THIRD WAVE NUMBER 15 Ottley Crew Frederick Tees and Harry Strange would swap gun positions on ops. This night Fred Tees was listed as Front Gunner however they swapped again and Fred survived.
Hi Spidge I have read these posts with interest. All of the 133 men who took part in the raid are given their individual profile and picture on my blog. See http://completedambusters.com. I seem to recognise some of your pictures as being those I had sourced for the blog. Rice died on 24 November 1981 and Batson on 25 November 2006. Best wishes Charles http://dambustersblog.com
Hi Charles, