Rev Sanderson wrote (Letters, November 14) that the burning of an effigy of a Pope on Guy Fawkes' Night at Lewes was a misinterpretation of history.

But Lewes was the sight of the execution, under Queen Mary I, of at least 17 Protestant martyrs.

They were horribly burned to death and the total number of those murdered throughout the country is unknown.

These were murders of Protestants by a Catholic establishment.

It is a vital part of the religious history of this country and surely it is right the head of the church which oversaw these deaths be remembered on November 5?

The real significance of Bonfire Night has been lost in many parts of the country.

In Lewes and other towns, local people have had the courage and sense of history to retain it.

Surely what should be taught to children is that, despite these past disasters, there is now great accord between the churches. And that this has been brought about through centuries of hard work, not by accident.

Young people can, by viewing the parade, see that religious intolerance, once so widespread, can be overcome.

Religious people who also complain we have lost the true meaning of Christmas should not baulk at the seamier side of religion.

For those burnt at Lewes and elsewhere, it was true enough.

-Gerard Downing, Shoreham-by-Sea