LETTER : VE Day deserves to be celebrated with style

From Mrs Barbara Hoddinott

Sir: Another forgotten group of non-combatants must be added to Philip Hoare's list (Another View: "They also served", 28 April): the Merchant Navy, of whom 29,180 men lost their lives in the Second World War.

We in Britain at that time simply could not have managed without the food and other supplies they brought us over submarine-infested seas. We grumbled over our rations but they were always there.

These little-regarded heroes thus made a vital contribution to victory which is almost unknown today.

Yours sincerely,

BARBARA HODDINOTT

London, W4

29 April