I FEAR Tony Eaton (HAS, Nov 23) misread my piece for Armistice Day.

I wanted to remind readers of the horrors of the Great War through one of its casualties who lived in a small village where I was born. Tony infers I compared battles, but I didn’t at all. He also took me to task for numerous inaccuracies regarding the battle of the Somme The most accurate figure I have seen for the first day of the battle is 21,392 killed and 35,000 wounded, although as it took days to compile the original figure, by hand, amidst the carnage, it is no wonder such data is questioned even today.

Colin Hatton, Marton.