The submariners’ parade
Sir: My thanks to Matt Ridley for his excellent article on the Cenotaph (Symbol of peace’, 11 November). As a former Cold War submariner, while I was well aware that we paraded a week earlier than the official celebrations, I did not know the reason why. However, we did join the Armistice Day parade in 2001, the centenary of the Submarine Service: 167 submariners and ex-submariners marched to mark the memory of the crews of the 167 boats lost over the 100 years. We each had a badge with the individual name or pennant number of a particular boat. I was proud to have HMS Triumph, lost with all hands on 31 December 1941. She was finally located in June this year.
Mike Allen
Richmond, Surrey
Carving the Cenotaph
Sir: My maternal grandfather, Harry Grosse, was an out-of-work woodcarver at the end of the first world war. He was commissioned to carve the words ‘The Glorious Dead’ on the first wooden Cenotaph.
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