Fort Finder

Church Army 8 C.E.M.S
Camp Hall
1916 Għajn Tuffieħa Camp
🇬🇧 British Empire
Type: Church / Hall
Condition: In Ruins
Open to the Public: Yes
Built: 1915
In Use: 1915-1979
Wars: World War 1 & 2
Materials: Concrete, Rebar, Limestone & Tile
Location: Għajn Tuffieħa, Golden Bay, Malta
Ghajn Tuffieha Barracks
Part of Military Bay now Golden Bay the Military Medical Units in Malta During the Great war from (1915-1919) had a initial beds of 2,000. Soon this number had grown to 5,000 beds enclosed in tented areas for wounded and the sick servicemen based at Ghajn Tuffieha barracks. The barracks itself was to be the biggest of its kind during the great war to train and look after the sick men. It surpassed the length of the bay from either side. It housed vast array of supply lines from the Military Medical battalion stationed there, to a sheer size of 2-5000 beds to care for the British Empires servicemen and women and the locals.
In Aug 1915, Field Marshal Lord Paul Sanford Methuen (16 Feb 1915–Apr 1919) ordered a disciplinary compound to be formed at the Ghajn Tuffieha camp as a place of confinement for those causing trouble in the hospitals. On 8 Aug, the first 400 arrived at the camp. They only had boards and trestles to lie on as the camp had not been completed. The men protested and by the evening of 9 Aug, sufficient blankets and beds were delivered to them.
Church Army & Halls
Recreation halls as this one was constructed to look after the morale of the men and give entertainment to the men who were coming to the camp for medical aid and care. Another similar one that was constructed by the British Australian Red Cross was, Australia Hall in Pembroke. Here is a link to our post on that location find we done recently.
https://www.facebook.com/104445935232492/posts/231398539203897/
This one in Pembroke was constructed after and was twice the size as the Church hall in Għajn Tuffieħa Camp Barracks. The hall was managed by the Young Men's Christian Association and the British Red Cross. Between the wars and during the Second World War it was used for shows for the forces. Later the hall served as a cinema and for concerts by visiting Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) parties. They acted as a Church and a place for worship for the men and women who passed through their doors.
Present Day
The Church Hall to this day is in very bad state of decay and is neglected in worse shape. After the British left the hall was left to several owners and the Church no longer Church lost its right to be called a place of worship. It became a place for entertainment and at one point a disco then an events hall and later no more. The building is accessible but we do not advise people to go in and explore as the parts are quite dangerous. Please respect the history of these great locations and if you find them, leave them how you found them.
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FORT FINDER

RAF LUQA MACHINE ROOM
🇬🇧 British Empire
Type: Machine Room Bunker
Condition: Decaying
Open to the Public: No
Built: 1900's
In Use: 1900's-1980’s
Wars: World War 2 (1939-1979)
Materials: Concrete, Rebar & Asbestos
Location: Qormi, Malta
Hidden deep within the terrain off the beaten track lay many lost and forgotten tunnels, passageways & bunkers. Many of which have been closed up for peoples safety. Many decaying in time, what once filled their spaces with many men and women at the beginning of the war of World War 2. We can only imagine the effort that went into constructing them at history’s outbreak of the war.
We ventured in to find some signs of military fortifications that awaits us. Not too far and we could see signs of military silos dug into the side of the rockface lay both sides of the land. Now abandoned and forgotten to the point nature has begun to take back what once was full of nature and greenery. Derelict buildings lay amongst the beaten track no longer a road one would say. The area around now covered in thick undergrowth of trees, hedges and bushes.
We came across a opening from many directions, that appeared to be some kind of bunker or room like feature. We ventured closer, nobody around to care or notice. Strange hut like structures from the top also that perched on the edge of the structure. The doors locked from beneath. No access was seen or found but we kept on the findings.
Close by was Royal Air Force Luqa a British Air Force Base constructed in 1940. It was the AHQ of Malta during the Second World War from 1941 to 1943. It was very important air base for the British and the Allied forces during the war. Many squadrons were stationed here, to name a few. No.1435 Flight formed in 1941, and in 1942 No. 603 Squadron with the Spitfire V to form the unit. Many other squadrons were based there to many to name. The airfield played a huge role in supplying Malta with most needed supplies and aerial support during the battle of Malta.
After exploring more of the particular site of the bunker machine room. We could piece together the bunker was used as a machine room of some sort, to supply power to the airfield not too far from the base. Now closed up and hidden to the public, we imagine this is one of many that could of supported the airfield. Dark cold and humid the room or bunker is home to rats and nature will soon take it back.
