I found the feature on the First World War (The first casualty: truth”, 8 November) very interesting both for the subject matter and what most might see as a passing comment: “I was teaching the causes of the First World War in almost exactly the same way as they were taught to me 15 years ago, and using almost exactly the same resources and textbooks.” The author should consider that this might be because the causes of the First World War are the same now as they were 15 years ago - and 100 years ago. I can empathise with a need to replace textbooks because of their decay in grubby hands and our own changing culture. But, unless there is a fundamental revision towards the real truth, I would hope that the facts taught remain the same. The alternative is job creation for the likes of Winston Smith in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, whose task was to ensure that history was rewritten consistently.

Simon Mallett, Lenham, Kent.