SIR – I am writing to express my dismay at Councillor Alan Amos’ comments that we should be ‘grateful’ that the USA dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
 The claim that the purpose of the bombings was to shorten the war has been disproved in recent years due to declassification of military documents.
Generals Eisenhower and MacArthur saw no military need for the bombings, likewise the heads of the US Navy and airforce.
Eisenhower said subsequently “Japan was at that very moment seeking some way to surrender with minimum loss of face. It was not necessary to hit them with that awful thing”.
President Truman’s motivation was, rather, control of Russia’s influence in the region.
 No one would deny the terrible suffering inflicted on POWs in Japan, but millions of civilians on all sides also suffered and lost their lives during the Second World War.
Indeed, it is now believed that the possession and use of A-bombs gave the USA increased confidence in their actions in Vietnam and Korea, leading to many more years of war and millions more deaths.
 Councillor Amos alludes to changes being sought by the Japanese Prime Minister to their pacifist constitution, but it is perhaps also worth noting that Shinzo Abe has repeated Japan’s commitment to
non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
This being so, if we are concerned about threats to world peace, perhaps we should be more worried about the nations that spend most on weaponry: the USA, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Sue Avery
Worcester

Perhaps the young men are aiming for Iceland
SIR – Last time I looked, there was no war or ethnic/religious persecution in France, Italy or Greece.
Yet Mr Cameron’s swarm of young men (I’ve not seen footage of women and children hunting in packs at lay-bys in Calais) has passed through several safe, democratic nations on their northward journey.
Perhaps Iceland is their target?
The media bleats ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum’.
Common sense whispers ‘economic migrants’.
Obviously, our visa system isn’t good enough for these folk.
 The French blame us: Apparently, we’re too attractive a destination.
 Last year we gave them the actual security fence from the Nato summit to use at Calais.
Last month, we paid for them to build another!
Last week, they suggest we deploy UK troops in Calais.
 Give them an inch...
Our government fines hauliers and squanders our money. It beats its
pigeon-chest about defeating people smugglers and illegal employers.
Claptrap. Lorry drivers need support, not fines.
Taxes ought to be spent here, and smugglers and dodgy bosses didn’t cause this illness, they’re just symptoms.
Don’t forget that our politicians are all on holiday; the problems of lorry drivers are not for their higher brows.
The problem is simple. Our politicians are weak and their EU overlords become stronger every day.
More laws, more costs, less defence, increasingly porous EU borders and an expectation to take whomever creeps through.
These neo-fascists even told Mr Cameron his ‘renegotiation’ will occur after (seriously) he holds his fudged referendum.
 Vote ‘No’.
Owen Cleary
Worcester


Shocking account exposes bullying
SIR – With regard to the shocking account of Sue Prince’s daughter, tortured and murdered by spineless bullies, who were probably full of bravado as part of a gang. This speaks volumes of such repulsive characters.
MISS P WINTERS

Worcester

Don’t let us lose Shaw’s famed views
SIR – When Malvern Theatre staged the Malvern Festival of Drama in the 1930s George Bernard Shaw used to promenade along Grange Road when his plays were featured (he enjoyed personal publicity).
He would have noticed the magnificent view of the hills seen from Grange Road across Priors Croft.
Also he would have appreciated the views between the buildings from Rose Bank to Warwick House and through to the theatre and the Abbey Hotel.
These architectural views have also been a great feature of this beautiful town.
The playwright gained much publicity after he planted a tree in the Winter Gardens (the Mulberry tree has now died).
He is recorded as saying that he hoped that all these views were magnificent and that he hoped they would not be altered by more building over future years.
We think open spaces and views should be treasured and therefore we are concerned in case the proposed development at Priors Croft should obscure the beautiful hills and amenities.
Anne and Ian MacGregor
Malvern

So what about all the deaths on the roads?
SIR – So we are banned from swimming in Malvern’s beauty spot.
Five people have died in Gullet Quarry pool in the last 20 years. In that time about 40,000 people have been killed on our roads.
Our roads will make a good hard surface on which to build necessary stables and bicycle sheds.
Dennis C Nightingale-Smith
Hanley Swan