Please always be safe and we advise if you do find the locations we go to, respect them, and leave them as you found them. We do not give out access points, please don’t ask us for locations we will not give them to protect us, protect your safety and most importantly these locations have supplied longer than us and hope they do going forward.
We will see you on the next location.
Fort Finder
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WW2 Pillbox Hide Out
🇬🇧 British Empire
🇲🇹 Maltese People
Type: Military Pillbox
Condition: In Ruins
Open to the Public: Yes
Built: 1939
In Use: 1539-1980’s
Wars: World War 2 (1939-1945)
Materials: Concrete & Rebar
Location: Mgarr, Malta
Malta has so much history awaiting to be found. From its beautiful historical old cities across the scenic and wonderful escapes away from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets. We find something interesting worth capturing and documenting our findings each time. To explore Malta, one would always find something magnificent and worth taking a second look. For the love of History and to respect the sheer effort some of these places under went to construct in times when machinery did not exist.
Lay scattered around Malta the British Empire constructed small but effective military pillboxes. These were supposed to protect servicemen and women if Malta was to be taken by ground forces or enemy invasion. These were rugged house like buildings. Able to withstand the most brutal of attacks from small arms to take direct hits of passing bombings from the skies.
Yes, there were a lot constructed around the Maltese Island’s, now to confirm a figure we would estimate at least over the one hundred mark as we located many to this number but don’t hold us to a correct figure as the British left these structures under Top Secret records, if the enemy knew their exact location, well the enemy would zero them in for artillery / air raid fire.
This particular one was unique, so not a boring looking pillbox in state of decay. No, this one was very hard to locate and was found after we found it by chance off the beaten trail track in Mgarr, Malta. At some point it had been converted into a home / farm of some degree. The pillbox a two-story design and lookout post at the top, now in complete abandonment we can see a total neglect and disrepair of the site. Livestock consumed the location, and the interior was enclosed with wire. Nature has taken back over the site and we left the location in how we found it and we expect people do the same.
Thank you from all the team at Fort Finder
We will see you on the next location
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Valletta Underground
Order Of Saint John Knights Passage Way Tunnel

🇩🇰 Order of Saint John Knight
🇨🇵 Napoleon Forces
🇬🇧 British Empire
🇲🇹 Maltese People
Type: Fortification Wall Tunnel
Condition: In Ruins
Open to the Public: Recently no
Built: 16th – 17th Century
In Use: 1566-1990’s
Wars: French Invasion of Malta (1798)
Siege of Malta (1798-1800)
World War 2 (1939-1945)
Materials: Concrete, Stone & Rebar
Location: Valletta, Malta
Over the ages Malta has become home to many empires from the Romans, to the Knights, the French & British Empire to say a few. And with this the country has undergone many fortifications and structural changes from its foundations. Soon after the attack of Malta at the Great Siege that the Ottoman Empire would take the city with ease. Malta managed to overcome a great Empire’s Army and withheld defeat.
Unfortunately, a lot of parts of Malta fell to the Ottomans but some Knights managed to overcome and become victorious after the death of the Ottoman leader Dragut killed in battle. Soon after the Knights of Saint John did up plans to refortify the city of Valletta so no armies would dare to ever take it over again. This was heavily funded and work began in 1566 by the Grand Master Jean de Valette on 28th March 1566.
Over the years the fortifications of Valletta underwent extensive alternations to fortify its walls and bastions. Ditches were added, tunnels were dug deep into them so knights could access without being seen by enemy forces and could supply men below its walls and have easy access to the city above if attack happened. Many were secret ones were hidden into Bastion and curtains as the fortification wall would wrap around its deep layered and shield sight of any knowledge of their exitance.
The tunnel we located was constructed for this very purpose. And was constructed by the Order of Saint John Knights and would lead deep up into the upper part of the city to the ditch below. No record of it exists so yes this was a very unique find. The British also made alterations to this during the WW2. They added cutaway rooms and stairs to other smaller rooms to act as shelter of air raid shelters for servicemen and civilians during the war of World War 2.
Present Day.
Now closed up the tunnel itself was not easy nor will we supply its location to protect it and to protect people entering. In very bad state of decay the tunnel is now used for storage and drainage from the street above. We captured a small glimpse into what once was and what should always be remembered this tunnel helped many people, knights and soldiers over the years for many reasons.
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WW2 Searchlight +
Sound Locator Position
🇬🇧 British Empire
Type: Search Light + Sound Locator
Condition: In Ruins
Open to the Public: Yes
Built: Early 1900’s
In Use: 1900’s-1945
Wars: World War 2
Materials: Concrete, Stone & Rebar
Location: Għajn Tuffieħa, Malta
Situated the back of Hotba I-Bajada overlooking Golden Bay lies in ruins a strange looking military structure of some kind. Not a lot of history on the location itself but records show us the location was used for a WW2 Searchlight and adjacent to it the British Empire mounted a sound locator device to monitor sound. Acoustic devices such as this were first introduced pre 1900 for the sole purpose to pick up acoustic sound from long distances.
