Operation Matador
Sir: I read John Colvin's review (Books, 8 March) of Major-General Clifford Kinvig's book, Scapegoat: General Percival of Singa- pore.
I went to Singapore with the Duff Coop- ers as his private secretary, and am now writing a short book about that mission. We left England on 6 August 1941. Duff and Diana Cooper left Singapore to return to England on 13 January 1942. I was evacuat- ed from Singapore by the army on 13 February 1942, and reached Ceylon on 9 March. I shall include in my book an account of the latter journey, which was not without incident.
LETTERS
The fog of war allows many misconcep- tions to accumulate. For example, Sir John Colvin mentions that Lieutenant-General Sir Lewis Heath, Commander of 3 Indian Corps, blamed the GOC, Percival, for can- celling 'Matador', the operation to seize the Kra isthmus before the Japanese could land. I am virtually sure that the cancella- tion was ordered by the Commander-in- Chief, Air-Marshal Sir Robert Brooke- Popham. It was indeed a dreadful error on his part. I would be pleased to hear from survivors and historians of the catastrophe.
Martin Russell
Dungrove Farm House, Tarrant Gunville, Blandford, Dorset
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