The family of a Maltese man who perished in the biggest naval battle of World War I can finally get closure after the Royal Naval Association tracked down the memorial where he is commemorated.

Of the 1,017 crew on the battle-cruiser HMS Indefatigable, which sunk 100 years ago during the Battle of Jutland off the Danish coast, only three survived.

“My nannu was one of five Maltese aboard that ship. He left behind nanna Ġiża and two girls – my mum Ġuża, aged seven, and auntie Mary, aged nine.

Shipmate Charles Galea, president of the Royal Naval Association, Alda Camilleri and Shipmate Elaine Zerafa. Photos: Chris Sant Fournier

“We used to think my grandfather is commemorated in Malta but when we grew older we could not find his name on any memorial because all this time he was remembered in Plymouth,” Alda Camilleri, the granddaughter of Carmelo Micallef said.

It all started with an article in The Sunday Times of Malta about wartime life in Malta. The piece mentioned several Maltese who lost their life aboard British warships in the famous Battle of Jutland that saw more than 6,000 seamen drown.

However, the list of those who perished aboard HMS Indefatigable on May 31 did not include Ms Camilleri’s grandfather. Disappointed, the avid reader of WWI articles wrote a letter in remembrance of her grandfather. The letter, published in the newspaper, drew the attention of RNA secretary Elaine Zerafa who tracked down the memorial in Plymouth where Mr Micallef is remembered.

“I felt so sad reading the letter that I went through the list of Camilleris in the phone book. I called up Alda and with the help of Mark Fitzgerald, from the Commonwealth Grave Commission, managed to find out that her grand­father is actually commemorated in Plymouth, not in Malta,” Ms Zerafa said.

Carmelo Micallef (far right) was survived by wife Ġiża and his daughters Ġuża (left) and Mary. The picture to the right was taken before he perished during the Battle of Jutland. Above, the Widow’s Penny.

Some members of the RNA will be travelling to Portsmouth at the end of May to commemorate the Jutland Battle and they will be taking with them a wreath with a tag on which Ms Camilleri signed her name on behalf of Mr Micallef’s family.

“Elaine’s reaching out to me, after I wrote that letter, has brought some closure, which I feel is being sealed on the wreath,” Ms Camilleri said. She added her family had always spoken highly of their late grandfather of nine.

Her mother often recalled her excitement whenever her father returned home from his voyages. “I remember mum saying that, before he sailed off, he would buy local silver articles, marked with an insignia such as that of the George Cross, to sell to other crew members.

“Before boarding HMS Indefatigable on that ill-fated day, he had bought a very expensive set and it all went down with him. With the shock of his death, my grandmother got ill and eventually passed away aged 52. It was extremely sad,” she said.

“My nannu kept himself updated with the times. He left behind him quite a few nice china pieces. A particular one is a bell with an image of a woman wearing a Victorian bonnet and a banner reading ‘vote for women’.”

Ms Camilleri believes that had he not perished and eventually settled down in Malta, her grandfather would have opened a silverware shop.