16 AUGUST 1997, Page 26

Captain Pugwash

Sir: I am the creator, writer and artist of the Captain Pugwash books and television films. My attention has been drawn to a television review in your 31 May issue in which the writer refers to the names 'Mas- ter Bates' and 'Seaman Staines' as having been characters in my stories. In fact no such names were ever used at any time, as anybody who had actually read 18 books and seen over 70 films about Captain Pug- wash would attest.

John Ryan

Gungarden Lodge, The Gungardens, Rye, East Sussex