Dear Mr Cornwell, I’ve just had the very great pleasure of reading your latest tour de force, Azincourt. The description of the landing in Normandy tweaked a memory of something I once read – not directly connected to Agincourt per se, but since Agincourt mentions Poiters and Crecy and since there is a link (of sorts) to the Grail Quest series, I thought you might find it amusing. In 1978, Professor R. V. Jones, Chair of Natural Philosophy, Aberdeen University, published a book, Most Secret War – it was a best seller and later spawned an acclaimed BBC television series under the title, The Secret War. Most Secret War is an account of Dr Jones’ experiences as Assistant Director Intelligence (Scientific) at the Air Ministry during WWII – Jones was very young at the time in his twenties which gives some idea of his intellectual capacity. One section of Most Secret War deals with the Bruneval Raid, where British commandos landed on the French coast, captured and (partially) dismantled a German ‘Wurzburg’ radar station and returned it to Britain the intelligence gained saved thousands of Allied lives. Dr Jones actually initiated the raid and was intimately involved in its planning. If you are losing the connection to your works, bear with me. During the planning process, Jones perused a number of French maps, and noticed on one, the legend, Descent des Anglais. In the event, the Bruneval Raid was a great success and the intelligence gained was pure gold. Later, Jones wrote a report on the intelligence aspects of the operation and, having a highly developed sense of humour and being an inveterate joker, could not resist adding the rider, that the raid was as successful as an older and larger raid. Shortly afterwards, a senior member of the War Cabinet rang Dr Jones and said, we have no information on this earlier raid, when was that. Who authorised it? With great glee, Jones pointed out, that if he (the War Office bureaucrat) would look at the beginning of the raid track, which started at Bosham, he would see that it was timed as A.D. 1340 and was, in fact, Edward III’s route to Crecy. Most Secret War is (unfortunately) long out of print, but those of your readers who track it down will find it very rewarding. Mike Hodges