WW2 SEARCHLIGHT (Għajn Tuffieħa)
A British 90cm anti-aircraft searchlight on a tethered mobile mounting (NWMA) was wheeled into a roofed protective searchlight emplacement at an adjacent position to the rear which included an observation platform, a generator room and limited accommodation. Used heavily during WW2 to search for enemy plane at night. Many more were situated all over Malta and Europe. One can still be seen today in Fort St. Elmo Military museum.
ACUSTIC SOUND LOCATOR DEVICE
Before the advent of the airplane, acoustic location was applied to determining the presence and position of ships in fog. However little faith was placed in this because the apparent direction of sounds in fog at sea was known to be sometimes deceptive.
Acoustic locator devices was used from mid-WW1 to the early years of WW2 for the passive detection of aircraft by picking up the noise of the engines. Horns give both acoustic gain and directionality; the increased inter-horn spacing compared with human ears increases the observer's ability to localize the direction of a sound. The technology was rendered obsolete before and during WW2 by the introduction of radar, which was far more effective.
In Malta at the time of WW1 & WW2 the main devices were the British Mk 1 sound locator (1914-18). It was redesigned and improved and the device was fitted with Four-horn acoustic locator attachments. At this particular location we have documented, the British had a much larger four-horn acoustic locator mounted at the position as the area it needed to cover was on a grander scale. The techncology was used throughout Europe and even the Germans had such locator sound devices.
Now today the Searchlight has been removed and dismantled. The sound device locator also we suggest decommissioned and dismantled. The images we provided are similar devices that were used along the Victorian Lines, Malta.
We like to thank the page Friends of The Victoria Lines Trail who provided us with the image of the sound locator. Please go check out their content page on Facebook.
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Military Pillbox
(Malta’s Biggest)
🇬🇧 British Empire
Type: Pillbox
Condition: Intact
Open to the Public: Partial Intact
Built: 1939
In Use: 1939-1945
Wars: World War 2
Materials: Concrete & Rebar
Location: San Martin, Malta
Right in the thick undergrowth nestled among tree line lay some of history’s strongest structures, so strong they were prepared for all kinds of military firepower. Malta has a long history of military campaigns over the years. Fort Finder team came upon one of the biggest military pillbox’s fortifications right in the thick undergrowth of Malta’s hillside in San Martin. We have explored many of these magnificent pillbox’s here on this tiny island on the Mediterranean sea.
Some would say, oh just another boring and ugly for the beautiful scenic views arounds, this may be the case but when these structures were first constructed not much of what we know was built up as Malta is today. And Malta was vulnerable to enemy attack. Malta was strategically an important to anyone who claimed it to Africa and the oil supply lines. Over 300 of these pillbox alone were built in Malta. And by far this is our biggest one we have stumbled upon. Its sheer size reaches much higher than other pillbox’s we have come across.
This particular one which is in good condition, scales over two and a partial third used as a lookout post. Each level can easily sleep six-eight servicemen and ample stores to last for week if cut off. A ladder separates them and a escape hatch to the top and to the rear close to the earth hillside. Tree line camouflaged its true size, small cut outs scattered throughout, a sniper hole so soldiers could lay down and use to fire if required, a few head height protected by blast shades, a thick two casing hatch at rear only partial remains and escape hatch at top now gone. We can only imagine what they had seen when Malta was at war in World War 2.
It is accessible yes, but off the beaten track up into the hillside of San Martin. There is a medium sized pillbox adjacent to this one that we will sure to explore at a later date. Please always be careful when exploring these locations. Respect land owners and explore safe. We will never give exact locations, nor provide how to enter them. We thrive to shine a light of the locations forgotten by history but bring them to revive their importance and without these structures Malta would surely be a different place ruled by the enemy. So please Respect them and be safe.
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White Rocks Complex
🇬🇧 British Empire
🇲🇹 Maltese People
Type: British Military Housing
Condition: Decay
Open to the Public: Yes
Built: Early 1960’s
In Use: 1960’s – Early 1990’s
Materials: Concrete, Stone, Rebar & Limestone
Location: Pembroke, Malta
White Rocks Complex (1960s-1979)
Formally known to be St. Patrick’s Officers Married Quarters. Many of these were in high standards at the time. Which consisted of a mix of 4-bedroom houses and 3-bedroom flats. Many had added car garages and telephone linking to the grid. With close proximity to the main road linking Pembroke to St Paul’s Bay this was the direct means of transport at the time to various other popular places close by to the complex.
