I refer to Turpin's column in the Evening Press of March 30. I realise that what he wrote was probably intended as a "send up" but there are two barbed comments which cannot be supported by facts.

How can he justify from the fairly mild tone of my letter (March 23) the term "ex-military bully", especially as he and I have never met?

The second is the reference to Dad's Army. It reveals a post-war ignorance which is surprising in a journalist.

The regular Army had the greatest respect for the Home Guard, many of whom had been under fire in the First World War and were quite unlike those appearing in the TV series. They performed a vital task on the home front, releasing others to serve in the various theatres of war.

That he chose to comment on my letter - the most innocuous of those published that day - shows a degree of prejudice.

What harm is there in trying to live a good life and to maintain public decency? Turpin should support this aim.

Major M G Wilks,

Aldwark, York.

Updated: 12:25 Tuesday, April 23, 2002