The first six local casualties of World War II were commemorated for the first time yesterday, 74 years after Italian bombers laid waste to the island.

Organised by Grand Harbour Regeneration Corporation head Stefan Zrinzo, the poignant memorial was held at Valletta’s Fort St Elmo where some of the first bombs were dropped.

Dr Zrinzo said the commemoration was held after the area was regenerated and he hoped this would become an annual event.

Five brave servicemen – Bombardier Joseph Galea and gunners Michael Saliba, Richard Micallef, Carmel Cordina and Paul Debono – were commemorated along with Philip Busuttil, a 16-year-old boy soldier who died trying to shoot down the giant planes as they targeted the Grand Harbour area.

Among those to escape the air raid was the late former president Ċensu Tabone, then a young military doctor stationed at Fort St Elmo.

The events of that day are recalled in Dr Tabone’s biography, Ċensu Tabone, The Man and His Century. The book’s author and historian Henry Frendo describes the day in detail: “The bombs fell in a straight line. Between the fifth and the sixth bomb his own room missed a direct hit... He was stopped in his tracks by news that people had been killed. Having been assured that there were no wounded persons, he remained on call at his action station.”