Ivan the lost
Sir: I read David Bryson's article 'Ivan the lost' with great interest (30 August). But what neither his nor any other articles I have read since my return from Czechoslovakia have mentioned is that someone knew something was up on Tues- day afternoon and evening.
We arrived at the caravan site at Ceske Bude- jovice during the late afternoon to the accom- paniment of continuous aerial activity, mostly fighters. The sound of aircraft both on the ground and in the air continued until I fell asleep at about ten o'clock. My wife who was reading after this is certain that it continued at least until midnight.
Soon after our arrival there was borne in faintly on the evening breeze the sound of heavy artillery. This was clear and unmistakable and continued for several minutes.
Opposite the caravan site was some kind of sports ground and at about 7 p.m. a coach-load of troops arrived. This did not appear to be a customary exercise because the driver had the greatest difficulty in manoeuvring his vehicle through the gates and was subject to a great deal of gratuitous advice from his passengers. How- ever, the soldiers spent the night in a pavilion, and left at about 9 a.m. on the following day.
1 suppose we might have been alerted by all this military activity but nothing crossed our minds. We slept soundly and knew nothing until we were told what had occurred by the French pitched next to us. But some tourists were apparently awoken at about 4 a.m. and advised to get out of the country as quickly as possible. Why were Czechs listening to their wirelesses in the middle of the night when nothing was supposed to be happening: when even leading newspaper correspondents in Prague had nipped home for a few weeks' leave? All rather mysterious.
Celadon August Rossholme School, East Brent, Highbridge, Somerset
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