From the Revd Wendy Aird
Sir, - It seems a pity that the Rt Revd Lord Harries, in his
very interesting article on the First World War (Features, 1
August), when quoting the Duke of Wellington, did not confirm the
contextand the wording.
Lord Harries writes: "after one battle in which he had been
victorious . . .": no need to be vague about it: the battle was
Waterloo, surely an important battle in the history of Europe.
What he said, in a letter written at the time, was: "My heart is
broken by the terrible loss I have sustained in my old friends and
companions and my poor soldiers. Believe me, nothing except a
battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won."
WENDY AIRD
12 Middle Park, Alston
Cumbria CA9 3AR