Letters to the editor reflect on the late Roy Hattersley's contributions to the Guardian, particularly his Endpiece column, and his involvement in the Chagos Islands development.
Remembering Roy Hattersley's Endpiece Column
Matthew Newman of Leeds recalls his mother's admiration for Roy Hattersley, who regularly cut out his Endpiece column from the Guardian and mailed it to him during his student days in the early 1990s. Newman describes these articles as consistently witty and thought-provoking. He recently rediscovered a clipping from 1991 in his copy of Arnold Bennett's The Old Wives' Tale, where Hattersley detailed buying the same edition in a Bath bookshop, captivated by the cover and later by the book itself. Following Hattersley's recommendation, Newman read the novel. Rereading the yellowed review, Newman notes Hattersley's warmth, humor, and deep interest in people. The column's closing line, Newman suggests, encapsulates Hattersley's own writing: "Bennett wrote about real emotions, and that is all that is worth writing about. It does not matter when the story was written, only when it was read."
Hattersley's Role in Chagos Archipelago History
George Baugh of Much Wenlock, Shropshire, adds a historical note from Hattersley's tenure as deputy to foreign secretary James Callaghan. On 25 February 1976, Hattersley exchanged notes with the US embassy's chargé d'affaires, conveying the UK government's approval in principle for converting the limited naval communications facility on Diego Garcia into a support facility for the US Navy. Baugh acknowledges that the decision likely originated at a higher level, but Hattersley's signature marked a pivotal step in the Chagos archipelago's history—a contentious aspect of Britain's post-imperial legacy that continues to complicate UK-US relations.
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