Hi Dylan, I wonder whether we can close this bug since create_README.source is doing pretty much what this bug report describes. Its called by dh-make-R and worked in the last couple of packages I touched quite flawlessly.
Kind regards Andreas. [1] https://salsa.debian.org/r-pkg-team/dh-r/blob/master/scripts/create_README.source -- http://fam-tille.de