Annan's inaccuracies
From Mr C.D.C. Armstrong Sir: Lord Thomas of Swynnerton describes Paul Johnson's denunciation of the late Lord Annan as 'quite uncouth' (Letters, 15 April). Lord Thomas's criticism would be more to the point were it not for the incon- venient fact that Annan himself was not above engaging in denunciations of the recently deceased. His last book, The Dons, contains an extraordinary attack on the rep- utation of Sir Geoffrey Elton, alleging numerous and serious inaccuracies in foot- note citations in Elton's biography of F.W. Maitland. As one of Elton's last pupils, I decided to investigate the accuracy of Annan's allegations. I was not surprised to discover that they were without substance, for in terms of exact scholarship Annan was (unlike Elton) a mere dilettante.
Colin Armstrong Belfast
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