Dambusters Blog

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In this famous photograph, taken as Gibson’s crew was about to take off on the Dams Raid on 16 May 1943, John Pulford is second from the left. [Pic: IWM CH18005]

Sgt John Pulford
Flight engineer
Lancaster serial number: ED932/G
Call sign: AJ-G
First wave: First aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine exploded short of the dam.

Only one of Guy Gibson’s previous crew from 106 Squadron came with him when he set up the new 617 Squadron in March 1943. This was wireless operator Robert Hutchison. Hutchison is thought to have recommended navigator Harlo Taerum, who in turn recommended bomb aimer Fred (Spam) Spafford. These three, along with rear gunner Richard Trevor Roper, were all in 50 Squadron when the call came. 
John Pulford was born and brought up in Hull, and joined the RAF at the outbreak of war as ground crew. Like many other ground crew, he volunteered for retraining as a flight engineer in 1942, when the senior authorities in Bomber Command decided to create this new category for heavy bomber aircrew, rather than use a qualified second pilot. 
By December 1942, Pulford had joined 97 Squadron, based at Coningsby. He flew on 13 operations with Sqn Ldr E F Nind between December 1942 and March 1943. On 4 April, he was posted to Scampton, and assigned to Gibson’s crew. 
Despite the fact that they sat side by side throughout their Dams Raid training and on the operation itself, Gibson seems never to have noticed much about Pulford. In Enemy Coast Ahead he describes him as a Londoner, obviously unable to spot his Yorkshire accent. But he relied on the Hull man to operate the throttles as they hurtled towards the Möhne Dam at 240 mph, calling out the famous words ‘Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit.’ 
All of Gibson’s crew were decorated for their collective actions on the Dams Raid, and John Pulford received the DFM. He did not however attend the original investiture at Buckingham Palace on 22 June 1943, collecting his medal later in the year. When Gibson left 617 Squadron in August 1943, most of his crew including Pulford were initially allocated to the new CO, George Holden, although he wasn’t with them the night they were shot down, on 16 September.
By December, he was in another crew, piloted by Bill Suggitt, and completed several more operations. In February 1944, Suggitt’s crew successfully bombed the Antheor viaduct in southern France. They landed successfully at Ford airfield in Sussex, which they had used as a staging post, but in the short hop home from Ford to Woodhall Spa, they crashed into a hill on the Sussex Downs, near the village of Upwaltham. In 2009, a memorial to two crews who died in the area during the war was opened in the local church. 
John Pulford is buried in Hull.

More about Pulford online:
Hull Daily Mail article
Daily Telegraph article about final flight
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

Decoration awarded for Operation Chastise: DFM
KIA 13 February 1944
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

Sources:
Richard Morris, Guy Gibson, Penguin 1995
John Sweetman, The Dambusters Raid, Cassell 2002
The information above has been taken from the books listed and a number of online sources. Apologies for any errors or omissions. Please add any corrections or links to further material in the comments section below.

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Pic: Bomber Command Museum of Canada

Plt Off H T Taerum
Navigator
Lancaster serial number: ED932/G
Call sign: AJ-G
First wave: First aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine exploded short of the dam.

Harlo Torger Taerum was born in Milo, south of Calgary in Alberta. His father was Norwegian, and had emigrated to Canada as a young man. He died in a drowning accident on the family farm when Harlo, his oldest son, was 10.
Despite this tragedy, Harlo was a brilliant student at school, but soon after leaving the war started. When he heard how his father’s people were being treated in their homeland by the invading Germans, he joined the RCAF. After training in both Canada and Britain, he began operational service with 50 Squadron in January 1942, at first flying Hampdens, but then moving onto Manchesters and finally Lancasters.
By the end of the year he had completed a full tour of operations and was assigned to the squadron’s conversion unit as an instructor. But he continued to fly on operations, including two to Berlin with pilot ‘Mick’ Martin. It may have been Martin who mentioned him to Guy Gibson at the time of the formation of 617 Squadron, and he quickly slotted into the CO’s crew.
Nicknamed Terry, he got on well with Gibson who regarded him as ‘one of the most efficient navigators in the squadron’. Like all Gibson’s crew, he was decorated for his work on the raid itself, receiving a DFC. The squadron received huge public attention, and Taerum became one of its stars, making speeches at the Avro factory and Wings for Victory events. ‘Can you imagine me giving a speech? We were just about mobbed for autographs afterward,’ he wrote to his mother.
When Gibson left the squadron and went to North America on his speaking tour, he met Harlo’s mother in Calgary. In front of the press, he praised the work her son had done on the raid. The local press went ecstatic, with headlines reading ‘Terry Got Dam Busters to the Job W/C Gibson Tells His Mother Here and ‘Modest Dam Buster Hero Gets Enthusiastic Welcome. Gibson’s modesty was noted as he: ‘spoke little of the escapades which won for him the VC, DSO and Bar, and DFC and Bar. Rather, this young airman, probably the most famous hero yet to emerge from the present war, led the conversation to the splendid job Canadian fliers are doing and to his, “great pal,” Flying Officer Harlo “Terry” Taerum DFC, of Calgary.’
A few days later Gibson spent several hours at the Taerum residence. Mrs Taerum showed him a treasured album with letters and photographs about Harlo, and had it autographed. She summed up her experience by saying that it was one of the proudest and happiest times of her life.
Four days later a telegram arrived. Harlo was one of four of Gibson’s Dams Raid crew who had flown with the new CO, George Holden, on a disastrous raid on the Dortmund Ems Canal. Five of the eight 617 Squadron crews were shot down, and 33 lives were lost.
In a tragic postscript for the Taerum family, Harlo’s brother Lorne, a gunner just 18 years old, was also killed while serving in the RCAF. His Lancaster was shot down by a fighter on his very first flight in February 1945.

