Professor T. Cecil Gray

Professor Ronald Jones writes: The writers of your obituary (Feb 8) made reference to the encouragement of veterinary anaesthesia by Professor Gray. In the 1960s he regularly attended meetings of the Anaesthetic Research Group where he became aware of veterinary anaesthesia. As the University of Liverpool had a veterinary school and a department of anaesthesia he considered it a logical step to establish a post in that subject. After the usual academic machinations the post of lecturer was established and I was the first incumbent. I attended all the training courses for medical anaesthetists and operating lists in the local hospitals. It was to his credit that he never singled me out for special attention during the whole of that period.

Lady Barbirolli

Robert Newell, LVO, Director-General, Royal Over-Seas League, writes: The death of Evelyn Barbirolli (obituary, Jan 29 ) has saddened her many friends at the Royal Over-Seas League where she was, for 25 years, the chairman of adjudicators for our music competition for young Commonwealth classical musicians.

Among my endearing memories of Evelyn will be our mutual love of good claret. She would ring periodically to ask that I send her a case from the league's cellars. It had to be, she would say, from a good vintage, a cru classé and ready to drink.

Charles Elwell

Stan Hill, editor of The Blackcountryman 1988-2001, writes: From 1975 until 2002 Charles Elwell (obituary, Jan 21 ) contributed 65 meticulously researched articles on a wide range of Black Country subjects for The Blackcountryman.

These included “The South Staffordshire Railway”, The Telephone Comes to the Black Country”, “Black Country Gas”, “Electrifying the Black Country” and “Black Country (William) Pitt Clubs”. In addition, his ability to winkle out from obscurity interesting stories of people and events relating to the Black Country has contributed greatly to the bank of local history - 27 of these articles appeared in Black Country Essays and Reviews.