Peter Duffell writes: Your obituary of General Sir Allan Taylor (June 15) rightly drew attention to the power of his hypnotic voice, but it was also his ability to combine this with an elegant mastery of the English language that helped to make him such a charismatic, colourful and dashing commander and a hugely powerful speaker.
As a student at the Army Staff College, Camberley, when he was Commandant, I can vouch for this, as well as the awe and professional respect in which he was held and the daunting task that faced me when forced to parody his unique style in the annual Staff College pantomime. His intellectual precision, his love of the fast motor car that drew him into occasional brushes with the law and a capacity for entertaining his students into the early dawn were legendary.
Some students, while still attired in mess kit and under his eagle-eyed tuition, could be seen in the early morning following his lead by attempting to hit golf balls over the roof of his house or practising recovery shots from the bunker he had constructed in his garden.
Well into his eighties he was still hitting long straight drives on numerous golf courses and always remained a hugely attractive raconteur and engaging companion.
Advertisement
His Honour Judge David Stokes QC writes: Your obituary of Lord Murray of Epping Forest (May 22) omitted the fact that he was on the professional conduct committee of the Bar Council for about 10 years. I sat with him and very much admired his incisiveness and wisdom, as, I believe, did everybody else.
He was an invaluable contributor and, as he told me, thoroughly enjoyed his membership of the committee. He got on well with all of us and, what was omitted to be mentioned in his obituary, had a good sense of humour. Typically modest, he withdrew from being one of the valuable lay members when he became 75.
In 1989, while he was a member of the committee, he spoke about lawyers in the House of Lords and supported them, for which we were most grateful. When he retired, he was much missed.