Oh honey, I wasn't even born in 1952! In fact, it was some considerable time before I arrived blinking into the light. But I've talked to several people who knew Bert Lloyd, and they all have different theories as to why he took the approach he did - one of which is that his misattributions were more a matter of poor memory than anything else. Someone else suggested that he never realised how seriously his pronouncements would be taken so he just made up any old nonsense - he never thought these things would become a matter for posterity. The idea tha the misattributions were borne of a political agenda is almost the opposite concept - trying to have a direct impact on history.

So there you go - different ideas, different theories, by people who all knew Bert Lloyd. However, one thing IS for sure: the great work he did for the folk revival is undermined (to what degree you can decide for yourself) by these issues, which is a shame.