2 AUGUST 1969, Page 26

Bonn diary

Sir: I was amused at Malcolm Rutherford's repetition of the old FO joke about J. H. Thomas (28 June).

It reminded me of the splendid joke cracked by Beachcomber about Thomas when he was, I think, Colonial Secretary; he wrote of Jimmy Thomas as 'the man who put the 'H' in Hempire'.

J. C. Menhinick PO Box 1805, Teheran, Iran