Kevin Watts has sent me pictures of a interesting beer tankard which he has recently acquired. One one side is a large 617 Squadron crest, on the other the words:
BOMBS AWAY
17/5/43
KEN’S

I’m not an expert on engraving, but the crest in particular looks to have been done with some skill, using only a simple nail punch and hammer. Kevin has been told that it came from the Blue Bell pub in Tattershall Thorpe at the time it was refurbished in the 1950s, when the many signatures left on the ceiling by wartime aircrew were painted over.

There were only two Kens/Kenneths on the Dams Raid. One of these, Ken Earnshaw, was killed so it can’t be his. It’s possible that someone made it up for the other, Ken Brown, or it could have been done for someone who served in the squadron’s ground crew.

Any further information would be welcome, so if you have any, please add it in the comments box below.