A former RAF pilot has written a book about a wartime decorated cabaret performer whom he never met, but whose spirit lives on in the memory of several Maltese people, roads and archives.

Christina Ratcliffe, believed to have been the lover of pilot Adrian Warburton, is remembered mostly for her charming and resilient nature as a financially independent young woman who first landed in Malta in the late 1930s as a cabaret performer.

“Warburton was pretty unusual – he was a gallant, brave man, but after my research on Ms Ratcliffe, it seems like her life was more extraordinary. She was a very determined woman, who left industrial northwest England in her 20s, and travelled Europe as a singer and dancer,” Paul McDonald OBE, 69, told this newspaper.

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Ms Ratcliffe never planned on remaining in Malta, but her departure was delayed with Italy’s war declaration on Britain. She went on to cheer the troops with her own cabaret troupe the Whizz Bangs, and eventually worked as a plotter at the Lascaris War Rooms.

She spent the rest of her life in Malta, till her death in the late 1980s. Sadly, Mr Warburton disappeared while in action over Germany in 1944, and his remains were only found a few years ago.

“Warburton’s disappearance in the war remained a great mystery – no one knew what had happened to him and some wondered whether he was trying to come back to Malta to see Christina.

His remains were only found 60 years after his disappearance, in the wreckage of his aircraft in Bavaria.

“Back then I was based in Germany, and I was told that he was a photo-reconnaissance pilot. This was the first in a series of surprises, because when I was based in Luqa in the 1970s, I formed part of a photo-reconnaissance squadron,” Mr McDonald said.

Warburton’s disappearance in the war remained a great mystery

The spirit of Ms Ratcliffe and Mr Warburton seems to have followed Mr McDonald on a following trip to Germany and later to Malta. While on holiday here, he located the Floriana apartment where Ms Ratcliffe used to live.

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A person who pointed him in the right direction remembered her, even though she had passed away some 25 years earlier.

“I was stunned. People still remembered her by name,” he said.

“Later on, as I came out of a shop in Valletta, I was shocked to see the Old Vic theatre, which hosted the very first rehearsal room for the Whizz Bangs.

“Everywhere we went there was some connection. I met, by chance, Frederick Galea who has re-searched her story exhaustively and was very instrumental in providing a memorial to her.

“Then one day, a couple of nights before returning home, I was sitting at a bar at the Phoenicia Hotel, and right in front of me, I saw a framed photo of Christina Ratcliffe reading the Times of Malta. I stood up to take a closer look, but as I returned to my seat, I realised that there was another photo of her right above my head. That was it. I knew I had to write a book.”

Later on this year, Mr McDonald will be publishing a book called Ladies of Lascaris: Christina Ratcliffe and the forgotten Heroes of Malta’s War.

Top: Christina Ratcliffe featured in a magazine called Illustrated in the 1940s. Bottom: At the Cafe Christina on (then) Britannia Street in Valletta.

Mr McDonald was based in Malta with the RAF between 1975 and 1978 and both his children were born here. He was speaking to this newspaper ahead of a discussion at Lascaris War Rooms on Monday. The following day, snippets of Ms Ratcliffe’s life will be retold in the musical play Star of Strait Street, which will be performed at the Phoenicia Hotel.

The discussion between Mr McDonald and British High Commissioner Stuart Gill, entitled A Lascaris Lady and a World War II Enigma, will be held on Monday at 7pm at the Lascaris War Rooms in Valletta.

Entrance is free, however space is limited and pre-booking by email on gabriel@wirtartna.org is advisable.

The discussion will be moderated by Philip Glassborow, writer of Star of Strait Street, which debuted last year at the Splendid under the auspices of the Valletta 2018 Foundation.

On Tuesday, Star of Strait Street will be performed twice at the Phoenicia Hotel in Valletta, ahead of a tour in Australia.

Both performances are sponsored by the Mackintosh Foundation and the hotel itself. Polly March, Larissa Bonaci and Geoff Thomas will be preforming in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

For more information visit www.starofstraitstreet.com.

Christina Ratcliffe seen here at (then) King’s Way in Valletta. Photos provided by Philip Glassborow