65970: Letter: To Colin Hughes (March 1971).

David Jones thanks Colin Hughes for his letter and photographs of Capel y Ffin [Capel-y-ffin] / mentions the effect of the weather on the flow of the River Honddu / comments on Hughes' deductions about the model for the 'In Parenthesis' character Piers Dorian Isambard Jenkins / expresses astonishment that only one of B Company's officers was killed or wounded in the assault on Mametz Wood in July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme / discusses the relative casualties among officers and other ranks / describes the fighting in the wood and the difficulty of giving, receiving, and following orders under fire which may have led to the disorderly falling-back [at Strip Trench] / mentions that a 'Mr Trevor' from 'In Parenthesis' was based on an actual B Company lieutenant and that the physical appearance though not the actions of the 'green-gilled corporal' of 'In Parenthesis' was based on a real corporal with pendulous red ears / describes his own memories of Mametz Wood in 1916, and the difficulty of remembering exact sequences / 'In Parenthesis' not an accurate account of the events but typical of them / discusses the influence of Sir Henry Newbolt's 'Vitae Lampada' on the account in 'In Parenthesis' of a very English looking and English-voiced young officer urging his troops to remember their nationality. Jones notes that the letter was begun on 24th March 1971, but was not posted until 7th April 1971. The letter is in black ink with notes and annotations in red and blue ink.