Widmerpool nominations
Sir: I was intrigued by Frank Johnson's piece about the possibility of the existence of real Widmerpools among us today (Shared opinion, 25 October). I noticed in the second episode of A Dance to the Music of Time that at one stage Widmerpool him- self appears wearing a tie of the Hon- ourable Artillery Company (HAC). This I know backs up his own claim that he was very interested in 'my territorials'. As a member of that august body, I suggest that it is probably unnecessary to look much fur- ther. Frankly, the regiment is full of Wid- merpools. A visit to Armoury House, although you won't get further than the guard room, will confirm this. They are all there beyond the barriers.
Incidentally, I notice that later on in the second episode Widmerpool appears to have acquired two medals, neither of which I could identify but neither of which could possibly have been awarded to him in the space of time allotted. Even worse, at a later stage, in episode three, he appears as a Grenadier Guards officer wearing a badge which during the war would certainly have been blacked out for security purpos- es. We are indeed surrounded by Widmer- pools; and beware, there is a whole regi- ment of them up in City Road.
Leo Cooper
The Chantry, Bisley, Gloucestershire
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