Having watched the sad funeral ceremonies at Wootton Bassett over the years, I was so pleased to see Her Majesty grant royal status to the town.

Today we are told the total of all causes of death to our soldiers in Afghanistan stands at 383: most, as I understand it due to land mine explosions.

I was, at one time, a soldier in the Royal Engineers. I remember the sergeant saying during basic training: “You have to get your bomb/mine disposal right, many lives depend on it.”

Many lives – I now ask how many total casualties does the 383 figure represent? Remember the Taliban use unstable home-made devices. From my knowledge I would estimate the total in action casualties is around 2,000, most of these involving loss of limbs.

It is not for me to judge if our casualties justify continuation in this war after 10 years. What I would plead is that total casualties be announced, and political judgement can then be made on this and future wars.

Graham White, Coppice Hill, Bradford on Avon.