page_title: Villa Bighi
section_title: Service
hierarchical_section_title: Villa Bighi / Service
caption_attribution_description: English: albumen print 19 x 24 cm
context_page_description: Royal Naval Hospital Bighi also known as Bighi Hospital, was a major naval hospital located in the small town of Kalkara on the island of Malta. It was built on the site of the gardens of Palazzo Bichi, that was periodically known as Palazzo Salvatore. RNH Bighi served the eastern Mediterranean in the 19th and 20th centuries and, in conjunction with the RN Memorial Hospital at Imtarfa, contributed to the nursing and medical care of casualties whenever hostilities occurred in the Mediterranean. The building is now known as Villa Bighi and it houses a restoration unit.
context_section_description: Bighi Hospital contributed to the nursing and medical care of casualties whenever hostilities occurred in the Mediterranean, making Malta "the nurse of the Mediterranean".
  The hospital's first director (1827–1844) was Dr John Liddell. He was later appointed director-general of the Royal Navy's Medical Department, and during his office Bighi nursed casualties from the Crimean War.
  In 1863 the hospital looked after Queen Victoria's son Prince Alfred who was ill for a month with Typhoid Fever whilst serving as an officer in the RN. He recovered from his illness. The Illustrated London News of 11 April 1863 included a detailed description of how the prince was quartered and the layout of the hospital.
  During the First World War, RNH Bighi accommodated a very large number of casualties from the Daradanelles. During the Second World War, the Hospital was well within the target area of the heavy bombing since it was surrounded by military establishments. A number of its buildings were damaged or destroyed, including the x-ray theatre, the East and West Wings, the Villa and the Cot Lift from the Bighi Jetty to the Hospital. Among several Doctors and nurses of renown to serve here were Doris Beale DBE.
caption: Bighi Hospital in 1875
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