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Fred Sutherland: tribute from the Johnson family
Left to right: Fred Sutherland, “Johnnie” Johnson, Ray Grayston. Pictured at East Kirkby, 2002. Guest post by Philip Johnson, son of Flt Lt Edward “Johnnie” Johnson DFC, bomb aimer in AJ-N on the...
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A model masterpiece
In the 1960s, like many children of my age, I was an avid builder of Airfix plastic model aircraft. I made a reasonably decent job of them, but I remember the slight disappointment that the final...
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Joe McCarthy and his wartime friends
Joe McCarthy’s son, Joe McCarthy Jr, has kindly sent me some more information about the well-known picture of members of his father’s crew fraternising with the crew of an American B-26, taken at the...
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In Charlie Williams country
Guest post. Long time friend of this blog Susan Paxton has recently been to Queensland, Australia, on a trip to find out more about the life of Flg Off Charlie Williams DFC, wireless operator in the...
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AJ-Z memorial to be unveiled in May
The crew of AJ-Z, killed returning from the attack on the Eder Dam, 17 May 1943. L-R: Henry Maudslay, Jack Marriott, Robert Urquhart, Alden Cottam, John Fuller, William Tytherleigh, Norman Burrows....
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In Charlie Williams Country, part II
Bannockburn today. The central part of the house directly ahead is original. The section to the left is partly filled-in and partly more recent construction. This includes the kitchen, which likely...
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Mary Stopes-Roe
Pic: Barnes Wallis Foundation I am sorry to have to announce the death of Mary Stopes-Roe, who died peacefully at her home in Birmingham on Friday 10 May. Mary Eyre Wallis was born in York in 1927,...
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Rare Gibson picture from RAF Syerston
Pic: Valerie Davies Arends To mark tomorrow’s 76th anniversary of the Dams Raid, here is a rarely seen photograph of Guy Gibson, taken while he was Commanding Officer of 106 Squadron at RAF Syerston....
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Emotional unveiling in Germany of AJ-Z memorial
Pic: MoD Guest post by Mark Welch and Marcel Hahn The memorial for Squadron Leader Henry Maudslay DFC and his crew of Dambuster Lancaster ED937 AJ-Z was unveiled in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany, on...
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Dr Mary Stopes-Roe memorial service
There will be a public service of celebration for the life of Dr Mary Stopes-Roe at 1.30pm on Wednesday 12 June at St Mary’s Church, Moseley, Birmingham B13 8HW. More about her life here.
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Wallis Dams Raid plan shown on Antiques Roadshow
Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris wrote the above comment on a memorandum sent to him on 14 February 1943. The memo summarised the research in Barnes Wallis’s paper ‘Air Attack on Dams’ sent to Air...
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A giant leap for a Dambuster grandson
Here’s a question for your next pub quiz: What is the link between that excellent film Billy Elliott (shown again on BBC TV last night) and the Dams Raid? The clue is in the picture above. It shows a...
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Flak battery which shot down AJ-A on Dams Raid confirmed
Pic: Christian Koenig EXCLUSIVE to Dambusters Blog The family of the German naval officer who commanded the anti-aircraft battery which shot down Melvin Young’s AJ-A on the night of the Dams Raid have...
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First hand account of 617 Squadron’s attack on the Lützow
The flag of the German navy flying on the Lützow before it was attacked and sunk by 617 Squadron in April 1945. [Pic: Rudolf Ritscher/Horsley family] Flt Lt Robert Horsley joined 617 Squadron towards...
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Douglas Bickle’s wedding
This lovely little church, a few miles from Plymouth and overlooking a beach and the English Channel, is St Werburgh’s in Wembury, Devon. Parts of the church go back to the 11th century, although it...
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Flt Sgt Charles Avey
I am sorry to have to report the sad news that another of the small band of remaining veterans who served in 617 Squadron during the Second World War has died. Flt Sgt Charles (“Chas”) Avey joined 617...
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Paul Brickhill’s revisions to The Dam Busters, 1972
Pic: http://www.tikit.net In the mid 1950s, Paul Brickhill was one of the best-known authors in the world. He was also one of the most successful, with three huge bestsellers to his name: The Great...
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James McDowell: new photographs
Top: James McDowell, dressed in flying suit. Bottom: course members. McDowell is on the far left of the row sitting on chairs. Raymond Robinson is 2nd from left in the row behind him, wearing a...
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Lewis Burpee’s childhood home
Pic: Dave O’Malley The Canadian writer Dave O’Malley lives in the Glebe area of the country’s capital city, Ottawa. Nearby is the fine house in which Lewis Burpee, who skippered AJ-S on the Dams Raid,...
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Free for a day: Enemy Coast Ahead download to mark Gibson 75th anniversary
First edition of Enemy Coast Ahead, published 1946. Pic: Stella Books At 19.51 on 19 September 1944, the most decorated pilot then serving in the RAF’s Bomber Command, Wg Cdr Guy Gibson VC, DSO &...
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