A war criminal
I really appreciated Nigel Jones’s excellent article about Albert Speer. For years after his release from Spandau, Speer presented himself as the ‘Good Nazi’ who apparently knew nothing of the horrors of the Third Reich. In his book and in the interviews he gave, he comes across as cool, intelligent, and as having played no part in the deaths of millions of slave labourers who worked on projects for his Munitions Ministry. He can still be seen today in The World at War, which is always being repeated somewhere, trying to present himself as a good guy. Thank you, Nigel Jones, for nailing him as the war criminal he really was.
Ray Mills, Devon
Spanish bride
Patrick Mercer’s fascinating article about General ‘Fighting Bob’ Sale and his doughty wife Lady Florentia brought to mind another 19th-century couple whose partnership blossomed amid the hazards of war. This was Captain Harry Smith and his wife Juana, whom he rescued and married, aged just 14, after she was orphaned during the Siege of Badajoz in the Peninsular War. Georgette Heyer’s novel The Spanish Bride tells the story quite accurately. Juana bravely accompanied him throughout the rest of the campaign and on later postings, culminating in Harry’s appointment as Governor of Cape Colony in southern Africa. The couple were separated only once, when Harry was posted to the USA in the War of 1812, during which he was present at the burning of Washington.
Juana Smith has a road named after her in the Cambridgeshire town of Whittlesey, where her husband was born, and where the couple are buried. Her name also lived on in the name of Ladysmith in Natal, which readers may remember as the scene of a famous siege during the Second Boer War.
Jeffrey Johnson, Peterborough
Correction
In the article ‘Warship sunk by Nelson discovered on seabed’ in the ‘Notes from the Frontline’ section in our June/July 2026 issue, it is stated that the British fleet was led by Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson during the Battle of Copenhagen. In fact, the fleet was led by Sir Hyde Parker. Apologies for the mistake, and many thanks to Malcolm Dann for bringing this to our attention.
War Classics – Old Soldiers Never Die