More about Taerum online:
Bomber Command Museum of Canada: Harlo “Terry” Taerum
Bomber Command Museum of Canada: My Son: A First Class Man
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

Decoration awarded for Operation Chastise: DFC
KIA 16 September 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

Sources:
Richard Morris, Guy Gibson, Penguin 1995
John Sweetman, The Dambusters Raid, Cassell 2002
The information above has been taken from the books and online sources listed and other online material. Apologies for any errors or omissions. Please add any corrections or links to further information in the comments section below.

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Gibson and his crew take off on the Dams Raid. Hutchison has his foot on the lowest step of the ladder. [Pic: IWM CH18005]

Flt Lt R E G Hutchison
Wireless operator
Lancaster serial number: ED932/G
Call sign: AJ-G
First wave: First aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine exploded short of the dam.

Flt Lt Robert Hutchison was the only person who had regularly been in Guy Gibson’s crew in his previous squadron to join the CO at 617 Squadron. Gibson’s crew chopped and changed a lot during his time in charge at 106 Squadron, suggesting that a few people found him a hard taskmaster. However in August 1942, Hutchison became his wireless operator and stayed in the crew for about 16 operations until his own tour finished, in February 1943, for which he received a DFC. A couple of weeks later, Gibson too completed his tour and was expecting to go on leave. He was then asked to set up the new squadron, and shortly afterwards must have asked Hutchison to come with him.
In Enemy Coast Ahead, Gibson describes him as ‘one of those grand little Englishmen who have the guts of a horse’, and says that they had been on 40 operations together – a gross exaggeration. However, there is no doubt that Hutchison had been one of the small circle of brother officers in 106 Squadron who Gibson got on well with, and this personal friendship may be what led him to accept the offer of ‘one more’ operation in a new squadron.
Another colleague of Hutchison’s at 106 Squadron had been adjutant Harry Humphries, and their friendship continued when Humphries too was hastily summoned to the new squadron by Gibson, who had found the adjutant originally assigned not to his taste.
Robert Hutchison was born in Liverpool and went to school at the famous Liverpool Institute. Later old boys would include both Paul McCartney and George Harrison. He joined the RAF soon after the war broke out, and had arrived at 106 Squadron in Coningsby in December 1941, shortly before Gibson arrived.
As the senior wireless operator in 617 Squadron, Hutchison was the Signals Leader, responsible for co-ordinating the training of all his colleagues. Individual booths were set up in the crew room so that they could practise their drills.
After the Dams Raid, for which he received a bar to his DFC, Hutchison kicked his heels for a while. As a non-drinker, perhaps he found the round of parties a little too much, and he didn’t go to London on the special train for the investiture.
Hutchison could have gone off operations at any time, as he was well past the number required by then, but he was one of the four members of the Gibson crew who flew with new CO, George Holden, on the night he was shot down, on the Dortmund Ems canal raid. Like them, he is buried in Reichswald Forest Cemetery.

More about Hutchison online:
Liverpool Institute Old Boys
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

Decoration awarded for Operation Chastise: Bar to DFC
KIA 16 September 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Five of Gibson’s Dams Raid crew, photographed at Scampton in July 1943. Left to right: Guy Gibson, Fred ‘Spam’ Spafford, Robert Hutchison, George Deering, Harlo ‘Terry’ Taerum. Note the three shades of uniform colour: Gibson and Hutchison in RAF blue, Deering and Taerum in a darker RCAF shade, and the deepest of all, the RAAF outfit worn by Spafford. [Pic: IWM TR1127]

Plt Off F M Spafford DFM
Bomb aimer
Lancaster serial number: ED932/G
Call sign: AJ-G
First wave: First aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine exploded short of the dam.

Frederick Spafford was always known by the nickname ‘Spam’ in his RAF days, reflecting the wartime popularity, or not, of the well known luncheon meat. He was born as Frederick Burke in Adelaide, South Australia, on 16 June 1918. After his parents died, he was adopted by his maternal grandfather and changed his surname to Spafford.
He joined the RAAF in September 1940 and, after training under the Empire Air Training Scheme, arrived in England in August 1941. After further training, he became a specialist bomb aimer and joined 50 Squadron in May 1942, on Manchesters and then Lancasters. He flew on most of his operations with pilot Hugh Everitt, one of 50 Squadron’s most respected and decorated flyers. Spafford was decorated with a DFM in October 1942 for his skill and ‘praiseworthy example’.
He was commissioned in January 1943, and he finished his tour in March. According to Alex Bateman (No 617 ‘Dambuster’ Squadron, Osprey, 2009, p.12) Gibson started flying in 617 Squadron with a different bomb aimer, but he wasn’t satisfactory. Spafford was then sent for, possibly recommended by his ex-50 Squadron colleague Harlo Taerum, already flying with Gibson. He obviously hit it off with his new captain, who described him in Enemy Coast Ahead as ‘a grand guy and many were the parties we had together; in his bombing he held the squadron record.’
On the Dams Raid itself, Gibson attacked first and although his mine was dropped correctly and skipped several times, it sank and exploded some 50 yards short of the target. On his safe return, Spafford was awarded the DFC, and was interviewed by the press and on the radio, describing ‘the secrecy and hazards of No.617′s training for low-level flying, the elaborate briefings, and the attack which was carried out in bright moonlight against enemy fire.’ (Australian Dictionary of Biography). 
When Gibson left, Spafford transferred to new CO George Holden’s crew, although like Taerum and Hutchison he was technically ‘tour expired’. He was killed when Holden was shot down on the raid on the Dortmund Ems Canal, on 16 September 1943, and is buried in Reichswald Forest cemetery.

