IT IS understandable, that to have a reader's letter published is a privilege, not a right and you certainly have an obligation to avoid fake news, where this is possible. Nevertheless, I was very disquieted, when a recent letter from me was removed, as parts were said to be historically disputed.

I arrived in Hove, in 1940, sitting in a chair at the back of a Fox & Sons removal lorry. In those days, the upper part of the back of the van could be rolled up and down, so that my mother and I were able to see the snow falling outside. It was freezing cold, but cheaper than travelling by train.

In 1951, I left Hove to take up employment in London. My memories of Brighton and Hove are therefore, to a great extent, from the war and post-war years. Due to the war now seen in the Ukraine, a large number of these memories, believed to be lost, are returning.

Since the removal of my letter/email, I have checked the contents and have found nothing therein, which could be proved false. Amongst other things, I contacted historian Richard Langworth, Senior Fellow of the Hillsdale College Churchill Project.

I have also examined the figures given in the German “Documentation der Vertreibung der Deutschen aus Ost-Mitteleuropa” and compared these with Alfred Zaya's book “Nemesis at Potsdam.”

Of course it is difficult to prove anything remembered without written evidence. I can remember as a child, seeing the British warplane, which crash-landed at the east side of Park Close in Hangleton, but have found nothing about this being recorded either in local newspapers, or in the MyBrighton website.

Nevertheless, this remains a fact which I experienced and will never forget, for if it had flown 150 yards further, it would have hit our house.

Opinions may vary, but does anybody who did not live during World War II, really have the right to deny eyewitness accounts?

K L Ingle

Address supplied