Pembroke Army Garrison was close by, so was ideal place for officers and their families to be housed. The complex comprised of various activities that would have a store for groceries, a pool area, crazy golf and various stores for the families that lived there. A local bus route was also added to the complex. As the true size of this complex could house upwards of hundreds of families and their children to the Officers enlisted with the Pembroke Garrison and various other military bases and also to officers who served in Malta throughout the course of their active duty there in Malta.
White Rocks Complex (1979-1995)
Soon after the British left in the year of 1979. The land was handed over to the Maltese Government, the land was best used to bring in tourism and there the complex was transferred into a holiday park to bring it people from all around the world. It was converted into a holiday hotel park. The housing was reformed into hotel like accommodations. A pool area and events building were added. Fun activities were added throughout to entertain the guests, bus routes added. It also housed students from international countries to come and study English at nearby colleges up until 1995.
Present Day
Some plans to revive the complex in the Mid 1990’s was set out but with little to no funding as the complex sheer size would need a great amount of funding. The complex plans fell through and the buildings were in such bad state of decay. The roads leading to it were blocked up to protect people’s safety to access. Plans have come and gone throughout the years with little to no sign of anything happening to rebuild or demolish the site. It lay abandoned and let nature retake it back. The site today is accessible but not advisable to enter. This is one of the biggest places we have explored and will respect it and hope you do to. Thank you.

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Military Pillbox Duo
🇬🇧 British Empire
Type: Pillbox
Condition: Intact
Open to the Public: Partial Intact
Built: 1939
In Use: 1939-present
Wars: World War 2
Materials: Concrete & Rebar
Location: Mosta, Malta
Adjustment to Fort Mosta hillside lays remains of British Empire era World War 2 era military fortifications. Part of a lined defense to protect Malta from invading forces during Malta’s greatest test to withstand the enemy invasion from the Nazi’s and Italian forces. The British constructed many fortifications throughout Malta, but lay many military Pillbox’s. The pillbox lay along the Victoria Lines close to Fort Mosta in Mosta.
No total number was ever found but so far over 200 of these concrete fortifications were placed all around the island. Their main purpose was to overwatch activity to signal command in Valletta of enemy activity, to ship activity, to any reconnaissance that happened close to were they stood. Some were camouflaged into the terrain around them and some in plain site to show that the British protected the land around them.
Here we documented a duo of Military Pillbox’s that lay close to Fort Mosta also a British era Fort. Yes there is a total of three close to the fort. We will cover the other pillbox on a later date as we feel these two pillbox’s would of seen more activity from aerial combat planes, and over watch the seas overlooking St. Paul's Bay to Pembroke Bay. Number 2 lays left to crumble which was closest to Fort Mosta on right at the top edge, huge cracks within but in some good condition, with original paint on the walls. The pillbox itself is about to fall over into the hillside so be careful if venture to it. Pillbox one on the map, is in good condition, restored to protect it from decay, and cemented to the terrain around it. And lays hidden around its own terrain, it would give a great surprise to enemy targets that got too close.
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Thermal Baths
🇬🇧 British Empire
Type: Thermal Baths
Condition: Ruins
Open to the Public: Yes
Built: 19th Century
In Use: 19th – 20th Century
Materials: Limestone
Location: Kalkara, Malta
Just at the outer fortifications of Villa Bigi beneath now what’s the Science Museum at Kalkara lay strange structures, forgotten in time. Evidence shows us they were used as Thermal Baths for patients needing thermal cures for the British fleet servicemen affected with joint & muscles pains as well as many other signs of fatigued muscles. Built back in the early 19th century and used by the Royal Navy Hospital at Bigi, Malta. These structures remain to this day, a brief reminder of the true myth of the British Empire and the sacrifice of the British & Maltese people.
There is a few scattered close to the shore line of the naval hospital. How it was supposed to work was, the baths used to be filled with cold/warm seawater, which used to be heated in the pumping room, and thus going through this process would pass back to the baths. It was thought that seawater purities was rich in minerals such as magnesium, zinc iron and potassium. And this process was said to cure inflammation and protect the skin. It was heavily used over the years and patient thought the baths were very effective.
During World War 2 these baths were used as naval pillboxes and by the harbor of battleships with supplies. They would also be a great act of cover during constant air raids over Malta at that location. Soldiers would use these as line of defense and great bunkers to run to if air raids would happen. Present day, no restoration ever happened to these great historical industrial pieces but left to ruins, some now totally lost to bad weather and seas, and some lay abandoned & forgotten. They are still accessible to this day, but be safe as some are very unstable and prone to have an accident to be fatal. Always be safe, respectful and do not do anything that can cause harm to you or anyone while venturing to these places.
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