Sir – The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum Archives housed in Woodstock Library has recently received my recorded personal thoughts and experiences about life in the Second World War, including those as a navigator on three Lancaster squadrons in 1943 and 1944.

These are needed apparently for retention in these archives of the Second World War for posterity interest by future historians, students and schoolchildren and contain memories of army, navy and air force survivors. I congratulate Matthew Smaldon, of Abingdon, on the manner in which he carried out this voluntary task.

Last Sunday night, I saw an excellent documentary film presented on BBC2 by John Sergeant about the historic Lancaster bomber aircraft. After talking about 617 Dambusters and their raid and about Peenamunde (V1 and V2 weapons), both in 1943, he came finally to the raid on Dresden in February 1945. This was so effective that Bomber Command (BC) veteran survivors involved suspect that, although it had been fully authorised by the War Council and had been carried out effectively by BC and USAAF, UK politicians became worried about the extent of destruction.

In view of his full confidence in Bomber Harris and the praise given during the war by him to the men and women of BC, Churchill surprisingly did not mention BC in his “victory” speech on May 8, 1945: and PM Clement Attlee in 1946 declined to make any awards to BC and Pathfinder Force Commanders and no award to BC air and ground staff.

I believe that the public and all surviving BC veterans and NOK agree that a clasp is insufficient recognition.

Jim Wright, Abingdon