Category Archives: Anniversaries

by | February 13, 2013 · 1:39 am

Lincoln Cathedral to mark Dams Raid anniversary

Lincoln_Cathedral_crop

There will be a Dam Busters Commemoration in Lincoln Cathedral on the afternoon of Friday 17 May 2013 with the added bonus of a fly past by the Lancaster from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. This event is entry by ticket only and there are 1000 free tickets available to the public to apply for (two only per household).

Tickets can only be applied for by post, and are on a first come, first served basis. Write to the address below enclosing a stamped addressed envelope and your contact details (telephone number/email address).

Write to
Dam Busters Cathedral Event
Lincolnshire Archives
St Rumbold Street
Lincoln LN2 5AB

Please do not call or email to reserve tickets. Only postal requests with stamped addressed envelopes will be processed, due to the high demand expected. Tickets will be sent out in March and will include further details of the event.

See the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage website for more details.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Anniversaries

by | January 31, 2013 · 1:55 pm

See Baywatch Barnes on 19 May

barneswallis

It now looks as though there will be a number of events in May to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Dams Raid. I am collating a list at the moment, but in the meantime I will be happy to advertise things as and when they are notified to me.

Here is some news from Herne Bay in Kent, the nearest town to Reculver, which was the site of several test drops of the “bouncing bomb” by the RAF in 1943. These took place under the active supervision of Barnes Wallis, and he is now remembered by a statue on the seafront, shown above. There will be a “full town” commemoration on Sunday 19 May. The organisers are hoping that the BBMF Lancaster will be able to participate, as it did in a similar event ten years ago, but this is not yet confirmed.

1 Comment

Filed under Anniversaries, Barnes Wallis

by | August 15, 2012 · 9:58 pm

No memorial at Wickhambreaux in 2012

I am sorry to have to report that there will not be a graveside tribute to Sqn Ldr David Maltby and his crew this year. David Maltby is buried in St Andrew’s church in Wickhambreaux, Kent (pictured above). His body was the only one recovered after their aircraft crashed into the North Sea on 15 September 1943, after an operation to bomb the Dortmund Ems canal was called off.

For many years the tribute was organised by the East Kent branch of the RAF Aircrew Association, with the support of local members of the Maltby family. However, this branch has now been disbanded, with their standard being laid up at the Spitfire and Hurricane Museum in Manston (see newspaper cutting below). The Maltby family is very grateful to them for leading the tribute over the last many years, and sends every best wish to the individual members.

Regular readers of this blog will recall that last year’s tribute by the RAF’s last flying Lancaster to David Maltby and his crew had to be called off because of adverse weather conditions. We very much hope that the Lancaster will fly over Wickhambreaux in September 2013, the 70th anniversary of their final flight.

 

2 Comments

Filed under Anniversaries, David Maltby, Wickhambreaux

by | June 24, 2012 · 2:43 pm

Public meetings to mark Barnes Wallis 125th anniversary

The Annual Public Meeting of the Barnes Wallis Memorial Trust takes place this week.

This year sees the 125th Anniversary of Barnes Wallis’ birth and this year’s meeting will include three talks relating to his life:

• Barnes Wallis at Home –   his daughter, Mary Stopes-Roe
• Barnes Wallis, the citizen – Richard Morris,  biographer of Guy Gibson and Leonard Cheshire
• Barnes Wallis and Warriors – Robert Owen, Official Historian, No. 617 Sqn Aircrew Association

The talks will all be held on 28 June 2012 at Howden School of Technology, Derwent Road, Howden, E. Yorks DN14 7AL, starting at 7 pm.

Admission is free, but a retiring collection will be held in aid of the Barnes Wallis Memorial Trust and Howden School.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Anniversaries, Barnes Wallis

by | May 15, 2012 · 9:15 am

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 by Plt Off Vernon Byers, was the operation’s first of eight losses, shot down just over two hours later on the Dutch coast.
The Möhne Dam was breached at about 0049 on Sunday 17th May 1943, and the Eder Dam at 0150. Altogether, 53 aircrew were killed and three more taken prisoner. On the ground, there were 1294 casualties at the Möhne and 47 more in the Eder valley.
These are sobering figures, which we should remember when we commemorate the raid.
It is, however, fitting that Wg Cdr Guy Gibson, 617 Squadron’s commanding officer, is being remembered on the anniversary of his greatest achievement in the home village of his maternal grandparents, Porthleven in Cornwall. As his own parents lived in India, Gibson spent part of his childhood in the village, and by all accounts had a very happy time there. A new bronze plaque will be unveiled, and there will be representatives of the RAF present and, weather permitting, a flypast.

