Breakthrough Films and Television was in Malta last month, sending World War Two flying ace Ian MacLennan back for both a hero’s welcome and shooting of its four-part doc Uncovering the Battlefield. The Canadian pilot flew for the RAF during the war, and shot down several enemy aircraft over the tiny Mediterranean nation in 1942.

MacLennan recalled the bombing he witnessed to reporters. ‘Even then, I recall it was merciless – destroying cities that were not a menace to Germany,’ he said. Uncovering the Battlefield is due to air this November on History Channel, part of its Remembrance Day programming.