ALAN BLEASDALE’S drama about the sinking of the Laconia in 1942 was TV at its best.

After the war I knew an ex-Uboat engineer and he said sailors had respect for each other.

Captain Werner Hartenstein showed real humanity in rescuing the survivors from the stricken Laconia and only changed his mind when the Americans bombed the U-boat despite it showing a large red cross.

He arranged for the French Vichy government to send a ship for the British survivors.

Sad to relate Hartenstein and his U-boat were sunk in 1943 with no survivors.

War is barbaric and a gross insult to humanity, but sometimes a little incident like the Laconia lifts our spirits – if only temporarily.

Hugh Pender, Darlington