Dementure is ok. It’s dementia you need to worry about

Dave Homewood

We all know how good the All Blacks are – consistently good. Your comments trivialise them. As someone else commented: “Chill” and get a life.

John Green

Air Ministry.

When I wrote ‘these forums’ I was not referring specifically to this forum. Those who know of me on other forums will know to whom I refer. In these other forums and on the subject of Bomber Command, I have previously met with barely concealed anger and outrageous examples of moral equivalence (Hamburg, Berlin = Coventry, London) etc. No I won’t withdraw anything. There exists a real hatred, inspired I believe, by left wing indoctrination in State education.

I don’t think that there is anything more that I can usefully add to this discussion. I had hoped to make my stance clear on the subject of this proposed TV program – I don’t think that I’ve succeeded.

Thank you one and all for a lively debate. May I remind everyone that the appeal for funds for the new Bomber Command Memorial in Green Park is, to the best of my belief, ongoing.

John Green

Dave Homewood

No Mr.Homewood – on this one you are quite wrong. The reason why ‘history’ is prone to bias is because it is largely subjective and open to interpretation. Other subjects are or should be wholly objective; Mathematics, physics, chemistry et al are free from bias unless that is, you’re a climate change enthusiast then the IPCC will ‘cook the books’ for you.

If writers can get the period dialogue, behaviour and dress right why does it almost never happen and when it does it is so inconsistent? I’ve lost count of the times when watching some TV play with my wife, we look at each other with incredulity and mutter where did that come from as some gem of ‘Friends’ dialogue comes floating inelegantly out of the box.

I don’t regard myself as some tiresome pedant obsessively digging for verbal infelicities that most people would comfortably either not notice or if they did, ignore.

John Green

They’re not prejudices. They are apprehensions based on previous experiences. They are not attempts to ‘second guess’ the producers efforts. All of the opinions so far expressed are connected with the hope that justice will be done to a subject close to the hearts of a certain generation of British. There are to be found on these Forums the usual minority group of self loathing, self hating Britishers who never lose an opportunity to denigrate and put down any truly heroic achievements of their fellow countrymen and women – Bomber Command is a prime target for their loathing.

John Green

Try Glyn Powell at Mosquito Aircraft Restorations in NZ. What he doesn’t know about Mossies could be written on the back of a postage stamp. He’s building two new ones to flight status. One I believe, is nearly finished.

John Green

No, of course it wasn’t, but judged by my ratio, which is as good a way of describing matters as any – which was the point that I made – the Mossie was the most efficient.

Some contributors are continuing the claim that this proposed TV production is a documentary. I don’t think that that can be possible. A documentary to be a documentary must rely on the re-telling of the facts – plain and unvarnished facts in all reasonable detail. I maintain that for the following reasons it is impossible to guarantee that all the correct facts wil emerge:

In criminology, witnesses to a crime that is in many instances of recent date will differ markedly in their reports. This is an observable truism. How fallible then are the memories of those wartime personnel still alive but all around the age of ninety years ? Their memories, gathered for the most part under conditions of stress and fatigue must surely be in many vital instances prone to error.

The producers of this story, just like the contributors to this Forum will be much younger than the veterans we’re discussing. They will not be able to duplicate the speech and behavioural patterns prevalent in the 1940s. I have noticed that people who work in TV while enjoying life ‘high on the hog’ are principally Socialist in political outlook. If so, they will generally, not be supportive of those magnificent men of Bomber Command during WW2.

It is virtually impossible to write or speak about history without the taint of bias. Cultural, political and social bias will colour the result. It is next to impossible to render a neutral interpretation. All of the above is why I think that what will emerge as a TV program will be the costume drama to which I’ve referred.

I hope, as do others on this Forum that this production will do justice to the illustrious memory of Bomber Command and the fortitude and skill ot its aircrew.

John Green