GUEST, Suggest you drop it... what we all should bear in mind is that history is not only what gets written down, but what is remembered by the people who were there, and lived through it. History is written afresh by each generation with hindsight and in light of changing mores. That did not just happen in Soviet Russia, it happens all the time.

History is reinterpreted to suit the viewpoint of the historian.

And I know less than I should about the history of World War II, so I can't and won't comment on the specifics.

But while you may bristle at the thought that some veterans hold or held the opinion that they were shafted, they are entitled to feel that. And Davey Steele was entitled to write a song about it. And anyone who likes is entitled to sing it. And anyone who wants to, can sing "Land Of Hope And Glory".

That's our right... and before you tell me that's what people fought and died for... I know.

Just because oral history - the transmission of experience from one generation to another -may never get recorded, does not invalidate it. In fact, because it comes from one person to another, it may have as much effect on people's attitudes and prejudices and opinions as the written, official versions.

So let's all take a deep breath, and acknowledge that no-one witing here (as far as I know) was THERE, either in British military command or on the ground at St Valery, so we don't know with certainty what happened, and as someone else said - let the song speak for itself...

Cheers

Steven