Sir: It is tedious to have to confirm once more
that Mr Forbes does not know what caused Lord Randolph Churchill's death. His information is derived from hearsay and gossip which he tries to support with impressive but false corroboration of syphilis.
Randolph, he states, confirmed it in print. He did not. He never mentioned it in his father's biography. Eight months after publication the royal archives were avail- able with Doctor Buzzard's unethical note for the Prince of Wales suggesting Ran- dolph might have G.P., and was in the sec- ond stage. The letter was printed in the Companion volume without comment.
In my own book for Thames Television many years ago I was inexperienced, being a scientist only trained to deal with the forces of nature and not the wiles of men. I was caught on my contract. They wanted to mention paralysis, as the film did. This sort of thing helps sales, The book promptly sold 40,000 copies. I am not proud of that episode, and I am putting the record right. I have now received many letters from medical people and all have agreed it was impossible to diagnose syphilis at that time and indeed there are a host of other com- plaints which have the same symptoms. I would refer Mr Forbes to 'Henderson and
LETTERS
Gillespie's Textbook of Psychiatry'. He will then realise how silly he has been.
Peregrine Churchill
Fairdown, Vernham Street Vemham Dean, Hampshire
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