I grew up listening to my mother Margaret’s stories about growing up in Malta during WWII. When she died in 2018, a month short of her 89th birthday, I helped my sister sort her photographs and personal papers. We found lots of half-written stories about Malta, some repeated several times, most unfinished. I also found my grandfather’s diaries.

My mother often talked about writing a book but never did. After she died, I realised if I didn't write it the stories would be lost. They were all in my head and if I closed my eyes I could still hear her telling them. I just had to put pen to paper.

Malta: A Childhood Under Siege was published two years ago. Please help fund the development stage to turn this gripping memoir into a six-part TV series called Lascaris, the name of the top-secret command centre that Margaret's father, Major Sam Staples, designed and built.

The last film about the Siege of Malta, The Malta Story, was released in 1953. Margaret's story begs to be turned into a series that appeals to a 21st-century audience. A story they will not be familiar with.

Located right in the middle of the Mediterranean, Malta was the most heavily bombed place in WWII and played a crucial strategic role in the conflict. If Hitler had taken the island the Axis would very likely have won the war.

This will not be another WWII TV series built around muddy trenches, battles and generals. The audience will experience the horrors of war through a child's eyes. The gun Margaret finds hidden in the linen cupboard provides a secret as sharp as any thriller: a loving father preparing to kill his whole family if the island falls.