When Linda Peek's mother Margaret died, Linda collected the scraps of handwritten notes strewn around the home and put together Margaret's remarkable tale of survival on Malta during WWII.

When Linda was growing up, Margaret, would tell her these remarkable stories from her wartime childhood -- stories of survival, friendship and tragedy.

Margaret had spent her most formative years on the island of Malta during World War Two.

The Mediterranean island was not only an idyllic paradise, it was also a British stronghold in a highly strategic position, and Adolf Hitler wanted it.

And so the Axis powers laid siege to Malta for more than two years, dropping thousands of bombs and trying to starve the island into submission.

Somehow, Malta survived, and so did Linda's mother.

This episode of Conversations explores Italy, Sicily, island life, modern history, the second world war, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Churchill, Royal Engineers, air raids, personal history, family history, family dynamics, life story, ancestry, travel.

Malta: A Childhood Under Siege is published by Woodlands Publishing.