I got the torque story from a paper given by the FAA Museum curator in 1997, which says :
"Because the rotary engine fitted to early shipborne a/c such as the Sopwith Pup & 1 1/2 strutter produced a gyroscopic effect when the a/c turned pilots would overshoot to the left, going with the gyroscopic precession rather than against it".
However, the l/h landing pattern for right handers does seem to have been part of it as well.
All as covered in Orac link above....