SIR – As someone once involved in countering illicit finance in various forms, I would argue that the “first barrage” of British sanctions against Russia (report, February 23) lack any significant operational bite.
For some, the memory of having met the Duke as a child still looms large.
Major Retd Philip Wright recalls the time in 1950 when, at 10-years-old, Prince Philip leant him a pair of flippers in a swimming pool in Cyprus.
Major Retd Philip Wright was a child when he met the Prince in CyprusMajor Philip Wright
Credit: John Nguyen/JNVisuals
“He was commanding HMS Magpie, his ship, and they called in on Cyprus as part of the mediterranean fleet.
“My father, Sir Andrew Wright, was governor and he visited us in Government House. My father said ‘any time you want to use the swimming pool, do come and use it’.
SIR – What a wonderfully human person the Duke of Edinburgh was.
In the 1960s, when I was a resident in the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, the doctor’s mess was ill decorated. A doctor suggested that the only way to get it redecorated was to invite royalty to visit.
We sent a letter inviting the Duke to dine in the doctor s mess. To our astonishment we received a reply saying that he would be delighted to accept the invitation on the next occasion that he was in Edinburgh.
We kept the date secret but word got out during the week of the visit. A host of workmen descended and very rapidly redecorated and transformed the mess.