Admirable ceremonies marking Passchendaele

SIR – As the grandson of Brigadier Frank Maxwell VC, who when commanding 27 Infantry Brigade was killed by a sniper as he conducted a reconnaissance in No Man’s Land during the battle of Passchendaele, my admiration for those who organised the ceremonies on Sunday evening and Monday is unbounded.

Not only were they very moving but they were also wonderfully filmed by the BBC.

Nigel Still

Lindford, Hampshire

SIR – It is great to read that Noel Chavasse, the only man to win the Victoria Cross twice during the First World War, is to be commemorated on a new coin (report, July 31).

General Eric Barnsley, the late curator of the RAMC museum, told the story that as assistant director of medical services he was asked to take news to RMO Chavasse of his first VC.

After trudging through the mud during a lull in shelling, he was surprised to find the regimental aid post seemingly deserted. He eventually located Noel Chavasse behind the tent, sitting at the edge of a flooded shell-hole, washing his stretcher-bearers’ socks for them.

J S Wright

Lytham St Annes, Lancashire

SIR – Theresa May’s wardrobe often comes under scrutiny, but the Prime Minister’s choice of a dark cloche hat and tweed ensemble at Belgium’s Tyne Cot cemetery to commemorate the fallen at Passchendaele could not have more suited the solemn occasion: elegant and respectful.

Jean Clark

Eastbourne, East Sussex