I note with interest more stories in The Herald about Rudolf Hess's landing/crashing in Eaglesham. While researching the history of Bonnyton Golf Club, Eaglesham, I was fortunate to able to interview Bill Chambers, the son of Archie Chambers, the owner of the golf club during the war.

At dusk on May 10, Bill, who was about 17 at the time, was down at an old barn on Floors Farm which is adjacent to the course. He was showing off to his girlfriend his skill at shooting bats. (You could do thing like that in those days.) He had just fired his shotgun at a bat above him when a plane flew low overhead and crashed in a nearby field. He ran around frantically telling everyone that he had shot down a German plane but, of course, no-one would believe him. A few days later the news leaked out about Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, parachuting into Scotland in a vain attempt at appeasement with the Allies. But to the day he died, Bill claimed he had shot down Hess.

Arthur Yaffy, 7 Glenville Gate, Busby, Glasgow. No doubt you will receive varying accounts of the Hess landing (Letters, October 3). This is the first suggestion that RAF personnel were promptly on the scene. Following swift action by a local farm worker, both the police and Home Guard attended.

I would suggest that either of these, or a combination of both, was guarding the crashed plane (rather unsuccessfully as outlined in Ronald Barnet's letter). For the record, pieces of silk parachute were "passed down" to local police families (mine included) for several years after the much-publicised incident. This is indicative that Hess used the parachute in his unsuccessful mission.

Allan C Steele, 22 Forres Avenue, Giffnock.