Thanks, Winston

The decisive event in modern history is that Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in May, 1940 (Perspective , 12 March, and Letters, 13 March). He refused to give in to Hitler and decided that Britain would fight on. He inspired the nation and directed the war effort.

Britain stood alone against Hitler for 13 months and that gave time for other events to happen. Hitler failed to invade Britain in 1940 and turned away to invade Russia in June 1941. That was followed by Japan’s attack on the US at Pearl Harbor in December 1941.

If Britain had tried to make a deal with Hitler, the whole world would have been different. Everything else after 1940 has come about from Britain’s resistance. I was a schoolboy then and have clear memories right through the Second World War from 1939 to 1945. Winston Churchill saved my life. CHRISTOPHER REEKIE Orchard Drive, Edinburgh