LETTERS

Thank you for printing the wonderful photograph of the pit boy and his pony ( Our First World War, February). My father was a horse-keeper at the Betty Pit near Eighton Banks in County Durham. He died at the beginning of the Second World War, when I was just two years old. The photograph gave me a brief glimpse into the hellish world both men and beasts inhabited in the coal mines. Heather Clark, Tyne and Wear

We reward the letter of the month writer with our ‘History Choice’ book of the month. This issue, it’s The Islamic Enlightenment by Christopher de Bellaigue. Read the review on page 67

Heather Clark’s father was a horse keeper at a pit, like the boy (pictured above) in our February issue