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Dambusters Blog

@DambustersBlog

Charles Foster, author of The Complete Dambusters and nephew of Dambusters pilot, https://xitter.cf/t.co/AEpCZXoHL0

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Joined May 2013
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The Dams Raid: 80th anniversary dambustersblog.com/2023/05/1…
The Dams Raid: 80th anniversary

The Dams Raid: 80th anniversary

This year marks the first anniversary of the Dams Raid to take place after the death on 7 December 2022 of Sqn Ldr George ‘Johnny’ Johnson, aged 101, the last survivor of the 133 men fr…

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New film: Attack on the Sorpe Dam dambustersblog.com/2023/05/1…
New film: Attack on the Sorpe Dam

New film: Attack on the Sorpe Dam

A new film featuring George “Johnny” Johnson’s Dambuster crew has recently made its UK film premiere, in the run up to the 80th anniversary of the Dams Raid this week. The film is now on a UK tour …

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Seeing the Möhne Dam from the German side dambustersblog.com/2023/05/0…
Seeing the Möhne Dam from the German side

Seeing the Möhne Dam from the German side

Guest post by Michael Richter [Michael Richter, a German reader of this blog living near the Sorpe Dam, has written to me about recent work carried out in Germany. This is at the crash site of the …

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Lancaster tributes to Dams Raid crews on Dutch Remembrance Day dambustersblog.com/2023/05/0…
Lancaster tributes to Dams Raid crews on Dutch Remembrance Day

Lancaster tributes to Dams Raid crews on Dutch Remembrance Day

Wreaths laid at Gilze Rijen, 4 May 2023. [Pic: Kath Fisher] Today, the RAF BBMF Lancaster was involved in tributes for wartime activities in the Netherlands on Dutch Remembrance Day. Two of these w…

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Wing Commander John Bell hits his century dambustersblog.com/2023/03/2…
Wing Commander John Bell hits his century

Wing Commander John Bell hits his century

Wg Cdr John Bell. [Pic: 617 Squadron Association.] Guest post by Dr Robert Owen, official historian, 617 Squadron Association. Wing Commander John Bell MBE, DFC, L d’H, the last British wartime air…

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Apologies for the delay dambustersblog.com/2023/02/2…
Apologies for the delay

Apologies for the delay

You may have noticed that there has been a delay since the last post on this blog. My apologies, but I have a good reason for it. Some seven weeks ago, I had what in medicine is called a hemorrhagi…

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The Dam Busters on TV dambustersblog.com/2022/12/2…
The Dam Busters on TV

The Dam Busters on TV

This blog’s favourite film The Dam Busters is being shown again on UK TV this evening (Channel 5 Action) so if you are checking this blog to see the names of the men who took part in the Dams…

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May your days be happy and bright dambustersblog.com/2022/12/2…
May your days be happy and bright

May your days be happy and bright

Poster by James Fitton from the IWM Collection (PST 2814). Clicking around the interwebnet in search of a seasonal image I came across this lovely wartime anti-waste poster whose message is just as…

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Johnny Johnson funeral service and memorial arrangements dambustersblog.com/2022/12/2…
Johnny Johnson funeral service and memorial arrangements

Johnny Johnson funeral service and memorial arrangements

The funeral service for Sqn Ldr G L (Johnny) Johnson MBE DFM took place yesterday, Monday 19 December, in Holy Trinity Church, Westbury-on-Trym. It was a private family service. Later this week, Jo…

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‘Johnny’ Johnson, 1921-2022 dambustersblog.com/2022/12/0…
‘Johnny’ Johnson, 1921-2022

‘Johnny’ Johnson, 1921-2022

Pic: Johnson family I am sorry to have to report that the last Dambuster, George Leonard (‘Johnny’) Johnson died yesterday, 7 December 2022, at the age of 101. As Sgt G L Johnson he flew on the RAF…

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Portrait of a legend by a legend dambustersblog.com/2022/11/3…
Portrait of a legend by a legend

Portrait of a legend by a legend

Pic: BBC It was Johnny Johnson’s 101st birthday last week, and many happy returns to him. And what better way for a man of such maturity, a legend in his own right, to mark his big day than b…

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New photo shows Trevor-Roper in 50 Squadron dambustersblog.com/2022/10/3…
New photo shows Trevor-Roper in 50 Squadron

New photo shows Trevor-Roper in 50 Squadron

Pic: Trevor-Roper family  The family of Flt Lt Richard Trevor-Roper DFM, who was the rear gunner in Guy Gibson’s crew on the Dams Raid, have kindly sent me a photograph taken when he was flyi…

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Dambuster Crash Sites: revised driver’s guide dambustersblog.com/2022/09/2…
AJ-N crew photographed 40 years on dambustersblog.com/2022/08/3…
AJ-N crew photographed 40 years on

AJ-N crew photographed 40 years on

Left to right: Harry O’Brien, Fred Sutherland, Bob Kellow, Sydney Hobday, Ray Grayston and Edward “Johnnie” Johnson. [Pic: O’Brien family]. Melvin Chambers has kindly allowe…

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Allsebrook crew killed on Dortmund-Ems canal raid commemorated in Germany dambustersblog.com/2022/07/1…
Allsebrook crew killed on Dortmund-Ems canal raid commemorated in Germany

Allsebrook crew killed on Dortmund-Ems canal raid commemorated in Germany

Joerg Echelmayer of the Riesenbeck Historical Society and Chris Ward standing by the plaque depicting the Allsebrook crew at the Bergeshovede quayside. [Pic: Andreas Wachtel] This summer has seen s…

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Harlingen ceremony honours AJ-K crew at McDowell graveside dambustersblog.com/2022/06/2…
Harlingen ceremony honours AJ-K crew at McDowell graveside

Harlingen ceremony honours AJ-K crew at McDowell graveside

Pic: Wim Govaerts In a small Dutch graveyard last Thursday morning, a trumpeter played the Last Post and the small group gathered there – Dutch, Belgian, German, New Zealanders and British – stood …

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Flt Lt Sydney Grimes dambustersblog.com/2022/06/0…

Flt Lt Sydney Grimes

I am sad to have to report the news of the death of Flt Lt Sydney Grimes on 27 May, at the age of 100. Syd Grimes was born in Great Wakering, near Southend-on-Sea on 6 May 1922. After leaving schoo…

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AJ-K crew memorial to go ahead in June at McDowell grave in Harlingen dambustersblog.com/2022/05/2…
AJ-K crew memorial to go ahead in June at McDowell grave in Harlingen

AJ-K crew memorial to go ahead in June at McDowell grave in Harlingen

The crew of AJ-K, shot down on the Dams Raid. L-R: Vernon Byers, Alastair Taylor, James Warner, John Wilkinson, Neville Whitaker, Charles Jarvie, James McDowell.  The postponed ceremony to unveil a…

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AJ-C crash site cleaned up, thanks to local German history group dambustersblog.com/2022/05/2…
AJ-C crash site cleaned up, thanks to local German history group

AJ-C crash site cleaned up, thanks to local German history group

Members of the Heimatverein Hamm-Heessen and Heimatverein Walstedde show the results of their work. [Pic: Heimatverein Hamm-Heessen] Here is a heart-warming story to mark last weekend’s 79th …

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Appeal for squadron commemorative window in Scampton church dambustersblog.com/2022/05/1…
Appeal for squadron commemorative window in Scampton church

Appeal for squadron commemorative window in Scampton church

RAF Scampton is due to close as a working RAF station on 31 December 2022.  To commemorate the station’s history a new window is planned for the local parish church in the nearby village of S…

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