More about Spafford online:
Australian Dictionary of Biography
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

Decoration awarded for Operation Chastise: DFC
KIA 16 September 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Below is a list of the events so far planned for the 70th anniversary of the Dams Raid. Please note that some are still subject to confirmation, especially the flyover at the Derwent Reservoir on Thursday 16 May. We have been informed that this may still be happening, but that no final decision has yet been made.
This list will be updated again before 16 May, and you will be able to see the latest version by clicking on this category link Dambusters 70th anniversary .

Sunday 12 May
RAF Museum Cosford
2.00pm
Concert

Monday 13 May-Friday 17 May
RAF Museum London
10.00am-6.00pm daily
Exhibition

Thursday 16 May
Derwent Reservoir, Derbyshire
Time to be confirmed.
BBMF Lancaster flypast
(A decision on whether this is going ahead will be taken shortly.)

Thursday 16 May
RAF Museum Cosford
5.00pm
Special talk: ‘Operation Chastise – 70 years on, the successful failure’

Thursday 16 May
Outside broadcast from RAF Scampton
7.00-8.00pm
Live broadcast of Sunset Ceremony from RAF Scampton on BBC2.
RAF Band and colours.
Flypast and landings by BBMF Lancaster and Spitfires, plus Tornadoes flown by today’s 617 Squadron.
Invited guests only at Scampton. Please do not ask for tickets!

Friday 17 May
Lincoln Cathedral
afternoon
Dam Busters commemoration service (Ticket only: apply by post!)

Sunday 19 May
Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire
Time to be confirmed
Service and unveiling of 617 Squadron post World War 2 memorial

Sunday 19 May
Herne Bay, Kent
Full town commemoration
Details to be confirmed

In addition to these events, we are aware of a number of people who plan to travel to the Ruhr valley area of Germany in order to mark the anniversary. These include the Dambusters 2013 Charity Motorcycle Ride, with more than 70 riders travelling to raise money for Help for Heroes, and a group driving a 1967 Austin Healey (picture to come!).

We are also trying to compile a list of any events planned in Germany. Please get in touch if you have anything you would like to publicise.

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The fifteen RCAF Aircrew who returned from the Dams Raid. Back Row: Oancia, Sutherland, O’Brien, Brown, Weeks, Thrasher, Deering, Radcliffe, MacLean, McCarthy, McDonald
Front Row: Pigeon, Taerum, Walker, Gowrie, Rodger. [Pic: Bomber Command Museum of Canada]

Plt Off G A Deering
Front gunner
Lancaster serial number: ED932/G
Call sign: AJ-G
First wave: First aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine exploded short of the dam.

Of Irish descent, George Andrew Deering was born in Kirkintilloch, Scotland, on 23 July 1919. His family emigrated to Canada when he was a boy, and he went to school in Toronto. He joined the RCAF in July 1940 and after training in Canada arrived in England in April 1941 as a Wireless Operator/Gunner.
Deering spent about a year in 103 Squadron, at RAF Elsham Wolds, which at the time was flying Halifaxes, and completed a full tour of operations. He was then sent to an Operational Training Unit, and was commissioned in February 1943, although this information didn’t seem to reach 617 Squadron until after the Dams Raid.
How he was allocated to Gibson’s crew is a bit of a mystery. With some 35 operations, he was far from the novice described in Enemy Coast Ahead: ‘In the front turret was Jim [sic] Deering from Toronto, Canada, and he was on his first [sic] bombing raid. He was pretty green, but one of our crack gunners had suddenly gone ill and there was nobody else for me to take.’
Later in the book, Gibson calls him ‘Joe’ and in the dedication he is referred to as ‘Tony’. Giving a member of your own crew three different first names may well be a record, even for this book which is littered with editorial errors. Also, Deering was posted into 617 Squadron on 29 March, so was hardly a last minute replacement.
For his part in the raid, Deering was awarded a DFC, recognition at last that he was an officer by the time of the raid. Along with Taerum, Hutchison and Spafford he transferred to George Holden’s crew, and died with all of them when they were shot down on the Dortmund Ems Canal operation on 16 September 1943.

More about Deering online:
Air Force Association of Canada listing
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

Decoration awarded for Operation Chastise: DFC
KIA 16 September 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Flt Lt R D Trevor-Roper DFM
Rear gunner
Lancaster serial number: ED932/G
Call sign: AJ-G
First wave: First aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine exploded short of the dam.

With more than 50 operations, Richard Trevor-Roper was probably the most experienced air gunner to take part in the Dams Raid, and was the Gunnery Leader. He was also the acknowledged leader of the squadron’s hellraisers, bringing to Scampton a reputation honed in many an earlier squadron mess.
Trevor-Roper was born on the Isle of Wight on 19 May 1915. After leaving Wellington College he spent two years in the Royal Artillery. At the outset of war he joined the RAF, and trained as a wireless operator/gunner.
In 1941, he had one complete tour in 50 Squadron, received a DFM, and was also commissioned. After an inter-tour break at a training unit, he went back to 50 Squadron and had almost completed another tour, flying mainly with Sqn Ldr Birch, when he was brought into 617 Squadron. Gibson obviously recognised Trevor-Roper as a soulmate, describing him in Enemy Coast Ahead as one of the ‘real squadron characters’, although noticing, in a thoughtful moment, that he was quiet on the flight out to the dams, perhaps because his wife was about to produce their first baby.
After the raid, for which he received the DFC, Trevor-Roper came into his own, leading the pack in the drunken escapades which followed, principally the excursion to London in June for the investiture and the dinner at the Hungaria restaurant that followed. Cards were played, hipflasks were produced, and trousers removed, not always voluntarily. The squadron adjutant, Harry Humphries, was a particular target, and various escapades are reported in his book, Living with Heroes. (The same stories appear again, in a more sanitised version, in Paul Brickhill’s The Dam Busters.)

