• PQ 17
Sir: I had the privilege of reviewing The Destruction of PQ17 for you. Because I knew Captain Broome during the war, and had a high regard for him, I read the pages concerning the scattering of the convoy par- ticularly carefully (not in a train to East- bourne as the judge suggested to the jury, but in one going to Edinburgh). It never occurred to me for a moment that Mr Irv- ing's narrative suggested that he had been negligent in his duty or that he had been defamed in any way.
Of course, I didn't know then what the jury was subsequently told about Mr Irving's publicity-seeking activities, about his view of Captain Broome who was asked by Mr Irving if it was true that he had had German prisoners shot. But what has that got to do with it? What relevance does it have to the average man's reading and interpretation of the book?
Ludovic Kennedy The Old Manse, Makerstoun, By Kelso, Roxburghshire
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