Hat tip: Graeme Stevenson

5 Comments

Filed under Anniversaries, Guy Gibson

by | March 31, 2012 · 12:32 pm

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.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Anniversaries, Harold ("Mick") Martin

by | February 23, 2012 · 1:28 pm

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 617 Squadron Lancaster AJ- J on the raid, from RAF Scampton to the Möhne Dam. They will then return to the UK via the John Frost Bridge, so famously held by the Paras at Arnhem, the ‘Bridge too Far’, arriving back in Scampton before midnight the same day.

The riders plan to lay a wreath at the Möhne Dam at 0019 on 17 May, the exact time and day of the bombing run of  the Lancaster piloted by David Maltby. As this blog has a personal connection to David Maltby and his crew, we are happy to support their efforts.

The riders are a group of four, led by Simon Dufton. If you would like to support this cause, you can go to the donations page set up by Simon and his colleagues.

3 Comments

Filed under Anniversaries, David Maltby

by | September 18, 2011 · 12:03 pm

Exclusive film of Lancaster flyover, 9 September 2011

Lots of technical reasons why it’s taken a week to get this up on YouTube, but here it is.

I have never been so close to a Lancaster flypast before, and what caught me by surprise was how low it flew and how quickly it passed. Although we knew the direction in which the aircraft would come, and were prepared for it, the first pass happened so quickly that no one caught it on video. Luckily we were better prepared for the second and third approaches, and my son was able to catch just 22 seconds worth altogether.

6 Comments

Filed under Anniversaries, BBMF, David Maltby, Wickhambreaux

by | September 13, 2011 · 11:01 am

Great turnout for Kent Dambuster salute

Crowds at the graveside of Sqn Ldr David Maltby. Photo: Ady Kerry

The country’s only flying Lancaster couldn’t make an appearance, but a couple of hundred people were not deterred, and made Saturday’s tribute to the crew of Dams Raid Lancaster AJ-J in Wickhambreaux, Kent, a very special occasion.

The village churchyard contains the grave of pilot David Maltby, whose body was the only one recovered from the North Sea when the aircraft he was flying crashed on 15 September 1943. Every year, local people gather to commemorate David and the rest of his crew, who have no known grave. This year, we were privileged to be joined by representatives of the families of three of other crew members, John Fort (bomb aimer), William Hatton (flight engineer) and Victor Hill (front gunner).

As well as the graveside tribute, a small exhibition took place in the Village Hall, which was opened by the Sheriff of Canterbury, Cllr Hazel McCabe.

Obviously, people were disappointed that the Lancaster was prevented from flying by high winds (foreshadowing Monday’s gales in the wake of Hurricane Katia) but that did not prevent a very impressive turnout, and a poignant and moving service, led by the Vicar, the Revd Chris Wilkinson.

Many thanks to all who came, and to Revd Chris Wilkinson, the Wickhambreaux Parish Council, the Village Hall Committee, the Sheriff of Canterbury and the Rose Inn for their help.

Peter Fort, great nephew of Flg Off John Fort, his two daughters, and Rene Hopkins, sister of Sgt William Hatton.

Valerie Ashton, daughter of Flt Sgt Victor Hill.

George Foster, nephew of Sqn Ldr David Maltby. Photo: Ady Kerry

The Vicar of Littlebourne, Revd Chris Wilkinson, conducting the graveside tribute. Photo: Ady Kerry

Charles Foster, nephew of Sqn Ldr David Maltby. Photo: Ady Kerry

Leave a Comment

Filed under Anniversaries, Dams Raid crews, David Maltby, John Fort, Victor Hill, Wickhambreaux, William Hatton

by | September 17, 2010 · 9:16 am

Hatton, Hill and Maltby Dambuster families paying respects

Members of three Dambuster families came together earlier this week to mark the anniversary of the deaths of their relatives. Pictured above are (far left) William Castle, nephew of Sgt William Hatton, (third from left) Rene Hopkins (sister of Sgt William Hatton) and (second from right) Valerie Ashton (daughter of Flt Sgt Victor Hill). They are gathered at the graveside of Sqn Ldr David Maltby, in St Andrew’s Church, Wickhambreaux, Kent for the annual commemoration of the deaths of this Dams Raid crew after an aborted raid on the Dortmund Ems Canal in the early hours of 15 September 1943. David Maltby’s body was the only one recovered after their aircraft went down – those of the rest of the crew were never found, and they are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. The accident may have been caused by a collision with a Mosquito of 139 Squadron returning from a completely separate raid on Berlin, but this has never been proved.
The commemoration was organised by the East Kent branch of the RAF Aircrew Association, whose chairman, John Addley, is on the far right.

2 Comments

Filed under Anniversaries, Dambuster Graves, David Maltby, Dortmund Ems, Victor Hill, William Hatton