my posts about the National War Memorial and Museum in Canberra https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2023/10/national-war-memorial-canberra.html and the Albany War Museum. So little time....