Garrison Church, Valletta
Life as a soldier's wife was not for the faint of heart. It was even more difficult for those posted overseas. Away in a foreign land; their lives were tied to the fortunes of the unit with which their husbands served. So it was for Henrietta, the wife of a Royal Engineer. According to the Regiments
of the Malta Garrison of the Royal Engineers the 32nd company of the Royal Engineers arrived at the garrison on Malta in September of 1869. It appears that they joined another company in the St. Francis Barracks, with the married soldiers' quarters being in St. Francis Ravelin.
William McKay's records show that he was in Malta from 1869 while those of Henrietta McKay indicate that she was still in England but she joined him later as their first daughter was born in Malta at the end of 1871. Did they occupy the married quarters in St. Francis Ravelin once William's wife joined him?
The Regiments of the Malta Garrison described the living quarters of the Royal Engineers in the following way: "St Francis Barracks Floriana was a two storied building with four large rooms, two on each floor and two small ones. There were no night urinals, urine tubs being still used by the men. These were not only offensive, but it was also impossible to keep the floor around the tubs clean. The married quarters at St Francis Ravelin were situated in a block of buildings which was well lit and ventilated. At each end of the block, was a quarter for a non-commissioned officer: each of the other quarters only had one room. These were too crowded for large families, who were often granted a second quarter, when these became available. NCOs had larger quarters in St. Francis Barracks."
The barracks didn't sound like great surroundings in which to bring up a family especially considering a prior entry in the same source about the health of the engineers. Out of 170 men 6 had been admitted to hospital for Delirium tremens in 1869. Even the married quarters sounded like a tight squeeze. But where were William and Henrietta and their growing young family housed during the time that he was posted to Malta?
The 1872 baptismal record for Florence Annie McKay gave the family's abode as Floriana, not the married quarters of Ravelin. Even the 1874 baptism of Henrietta Maud didn't see them moved to the married quarters. It seems that the marriage had to be acknowledged by the army before access to those quarters could occur. At least William was a corporal so they would have been in the larger NCO quarters. Not ideal, but maybe livable as it was the norm for that place and time. The later 1870s would bring more trying times.
Sources:
Find My Past – British Armed
Forces and Overseas Browse - Garrison Church, Malta: Baptism Register 1860-1886
WO 156/596
Regiments of the Malta Garrison –
The Royal Engineers https://www.maltaramc.com/regmltgar/royalen.html
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