As he digs into Malta's wartime history for a new documentary, British actor John Rhys Davies is keen to remind his countrymen that, as Brexit approaches, a special bond between the two nations must always remain.

Best known for playing Gimli the dwarf in the Lord of the Rings franchise and Sallah in three Indiana Jones films, Mr Rhys Davies is in Malta conducting interviews for a new documentary centred around a new play set in Valletta during World War II.

The Star of Strait Street, written by Philip Glassborow and currently playing at The Splendid, in Valletta, tells the true story of Christina Ratcliffe, who came to Malta as a cabaret performer but stayed on after falling in love with the island and was later decorated for her contributions to the war effort.

Christina Ratcliffe reading Times of Malta during the war.

Mr Rhys Davies’ documentation of the play yesterday brought him to the Times of Malta offices in Valletta, where he interviewed Diana Mackintosh (née Tonna), mother of the famed theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh. She worked at this newspaper at the height of the war and knew both Ms Ratcliffe and her partner at the time, war hero Adrian Warburton.

“We are partly documenting the story of the play, but it becomes more of a celebration of love in a time of war and about the love the English had – and have – for Malta,” Mr Rhys Davies said. “They came to Malta for all sorts of different reasons, with all sorts of class and racial assumptions. But Malta seduces them.”

The actor’s own history also features the island. His father-in-law was stationed in Malta back in World War I and Mr Rhys Davies still treasures his coin collection and writings from his time here, “a paean of praise for the people and the place”.

Having visited himself a few years ago, playing Caiaphas in the Maltese-Canadian film Saul: The Journey to Damascus, he too feels “love” for the island, describing the Maltese as “magical”.

“You are who you are because you have assimilated six or seven thousand years of history into the very dust of Malta; it is part of you,” he said. “It’s unique and remarkable.”

But when it comes to relations with Britain, a part of his documentary efforts, Mr Rhys Davies feels a “schism” in the country: between those who feel the “old affection” and a young generation anxious to carve a new national identity.

“It’s not my business to insert myself into that debate but it is possible that, as a result of Britain leaving the EU, Malta may be affected. I’m going to do my very best to make sure that the British people and government recognise that they have a debt of blood to Malta,” he said.

If we forget the importance of Malta in our history then we are much lesser a people than we think we are

“If we forget the importance of Malta in our history then we are much lesser a people than we think we are. I would like to see relationships between Britain and Malta grow strong again, this time not as colonial inheritors but as friends.”

Mr Rhys Davies also had some words of advice for young Maltese actors, having seen glimpses of the film and theatre industries on his visits. He is optimistic that the island’s creative output will continue to get stronger but stressed that young artists should get themselves out there as much as possible.

“When you are a living in a very small community, you’re as good as that community allows you to be,” he said. “The great challenge is when you up the game and you’re suddenly dealing with actors who have done so well the world recognises them. When you discover you can stand in that company, that’s when the real confidence comes.”

John Rhys Davies with Diana Mackintosh (née Tonna), mother of the famed theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh, at the Times of Malta offices yesterday. Photos: Mark Zammit Cordina

Wartime Valletta

The Times of Malta had the chance to glimpse its own history with the visit of Diana Mackintosh, who toured the offices she once worked in as a young woman before leaving Malta in 1944 and shared stories of wartime Valletta.

“One thing I remember is when I nearly got the sack,” she said. “When I worked here I knew all the movements of the Navy men. Mabel [Strickland, then owner of the paper] once came in and saw me here with all the midshipmen. She called me into her room and said: ‘This is not a place for rendezvous. This is a serious newspaper.’ She forgave me in the end because she liked me… not that I was very efficient. I didn’t know how to do anything.”

Ms Mackintosh, now 98 years old, survived four direct bomb hits on various homes around Sliema as they moved around the town on her father’s insistence that the bombs did not matter as long as they had a “good address”.

In her time at the paper, she also contributed her own stories, using a pen name and – when Ms Strickland unknowingly asked her to ensure the writer received a raise – giving herself a bonus for a job well done.

“She hardly paid me anything; what’s five shilling a week? But, by the end, I had got myself quite a good weekly pay,” Ms Mackintosh said.