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Eventually 617 Squadron went back on operations, but Trevor-Roper didn’t join the core of the Gibson crew which transferred to the new CO, George Holden. Instead, he went to 97 Squadron, based at Bourn, joining a very experienced crew captained by Flt Lt Rowlands. His luck ran out on Bomber Command’s worst night of the whole war, on 30/31 March 1944, when 95 bombers were lost from a total of 795 which set out to attack Nuremberg.
He is buried in Durnbach War Cemetery.

More about Trevor Roper online:
Isle of Wight war memorial (includes death notice from The Times)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

Decoration awarded for Operation Chastise: DFC
KIA 31 March 1944
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Pic: Bomber Command Museum of Canada

Flt Lt J V Hopgood DFC and Bar
Pilot
Lancaster serial number: ED925/G
Call sign: AJ-M
First wave. Second aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Aircraft hit by flak. Mine dropped late and bounced over dam. Aircraft crashed on far side of dam.

John Vere Hopgood was born in Surrey on 29 August 1921. He was educated at Marlborough College, and would have gone on to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, but the war intervened.
He joined the RAF in 1940, and qualified as a pilot in February 1941, and was then commissioned. He spent his first tour of operations flying with 50 Squadron and was then posted to a training unit. In February 1942, he went back onto operations with 106 Squadron, based at Coningsby, which was flying the unreliable two engined Avro Manchesters. In April, a new Squadron CO, Guy Gibson arrived, and described his first impression of Hopgood in Enemy Coast Ahead:

‘He was a fair-haired chap about medium height, rather good-looking, except for one prominent tooth. The boys seemed to be always taking him off about this, but he took it very good-naturedly. He was a serious fellow at heart, though, even though he spent most of his time with the boys. As soon as I saw him I thought, “What an ideal squadron type. I like that chap.”’

The squadron was moving over to Lancasters, and Hopgood was one of the first to retrain on this much more powerful aircraft. He was one of the pilots who then had to pass on their new skills to Gibson, something he evidently did with quiet authority, another trait admired by the Squadron CO.
In October 1942, after flying 32 operations, he was awarded the DFC, and commended for his ‘magnificent dash and courage when pressing home his attacks whatever the opposition’. This was followed just four months later by a Bar to the DFC for completing a number more successful operations since the first award.
There are a number of myths about how the pilots and crews were chosen for the fledgling 617 Squadron. By no means were they all personally known or recruited by Gibson. However John Hopgood and David Shannon, both former 106 Squadron colleagues, were both definitely encouraged to join him. Hopgood brought two members of his regular crew, flight engineer Charles Brennan and rear gunner Tony Burcher. However, his bomb aimer wasn’t deemed suitable and his navigator fell ill, so two Canadian friends from 50 Squadron, John Fraser and Ken Earnshaw came in their stead.
Although Hopgood wasn’t one of the flight commanders, Gibson wanted him by his side, and so he was made deputy leader of the attack on the Möhne Dam. As such, he was one of the four who were briefed about the target the night before the raid and made an important change to the already planned route, pointing out that it went near Hüls, which had heavy defences not marked on the map.
On the raid itself, Gibson, Hopgood and Mick Martin were the first trio from Wave One to take off. From Tony Burcher’s account it would seem that Hopgood’s AJ-M was hit by flak some 20 minutes before the dam was reached. Hopgood himself received a head wound, and in the front turret below him, Gregory had probably been killed, as he wasn’t answering his intercom. Burcher recalls Hopgood saying: ‘Right, well what do you think? Should we go on? I intend to go on because we have only got a few minutes left. We’ve come this far.There’s no good taking this thing back with us. The aircraft is completely manageable. I can handle it ok. Any objections?’ And on he pressed, with Brennan beside him holding a handkerchief on his head to stem the bleeding.
They got to the dam. Gibson attacked first, unsuccessfully. He was lucky. The dam’s gunners were uncertain of the direction from which he would come, so didn’t start firing until he was very close and did not damage him.
But, ten minutes later, when Hopgood approached, they were ready. His already damaged Lancaster was hit again. An engine caught fire, he strugged to keep the aircraft level, and the mine was released too late, bouncing over the dam and into the power station below, where it exploded.
Now Hopgood tried desperately to gain height, in an effort to give his crew a chance to bale out. He gained about 500 feet and somehow, Fraser, Minchin and Burcher escaped, but Minchin, badly injured, didn’t survive the parachute drop. Fraser and Burcher did, but both were captured and taken prisoner.
Neither ever forgot the heroic gesture by Hopgood which saved their lives. Fraser went back to Canada after the war and gave his son Hopgood’s forenames, John Vere. His daughter was named Shere, after the Surrey village where Hopgood grew up.
Hopgood, Brennan, Earnshaw, Minchin and Gregory are buried together in Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany.

More about Hopgood online:
Bomber Command Museum of Canada
Tony Burcher’s recollections (scroll down)
Tribute to AJ-M site (includes details of crash site)
Online obituary
Entry at lostaircraft.com
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

KIA 17 May 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Charles Brennan’s logbook and wedding photo are in the RAF Museum in Hendon. [Pic: RAF Museum]

Sgt C Brennan
Flight engineer
Lancaster serial number: ED925/G
Call sign: AJ-M
First wave. Second aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Aircraft hit by flak. Mine dropped late and bounced over dam. Aircraft crashed on far side of dam.

