[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR
Slit,—I was very interested in the reply to Mr. Woodward's article on the above and its neglect by the British Press. It may be of interest to learn that articles from my pen on the thousandth anniversary of the Battle of Brunanburh appeared last month in the London Reynolds News and the Liverpool Echo—papers which have some feeling for the great •past of this country. Oddly enough, submitted articles on the same subject were previously refused by two leading nationalist) papers which are very fond of writing about " our glorious past." Can it be that these papers are now more interested in tinselled pseudo-history, such as Silver Jubilees, Corona- tions and the like, than the really important history of our land ?
Although I have not had the pleasure of reading Dr. Smith's article on Brunanburh in the London Mediaeval Studies, I, like him, placed the battle site at Bromborough, Wirral, Cheshire, a place I know well. A representation of the battle recently formed part of a Bromborough pageant. - It may be of interest to note that perhaps the best counter- claim to Bromborough comes from a place called the Danes Pad, by the River Wyre, Lancashire. Here a century ago was found a leaden box containing coins, none dated after 93o. It is thought by many to be part of the war chest aban- doned by the Danes in retreat from Brunanburh.—Yours
faithfully, KENNETH BRADSHAW. 24 Heliers Road, Liverpool, r 3.
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