Claud Cockburn
Sir: Paul Johnson's reference (2 January) to how the late Claud Cockburn wielded `the dangerous gift of charm' so effectively reminded me of an incident during the Six- ties: I was a reporter on the `Londoner's Diary' of the (then) Evening Standard and had been sent to interview Claud Cockburn about his latest book. After lunch (he had insisted on the Cafe Royal!) an Evening Standard photographer — a Fleet Street veteran called Vic Drees — turned up and took a couple of pictures.
He was a man of few words, but Claud Cockburn kept staring at him. Finally, he
said: 'Haven't we met somewhere before?' Drees glanced briefly at him and replied: 'Yeah. It was in that bleedin' cell near Barcelona during the Spanish war. They were going to shoot us in the morning, but you talked them out of it Claud Cockburn looked thoughtful and just said: 'Oh yes. I'd quite forgotten: Paul Callan Daily Mirror, Holborn Circus, London EC1
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