Douglas Austin with his wife Susan.

Victor Aquilina writes:

Douglas Austin, who has written three books about Malta, passed away a few days ago while he was on holiday with his wife, Susan, in New York.

Austin’s affection for, and deep interest in, Malta grew out of his natural roots: he was born at the former KG5 Hospital (now Boffa Hospital) in Floriana when his father served in the Royal Navy. He would have been 82 next month. Susan tells me he had never spent a night in hospital or taken any prescription medicine.

My last meeting with him was only last October when we had a wonderful time in Valletta discussing the improvements made in the city and controversial points touched upon in his books. Austin has written three books: Malta and British Strategic Policy 1925–1943; Churchill and Malta, a Special Relationship; and Churchill and Malta’s War 1939–1943.

His work is well researched and detailed. His first book, his PhD thesis, which he did after retiring from banking and consultancy work, is considered a major reassessment of a key aspect of British strategy and defence policy in the first half of the 20th century.

Austin took a degree in Classics at Jesus College, Oxford in 1959, after which he was awarded a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship at Harvard University.

In my view, Austin’s main contribution in his work lies in the way he dismisses long-held myths, such as, for instance, that the admiralty in Britain was prepared to give up the island as being indefensible.

Particularly important, however, is the way he dealt with another popular myth: that Britain was prepared to give up the island and other territory in the Mediterranean to Mussolini in a bid to secure his country’s neutrality in the war and obtain acceptable peace terms.

Herbert Ganado believed this, as did others, particularly at the time when Italian sympathisers were being hounded after the outbreak of war. But the truth is that, as Austin points out, Churchill did not believe that negotiation with either Hitler or Mussolini was a realistic possibility.

He writes: “The question, therefore, of surrendering territory simply did not arise because Churchill did not expect Hitler, with French resistance crumbling, could be induced to offer acceptable terms.”

Austin was fond of talking about a particular item with a Malta connection exhibited at Chartwell, Churchill’s home in Kent. It is the Malta Shield, an elaborate arrangement of weapons surrounding the coat of arms of Grand Master Jean de Valette made by Antonio Attard and presented to Churchill in 1946 in recognition of his efforts to defend Malta. It hangs in Churchill’s study.

Austin was proud to have been born in Floriana, and was fascinated by Valletta, its charm and its history … though he did not like the boarding surrounding the open-air space. I don’t, either. He was reserved, had no airs, and did not talk about his own work – quite an interesting man.