They may not have crossed paths in over 70 years but the bond between two wartime plotters was instant and, within minutes, stories were flowing about the most profound experience of their lives.

Emily Thompson (left) and Frances Kane share an emotional embrace. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Emotional reminisces and plenty of laughs characterised the conversation of Frances Kane and Emily Thompson, both 91, at the elderly residence where Ms Kane lives. This newspaper arranged for the two to meet after Ms Thompson flew in from the UK with her family for a brief holiday in Malta.

The reunion emerged as a result of the ripple effect which ensued when the Times of Malta published an interview with 93-year-old former plotter Anne Rossi in July. Ms Kane’s daughter then got in touch and this newspaper arranged for the two to be brought together.

Ms Thompson’s sterling service as a plotter came to light after a number of people phoned in to speak about their living or deceased relatives who helped defend the island during World War II.

Local young women were enlisted as civilian plotters, sworn to secrecy, working around the clock in the underground complex of the Lascaris War Rooms.

In a task which required great concentration, they would be fed information on approaching aircraft, which they plotted onto a table, with a large map marked with grid squares and posts.

They must have planned to rob us because they thought that we would be accompanied by just our driver. We used to call him ‘Titchy’ because he was small

Counters were placed on the map at the reported positions, each of which indicated the height and the number of aircraft reported. Overseeing the operations from the gallery above would be the controller and his team, who would be in radio contact with the pilots and would direct them to the best possible position to intercept the enemy.

A young Emily Thompson.

It was from Lascaris that General Dwight Eisenhower (later US President) directed and launched Operation Husky – the Sicily invasion which led to the eventual surrender of Italy.

Ms Thompson remembers meeting General Eisenhower. “He turned to me and said: ‘Look after my boys.’ I replied: ‘I’ll look after our boys first’,” she said with a laugh.

Ms Thompson, born Teeling, was known as a brave, feisty young woman, earning her the nickname of “spitfire”.

Ms Kane, born McNerney, was similarly a spirited young woman. She remembered being ticked off for her chatty nature after she failed to immediately mark an incoming aircraft’s bearing because she was chatting to another plotter.

She recalled a time when the plotters operated from Ħal-Far, describing an incident which could have ended badly. A bus would pick the women up to take them to their shift. However, the night before, a group of pilots got drunk and, as a result, missed their own bus. They decided to hop onto the plotter girls’ one instead. They did not know that robbers had decided to make the plotters’ bus their target.

A young Frances Kane.

“At first none of us girls wanted them on the bus. We thought they were going to vomit all over us.

“But when the bus stopped to remove the material blocking the road, our attackers remained hidden. They must have planned to rob us because they thought that we would be accompanied by just our driver. We used to call him ‘Titchy’ because he was small. Unlike me, because I’m so big,” Ms Kane chuckled, joking about her petite frame.

Yet the war was also a time of great hardship and suffering. Ms Thompson told a poignant story of a young woman who worked alongside her in the RAF operations room and who fell asleep, inadvertently contributing to the downing of a plane. She was sent home and the plotters never saw her again at Lascaris.

When she was off-duty, Ms Thompson would visit foreign soldiers at the Mtarfa hospital who had no family or friends to keep them company.

“Life is what you make it,” she said with a smile.

“True,” Ms Kane interjected, “and we made the best of it.”