LETTER: Don't re-write history
I enjoy reading David Arnold's interesting and informative articles in your paper.
I was, however, taken aback by the prominent headline to his recent article (April 7) on Sir Cloudesley Shovell – ‘Admiral who took Gibraltar’.
This is qualified in his first sentence but the headline is nonetheless misleading and incorrect.
The Anglo Dutch naval forces that captured Gibraltar between 1-3 August 1704 were commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke, his flagship being the 90-gun ship of the line HMS Royal Katherine. He had been appointed Admiral of the Fleet in 1696. Sir Cloudesley commanded a squadron which served under him there. In 2004, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar unveiled a statue there of Sir George Rooke as part of the 300th anniversary celebrating its capture for the British crown.
The paper must not re-write history.
David Rooke FCA MBA
Deneside
East Dean, Eastbourne