Canadian Charles Brennan had been John Hopgood’s regular flight engineer in the latter part of his tour of operations on 106 Squadron, and the pair obviously got on well together. So when Hopgood was putting together a new crew at 617 Squadron he brought Brennan in, along with rear gunner Tony Burcher.
Brennan joined the RAF in England at the outset of the war, and after training worked as ground crew. When the opportunity came for skilled ground crew to qualify as flight engineers for the heavy bombers, he took the chance, like many other enthusiastic young men who were keen to fly. His course at No 4 School of Technical Training at RAF St Athan finished in the early summer of 1942, and he joined 106 Squadron in June. He joined Hopgood’s crew, and flew with him until both their tours ended, in October 1942.
Both Brennan and Hopgood were then posted to 1660 Conversion Unit, presumably to train other crews. When Hopgood was called up by Gibson, it was therefore natural for him to take Brennan with him.
One can only wonder as to what conversation passed between Brennan and Hopgood when the young pilot was injured on the fateful journey to the dams. He would have needed all his flight engineering skill to help the pilot keep the aircraft aloft, as one of the engines was damaged and running on reduced revs. Tony Burcher recalls that he was a ‘calm chap’, so also having to hold a handkerchief over Hopgood’s head wound may not have completely fazed him.
When they were hit again, as they attacked the Möhne Dam, the pair must have realised that they would never get off the flight deck themselves, and that all they could do was to give as many of their colleagues as possible the chance to escape. They were both remarkable men.
Hopgood, Brennan, Earnshaw, Minchin and Gregory are buried together in Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany.

More about Brennan online:
Canadian Virtual War Memorial entry
Second World War Book of Remembrance
Logbook details
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

KIA 17 May 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Maybe it’s a mark of how far this subject has dropped off the radar, but I have only just caught up with a four-month-old snippet of news from Down Under. New Zealand Herald film critic Dominic Corry met Christian Rivers at the premiere of The Hobbit last December (yes really!), and asked him what was the situation with the remake of everyone’s favourite 1955 war film.

In 2008, it was announced that Jackson would produce a remake of 1955 World War II classic The Dam Busters, which was to be directed by Weta staple Christian Rivers (who won a special effects Oscar for his work on King Kong). The project seemed a natural fit for a war plane-obsessed ‘wingnut’ like Peter Jackson, but nothing has come to pass as yet, despite a bunch of replica planes having apparently already been built for the project.

I spoke to Rivers briefly on the red carpet at the Wellington premiere of The Hobbit, and he told me they are still planning to make the film but that it’s on hold at the moment due to script issues. I hope it happens eventually – there’s such a wealth of creativity at Weta, it seems crazy that we haven’t seen a film come out of that talent pool yet.

‘Script issues’ eh? To me, the problem is time. Jackson and his cohorts are getting a whole lot of moolah for spinning out The Hobbit over three films. Then there’s the small matter of a sequel to Tintin, and various other fantasy film projects. A remake of The Dam Busters, however much it might appeal to readers of this blog and a few million other war film buffs, would never make as much money as these high profile movies. That’s the way the economics of the film industry works.
On the other hand, we can’t discount the fact that Jackson is a self-confessed aero nut, and is probably still personally committed to the project. And so is Christian Rivers, despite the rumour a year or so ago that he was off doing something else.
Jackson’s involvement in the Dambusters remake was originally announced in 2006. Will we see it completed by the tenth anniversary of this historic day? I wouldn’t bet on it.

[Hat tip: Wings over New Zealand Forum.]

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Ken Earnshaw, back row, third from left, in his 50 Squadron crew.
Back, L-R: W Mooney, J W Fraser, K Earnshaw, N L Schofield, R A Baker.
Front, L-R: J O Christie, B Jagger.

Flg Off K Earnshaw
Navigator
Lancaster serial number: ED925/G
Call sign: AJ-M
First wave. Second aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Aircraft hit by flak. Mine dropped late and bounced over dam. Aircraft crashed on far side of dam.

Kenneth Earnshaw was born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, on 23 June 1918. His family emigrated to Canada a year later and took up farming in rural Alberta. He qualified as a teacher after leaving school, but left within a year to enlist in the RCAF.
After training in Canada, at the end of which he was commissioned, he travelled over to England, and was posted to 50 Squadron in November 1942.
He was part of a Lancaster crew which flew with pilot Norman Schofield, another Canadian. John Fraser, the bomb aimer was also Canadian and became a close friend. Together they flew on 30 operations in under six months.
By mid April 1943, they were scheduled to go to a training unit for the normal inter-tour rest period. However both Earnshaw and Fraser were recommended when a call came from the new 617 Squadron being set up at Scampton. Pilot John Hopgood needed an experienced navigator and bomb aimer after the first pair selected had not come up to scratch, so they arrived at Scampton on 29 April, some time after training for the Dams Raid had begun.
As navigator, Ken Earnshaw sat immediately behind John Hopgood and Charles Brennan in the cockpit. He must have seen the trouble Hopgood was in, hit by flak before they even reached the Möhne Dam. Almost as far from the escape hatch as them, he had no chance when Hopgood ordered the crew to bale out, and he died along with them when AJ-M crashed in a field near Ostönnen, 6km from the dam.
Hopgood, Brennan, Earnshaw, Minchin and Gregory are buried together in Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany.

