It was so sad to hear the news that my friend Paul has unfortunately left us for better pastures.

I came to know him way back in the summer of the mid-1950s when our family rented a small summer flat close to his family’s rented apartment at Xemxija, St Paul’s Bay.

From that time onwards we regularly saw each other, in fact, right up to the early 1970s. We then used to meet occasionally in Republic Street, Valletta.

Paul was very friendly and approachable, and I liked his company for his honesty and sincerity. At the same time he was a very quiet friend, unassuming and kept a low profile.

He had a soft spot for history, in which he graduated with a Master’s degree from Birmingham University. But he eventually followed his father Maurice’s footsteps and became a Doctor of Law.

I shall miss him, but I’m quite sure he will never be forgotten.

May the good Lord have mercy on his soul.

My fondest sympathies to his family.