On August 6, this newspaper published an article on an explosion that occurred in 1975 on the Francis Holmes, a work boat, at Zueitina Terminal in Libya. Six men were killed, including four Maltese. I later realised there was a discussion about the article when it appeared online.

I did not know about it earlier and I feel rather bad about the fact that I did not answer the questions asked.

The discussion is closed now but anyone who is interested can, at very little expense, download the Kindle version of my book A horse in the morning and they will find a whole chapter explaining how the accident happened.

I believe that families of the Maltese crew did not get compensation for the loss of their loved ones because the insurance company would not pay up and nobody in Malta could say what had caused the accident. My book sheds light on this.

As matter of interest, one of the dead Englishmen had a one-year-old daughter who is now an adult and has been in touch with me about the explosion. I have been able to lay some of her ghosts to rest. Here in the UK I have had extracts from the book published as magazine articles in The Oldie, the Best of British, the Reader’s Digest and The Guardian, which reassures me that the book is quite readable and has a general interest.

I donate all royalties from the book to the Smile Train charity, which helps children with cleft lips and palates.