More about Earnshaw online:
Canadian Virtual War Memorial entry
Bomber Command Museum of Canada article
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

KIA 17 May 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Plt Off J W Minchin
Wireless operator
Lancaster serial number: ED925/G
Call sign: AJ-M
First wave. Second aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Aircraft hit by flak. Mine dropped late and bounced over dam. Aircraft crashed on far side of dam.

John Minchin was born in Bourton on Water, Gloucestershire in 1916.

Hopgood, Brennan, Earnshaw, Minchin and Gregory are buried together in Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany.

More about Minchin online:
49 Squadron Association article
Bourton on Water memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

KIA 17 May 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

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Pic: Bomber Command Museum of Canada

Flt Sgt J W Fraser
Bomb aimer
Lancaster serial number: ED925/G
Call sign: AJ-M
First wave. Second aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Aircraft hit by flak. Mine dropped late and bounced over dam. Aircraft crashed on far side of dam.

John Fraser was born in British Columbia, Canada on 22 September 1922 and joined the RCAF soon after the war started. After qualifying as a bomb aimer he arrived in England in April 1942, and shortly after was posted to 50 Squadron. There he flew a full tour of 30 operations, mostly with Canadian pilot Norman Schofield, whose crew also included two more people who would become Dambusters – fellow Canadian navigator Ken Earnshaw, and gunner Brian Jagger.
By mid April 1943, Fraser and Earnshaw were both scheduled to go to a training unit for the normal inter-tour rest period. However a call came from the new 617 Squadron being set up at Scampton. Pilot John Hopgood needed an experienced navigator and bomb aimer. His first navigator had fallen ill and his bomb aimer had not come up to scratch. Earnshaw and Fraser were recommended, and arrived at Scampton at the end of April, some time after training for the Dams Raid had begun. However, as Fraser had already arranged his wedding for 29 April, he was given special permission to have a day off.
On the Dams Raid itself, Hopgood’s aircraft AJ-M was hit by flak well before they reached the Möhne Dam. One engine was damaged, Hopgood himself was wounded, and in the front turret, George Gregory was almost certainly dead.
Hopgood persisted. And with flight engineer Charles Brennan holding a handkerchief over his head wound he made a run towards the dam, fighting to maintain position. But the aircraft was hit again, and another engine rendered useless.
Fraser was in the bomb aimer’s position, right at the front of the aircraft, with a dead gunner above his head. Even though he knew it was too late, he released the mine and it bounced over the dam, blowing up the power station on the other side. But his Lancaster was doomed.
After the war he wrote: ‘We flew on and the pilot gave the order to abandon the aircraft within about 25 seconds after we passed over the dam. I knelt facing forward over the escape hatch and I saw that the trees looked awful close. I thought there was only one thing to do and that was to pull the rip cord and let the pilot chute go out first and then let it pull the chute out and me after it, and that’s what I did.’
He landed almost a mile away from where the aircraft crashed, and managed to elude his opponents for 10 days as he walked 200 miles towards Holland, surviving on turnips and potatoes from farmers’ fields. Eventually, he was caught, only 30 miles from the Dutch border, and after interrogation by the Germans, where he was forced to give some details of the mission, he was sent to a prisoner of war camp.
Released at the end of the war, he saw his wife Doris again for the first time since the day after their wedding in May 1945. They made their home in Canada. Fraser never forgot the sacrifice made by John Hopgood which saved the lives of two of his crew. The names of all of his children were chosen as a tribute to Hopgood and 617 Squadron. His first son has the given names John Hopgood; his daughter was called Shere, after Hopgood’s home village; and his second son was called Guy, after the squadron CO.
Fraser worked in the forestry service and died in 1962, ironically in a flying accident.

More about Fraser online:
Articles at Bomber Command Museum of Canada 1 2

Survived war. Died June 1962.
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.

Sources: Richard Morris, Guy Gibson, Penguin 1995
John Sweetman, The Dambusters Raid, Cassell 2002
The information above has been taken from the books and online sources listed and other online material. Apologies for any errors or omissions. Please add any corrections or links to further information in the comments section below.

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Plt Off G H F G Gregory DFM
Front gunner
Lancaster serial number: ED925/G
Call sign: AJ-M
First wave. Second aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Aircraft hit by flak. Mine dropped late and bounced over dam. Aircraft crashed on far side of dam.

George Gregory was a Scot, born in Glasgow.
More about Gregory online:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission listing

KIA 17 May 1943
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.
Sources: Richard Morris, Guy Gibson, Penguin 1995
John Sweetman, The Dambusters Raid, Cassell 2002
The information above has been taken from the books and online sources listed and other online material. Apologies for any errors or omissions. Please add any corrections or links to further information in the comments section below.

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Plt Off A F Burcher DFM
Rear gunner
Lancaster serial number: ED925/G
Call sign: AJ-M
First wave. Second aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Aircraft hit by flak. Mine dropped late and bounced over dam. Aircraft crashed on far side of dam

