I WOULD like to thank readers who commented on my recent letter of 1 August on the subject of long serving politician Kenneth Clarke.

Some have agreed with my comments, others have been critical, particularly over his support for the tobacco industry. I mentioned Clarke’s support for the Fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley in speaking at the Cambridge Union in the early 1960s.

Would Mosley have remained loyal to the British Crown if Hitler’s hordes had invaded during the Second World War? It is a question that has been often asked and one to which I would say, why would he fight somebody with which he agreed on every major issue? MI5 reports suggest that one third of his men would actively have supported an invasion. Two members of his organisation were arrested for spying and another detained in Colditz tipped off German officers about escape attempts. Mosley and his men were, in my opinion, a real and clear danger.

Secondly I would like to thank Craig Fisher for his recent series of articles on the First World War and wonder if he or any other readers can tell me how many soldiers served in both world wars and what was the maximum age for active service in both of them?

Richard J Kidd, Danegeld Close, Andover