Interests:Just completed research into the men on the King's School, Gloucester memorial.
Now starting on Gloucestershire Constabulary's memorial.
Malta was full of hospitals, hence an excellent place for an RAMC man!
British troops were based on Crete 1898/1909 as part of a multinational (British, Russian, French & Italian) "peacekeeping" force following a Greek led revolt against Ottoman Empire occupation of Crete.
Both Malta and Gibraltar had regular British Army units garrisoned there, to defend the colony and its vital naval base. By 1914 there were five British battalions based in Malta, and on the outbreak of war they were replaced with a London TF infantry brigade.
I was looking at the service record of 5522 Private Henry Joseph John Dobbins, 2nd Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. He didn't appear on the 1901 Census, and it is because he was on the island of Crete at the time. I did initially think he was 40 years too soon, but came across this most interesting website owned and maintained by Mick McTiernan. It appears that the city which we currently know as Heraklion was where the main British presence was found. The Turks referred to it as Candia, and the Greeks referred to it as Megalo Castro.
Candia / Heraklion was indeed the HQ of the British portion of the international protectorate. Also the site of the action in 1898 after which the only VC to the RN Medical Service was made. Click. (Admittedly out of GW period, apologies for the diversion).