Tony Burcher was born in Vaucluse in Sydney, Australia in 1922, and volunteered for the RAAF soon after his 18th birthday. He arrived in England in September 1941, after training in both Australia and Canada. He was posted to 106 Squadron, and served a full tour there, flying regularly in John Hopgood’s crew, and receiving a DFM.
Although he was at one point put onto a ‘dry’ stint by his CO Guy Gibson for scrapping in the mess, Gibson obviously respected his gunnery skills as he was then transferred to a Gunnery Leaders Course at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire.
When he came to form the new 617 Squadron in March 1943, Gibson remembered him and selected him for the squadron, probably with Hopgood’s approval as he was again assigned to his crew.
On the Dams Raid itself, Burcher, in the rear turret, could only hear what was going on in the front of the aircraft via the intercom. It would seem that it was hit by flak some 20 minutes before the dam was reached. Burcher received superficial wounds to the leg and stomach but Hopgood himself received a head wound, and in the front turret below him, Gregory had probably been killed, as he wasn’t answering his intercom.
Burcher recalls Hopgood saying: ‘Right, well what do you think? Should we go on? I intend to go on because we have only got a few minutes left. We’ve come this far.There’s no good taking this thing back with us. The aircraft is completely manageable. I can handle it ok. Any objections?’ And on he pressed, with Brennan beside him holding a handkerchief on his head to stem the bleeding.
The already damaged Lancaster was hit again. An engine caught fire, Hopgood struggled to keep the aircraft level, and the mine was released too late, bouncing over the dam and into the power station below, where it exploded. Now he tried desperately to gain height, in an effort to give his crew a chance to bale out. He gained about 500 feet and, somehow, the wounded John Minchin managed to drag himself towards the rear escape hatch, with one leg almost severed. Burcher pushed his colleague out of the hatch first, pulling his parachute ripcord as he did so, and then followed him. Sadly, Minchin did not survive the drop, but Burcher did and he and Fraser, who had escaped from the front of the aircraft, were captured separately and taken prisoner.
After the war, Burcher returned to Australia and service with the RAAF. In 1952, he transferred to the RAF and served in Korea, Borneo and Malaya. He finally retired back to Australia, where he lived in Tasmania.

A new book about Tony Burcher, A Tail Gunner’s Tale by David Potter, with an introduction by his granddaughter, Claire Simons, will be published shortly. Details will be posted here when it becomes available.

More about Burcher online:
Burcher’s account of AJ-M’s final flight (scroll down)

Survived war. Died.
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.
Sources: Richard Morris, Guy Gibson, Penguin 1995
John Sweetman, The Dambusters Raid, Cassell 2002
David Potter, A Tail Gunner’s Tale, 2013

The information above has been taken from the books and online sources listed and other online material. Apologies for any errors or omissions. Please add any corrections or links to further information in the comments section below.

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Pic: Australian War Memorial

Flt Lt H B Martin DFC
Pilot
Lancaster serial number: ED909/G
Call sign: AJ-P
First wave. Third aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine veered left after dropping and exploded at side of dam.

Harold Brownlow Martin was universally known throughout his long RAF career by his nickname ‘Mick’.
He was born in New South Wales, Australia in 1918. Arriving in Britain in 1939, his intention to study medicine was overtaken by the outbreak of war, so he joined the RAF. He qualified as a pilot in June 1941, and served first in 455 RAAF Squadron, flying Hampdens, and bringing together an all-Australian crew of Jack Leggo, Tammy Simpson and Toby Foxlee which flew 13 operations together.
In April 1942, 455 Squadron were transferred to Coastal Command, but Martin and his crew moved to 50 Squadron in order to continue their tour in Bomber Command. 50 Squadron was flying Manchesters at the time, but was in the process of moving over to the more powerful Lancasters.
By October 1942, Martin had completed his tour, with 36 operations, and was awarded the DFC. He had acquired a reputation both as a low flying specialist but also as someone who prepared meticulously for an operation, personally polishing the perspex on his cockpit canopy, since a smear could easily obscure an approaching fighter. He demanded the same high standards from those who flew with him. According to Max Hastings, he and his crew ‘achieved an almost telepathic mutual understanding and instinct for danger.’ (Bomber Command, 1979, p.165.)
By the time 617 Squadron was formed, Martin was just coming to the end of a spell in a training unit. Gibson had met him at an investiture, where they had discussed low flying methods, so he was an almost automatic choice for the project.
Martin was able to bring back together a crew mainly based on old 50 Squadron comrades, with a New Zealander from 75 Squadron, Len Chambers, as wireless operator. They flew together in AJ-P, as the third crew in the first wave, in a trio with Gibson and Hopgood.
Martin lined up to attack the Möhne Dam just minutes after disaster had overtaken Hopgood. Gibson joined his attack, flying slightly ahead on his starboard side. This tactic seemed to distract the dam’s gunners and Martin was able to drop his mine correctly.
However, something must have gone wrong with its balancing as it veered off to the left and exploded some 20 yards short. It may have been affected by being dropped on the ground as it was being loaded into AJ-P earlier in the day – an event which had caused a sudden evacuation of the area by the ground staff and armourers.
Later, as both Young and Maltby attacked, Martin joined Gibson in these diversionary tactics, putting himself at further risk. Luckily, he successfully avoided being damaged and was able to fly back to Scampton when the Möhne was breached.
After the Dams Raid, Martin was a key figure in many of the celebrations, and at the investiture in London, where he received the DSO. The Australian press and broadcasters were very keen to have pictures of their boys shown back at home and with his distinctive moustache Martin was often recognised.
In September 1943, Martin was acting CO of 617 Squadron in the unhappy circumstances following the catastrophic attack on the Dortmund Ems canal when six pilots and most of their crews were lost in two days. Strangely, this was the only period during the war when he took command of a squadron.
Later, when Leonard Cheshire arrived, Martin participated in attacks on targets in France, Italy and Germany, often using the new 12,000lb Tallboy bomb. In February 1944, during an abortive attack on the Antheor Viaduct in the French Riviera, Martin’s Lancaster was hit by ground fire, killing the bomb aimer Bob Hay, and causing him to force land his crippled aircraft in Sardinia. This was Martin’s 49th (and last) heavy bomber operation. However he flew another 34 operations in Mosquitos in 515 Squadron.
Martin stayed on in the RAF after the war, and had a distinguished career. He broke the speed record for flying from England to Cape Town in a Mosquito, and then went on to a succession of staff jobs including being an ADC to the Queen, C-in-C RAF Germany and the Air Member for Personnel. He was knighted and rose to the rank of Air Marshal before retiring in 1974.
He died in London in 1988.

