Chamberlain dropped

sir – Until Munich, in September 1938, my grandfather Lord Camrose and his newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, though anti-hitler, had been quite supportive of the Conservative government.

After Munich, Camrose pushed for his friend (and Telegraph contributor) Winston Churchill to be included in the government. “Bring in Churchill” was the cry of most of the London press following the Telegraph’s leader.

Chamberlain wrote to his sister: “I am vexed that Camrose, who used to be such a firm supporter, should now have committed himself.”

A few weeks later, Chamberlain fulfilled a long-promised engagement to plant a tree at Hackwood Park, Camrose’s home in Hampshire. In the official photograph, in front of the cricket pavilion, Lady Camrose, as the hostess, is standing just behind Chamberlain, yet Lord Camrose has placed himself on the far right, at the back, wearing a flat cap, surrounded by family, standing in front of his youngest child, my mother.

Mark Macauley

Warminster, Wiltshire