SIR – The great curiosity of the work of our troops in Iraq and now in Afghanistan – to the few of us who have served in earlier conflicts – is the fact that our casualties are now reported individually and by name, with full details, and the sad cavalcades through Wootton Bassett.

In the two previous world wars involving our troops; the Korean War and the Falklands War, there were only telegrams to their sorrowing relatives.

It would be interesting to know why this change (which I think most desirable) has been made, since it seems to me that it makes general opposition of the Afghanistan conflict much stronger and more likely, hardly what our Government wants.

Ian R McDougall, Hawkswood Avenue, Heaton