More about Martin online:
Entry on Wikipedia
Entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography

Survived war. Died 1988.
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.
Sources: Richard Morris, Guy Gibson, Penguin 1995
John Sweetman, The Dambusters Raid, Cassell 2002
Chris Ward, Andy Lee, Andreas Wachtel, Dambusters: Definitive History, Red Kite 2003

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Ivan Whittaker is sixth from the right in this picture taken in the Avro Boardroom near Manchester sometime in late 1943 or early 1944. The 617 Squadron party are all members of Joe McCarthy and Mick Martin’s crews. [Pic: Ken Hickson/Peter Cunliffe]

Plt Off I Whittaker
Flight engineer
Lancaster serial number: ED909/G
Call sign: AJ-P
First wave. Third aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine veered left after dropping and exploded at side of dam.

Ivan Whittaker was born in Newcastle on Tyne in 1918. He joined the RAF in 1938 and spent the first three years of the war as ground crew. In 1942, he retrained as a flight engineer and was soon posted to 50 Squadron. There he met Mick Martin and flew with him on a number of operations. Martin gathered together most of his old crew when called into 617 Squadron, with the newly commissioned Whittaker sitting beside him in the flight engineer’s seat.
After the raid, he was promoted again and won his first DFC in September 1943, overdue recognition for a tour completed a year previously. The Martin crew carried on flying throughout the autumn and winter and on 12 February 1944 set off on an operation to attack the Antheor viaduct in Southern France. This was a disaster. Martin’s aircraft was hit by a shell which killed bomb aimer Bob Hay, wounded Whittaker and damaged the aircraft severely. Martin’s supreme skill as a pilot and Whittaker’s careful handling of the engines meant that they were able to make a dangerous landing at a tiny airport on the newly liberated island of Sardinia. For his part in this, Whittaker received a Bar to his DFC, and is thought to be the only flight engineer with the double award.
Part of the citation read: ‘Whilst over the target the aircraft was repeatedly hit and sustained much damage. Flight Lieutenant Whittaker was wounded in both legs but, in spite of this he coolly made a detailed examination of the aircraft and gave his Captain a full report of the damage sustained. He displayed great fortitude and devotion to duty and his efforts were of much assistance to his Captain who flew the damaged bomber to an airfield where a safe landing was effected.’
In March 1944, after 44 operations, he was finally transferred into a training unit.
Whittaker stayed on in the RAF after the war, eventually transferring to the Technical Branch and rising to the rank of Group Captain. He retired in 1974.

More about Whittaker online:
Listing at ww2awards.com

Survived war. Died 1979.
Rank and decorations as of 16 May 1943.
Sources: Richard Morris, Guy Gibson, Penguin 1995
John Sweetman, The Dambusters Raid, Cassell 2002
Chris Ward, Andy Lee, Andreas Wachtel, Dambusters: Definitive History, Red Kite 2003

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News just in. On Friday 17 May, BBC Radio 2 is to spend an entire day devoted to the Dambusters 70th anniversary. Highlights will include:

• Chris Evans broadcasting from the home of the Dambusters – RAF Scampton – and to fly in a Lancaster Bomber
• Interviews with Dambusters veterans Les Munro and George (Johnnie) Johnson, and Barnes Wallis’ daughter, Mary Stopes-Roe
• The largest live music event for the anniversary – Friday Night Is Music Night presents The Dambusters 70 Years On from Biggin Hill Airport
• The Central Band of the RAF to perform a new composition, plus the Military Wives Choir and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Plenty more details here. We will add further information as and when it comes in. We will also check how much of this will be streamed live outside the UK.

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Pic: Australian War Memorial

Flt Lt J F Leggo DFC
Navigator
Lancaster serial number: ED909/G
Call sign: AJ-P
First wave. Third aircraft to attack Möhne Dam. Mine veered left after dropping and exploded at side of dam.

Jack Leggo was a highly experienced navigator, and 617 Squadron’s Navigating Officer.

More about Leggo online:

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Sorry folks. Due to a technical error, the post about Jack Leggo put up yesterday was just a placeholder, containing no substantial information. If you go back to it now, you will find the real thing!
Revisit Jack Leggo post.
This post will be removed in 48 hours.

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Dambuster of the Day No. 2: John Pulford

Dambuster of the Day No. 3: Harlo Taerum

Dambuster of the Day No. 4: Robert Hutchison

Dambuster of the Day No. 5: Frederick Spafford

Dambuster 70th anniversary events (update 12 April)

Dambuster of the Day No. 6: George Deering

Dambuster of the Day No. 7: Richard Trevor-Roper

Dambuster of the Day No. 8: John Hopgood

Dambuster of the Day No. 9: Charles Brennan

Script issues still holding up Dambusters remake

Dambuster of the Day No. 10: Kenneth Earnshaw

Dambuster of the Day No. 11: John Minchin

Dambuster of the Day No. 12: John Fraser

Dambuster of the Day No. 13: George Gregory

Dambuster of the Day No. 14: Anthony Burcher

Dambuster of the Day No. 15: Harold Martin

Dambuster of the Day No. 16: Ivan Whittaker

It’s all for you, on Radio 2

Dambuster of the Day No. 17: Jack Leggo

Dambuster of the Day No. 17: Jack Leggo (update)