Author Archives: charlesfoster
Gibson salute on Dams Raid anniversary
Tomorrow, 16th May, is the 69th anniversary of Operation Chastise, the Dams Raid. The first aircraft, piloted by Flt Lt Norman Barlow , took off from RAF Scampton at 2128, quickly followed by three colleagues. One of these, AJ-K, flown … Continue reading
Filed under Anniversaries, Guy Gibson
Picture Post perfect
Not strictly Dambuster-related, but very interesting nevertheless. My friend Dom Howard’s foraging on Ebay has turned up yet another interesting artifact, in this copy of Picture Post magazine from 1942, with an article by Honor Balfour on how the Avro … Continue reading
Filed under Avro Lancaster, Roy Chadwick
All smiles at Avro
Sometime in late 1943 or early 1944, a number of 617 Squadron aircrew flew up to the Avro works near Manchester. A historic picture taken in the boardroom has recently come to light. All of the 617 Squadron personnel were … Continue reading
Filed under Avro Lancaster, Dams Raid crews
Looking great
Pic: Ken Lennox/Daily Mail Good to see George (Johnny) Johnson looking so well! The last British Dambuster was at Filton in Gloucestershire to meet Simon Dufton, organiser of next month’s charity motorbike run to the Möhne Dam, and current 617 … Continue reading
Filed under George 'Johnny' Johnson
Programmes and Orders of Service
More from the remarkable collection of Dom Howard. 617 Squadron 25th anniversary service 1968 617 Squadron trip to Derby programme 1980 617 Squadron 40th anniversary service 1983 Mick Martin memorial service, 1989 You can see these items in full here.
Filed under Anniversaries, Mick Martin
Help for Heroes ride to follow Dams Raid route
On the night of 16/17 May 2012 the 69th anniversary of the Dams Raid will be marked by a fundraising motorcycle ride for the Help for Heroes charity. The four riders will follow as closely as possible the route flown by … Continue reading
Filed under Anniversaries, David Maltby
Les Knight’s mother at his grave – new picture
A Dutch correspondent, Hans Dekker, who lives in Den Ham, has kindly sent me some exciting rare photographs concerning Flt Lt Les Knight, the pilot of AJ-N on the Dams Raid, who was killed in a later operation on 16 … Continue reading
Filed under Dambuster Graves, Les Knight
Blink and you’ll miss it
My good friend Dom Howard kindly recorded Stephen Fry’s very brief reference to the Dambusters remake on The One Show on BBC1 last night. Receiving an award for “Most Consistent Attempt to Remake a Film” the great man revealed that he will … Continue reading
Filed under Dambusters remake, Peter Jackson, Stephen Fry
The wrong Dambusters
Patrick Bishop is a great author, and his books Bomber Boys and Fighter Boys are invaluable sources of reference for anyone wanting to find out more about life in the wartime RAF. But someone has taken their eyes off the … Continue reading
617 Squadron’s last wartime casualties
The last wartime loss from 617 Squadron happened on 16 April 1945, when 18 Lancasters set off to attack the German cruiser Lutzow in the Kiel Canal. This was the third mission against the ship. The previous two, in the … Continue reading
