Among recent letters, there have been three castigating Winston Churchill.

Many great leaders in the past have said or done things that have not been accepted by all.

Although he and the Royal Family were more protected than the ordinary citizens, it did not stop them from visiting the bombed areas and giving the people inspiration and courage to face the future.

As to having a ship tied up ready for them to leave the country at a moment’s notice, how far would they have got with U boats and planes searching for them?

Last week, we saw a Service of Remembrance of 70 years since the destruction of Dresden.

Many leading figures felt ashamed that we should have done such a thing, but war brought destruction and death to all sides.

People seemed to forget that German bombers brought death and destruction to our cities long before we acted out our revenge.

D-Day saved us all from further damage by the enemy use of the V2 rockets which could have reached over the whole of the UK.

One summer afternoon in war time the sirens sounded. We were in class at Haydon Wick and we sheltered in the toilets.

After a few minutes the teacher allowed those who lived close to the school to go home and use proper shelters. I was first out, followed by my brother and two others.

As I crossed the road, a German fighter plane appeared from the Blunsdon way firing up the Brow, and as he flew past three children sheltered between the school wall and the Methodist Chapel.

I managed to lay down under a lilac tree by the path. It only took about a minute but the shock stayed with us for days.

Without Churchill this country could have capitulated. With the Nazis in control we could well have been a white only country with Hitler’s hatred of Jews and coloured races.

JH Oliver Brooklands Avenue Swindon