One of Malta’s foremost writers on the war and ghosts, Joseph Attard passed away on Saturday, aged 87.

Born in Vittoriosa in 1924, Mr Attard penned The Battle Of Malta, first published in 1980. He also wrote The Atlantis Inheritance, one of the first novels to put forward the hypothesis linking Malta to the legendary island of Atlantis. The Ghosts Of Malta proved to be very popular and was recently reprinted in Maltese.

His first full novel, I Chased A Ghost, was published in the UK in 1968, followed by Oleanders In The Wind two years later. This novel, which is set in traditional Gozo, was recently republished by Allied Publications.

He subsequently wrote four fiction books in Maltese, It-Toroq Kollha Jwasslu Sa Ruma, Taħt is-Sinjal ta’ Taurus, Ix-Xitan Wasal fit-Tlettax and L-Aħħar Appuntament. Mr Attard also wrote various radio and television plays.

Mr Attard served in the Royal Air Force and Air Raid Precautions during the war. He served as consultant for foreign-made television productions about the war.

Although his children said his heart was always in his writing, Mr Attard served in the civil service where he specialised in industrial relations and continued in this area as a consultant and international correspondent past his retirement.

Mr Attard leaves to mourn his loss his wife Adelina and his children Monica, Mariella and Chris, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

His funeral will be held today at 2.30 p.m. at St Gregory parish church, Sliema.