The submariners’ parade

Sir: My thanks to Matt Ridley for his excellent article on the Cenotaph (Symbol of peace’, 11 November). As a former Cold War submariner, while I was well aware that we paraded a week earlier than the official celebrations, I did not know the reason why. However, we did join the Armistice Day parade in 2001, the centenary of the Submarine Service: 167 submariners and ex-submariners marched to mark the memory of the crews of the 167 boats lost over the 100 years.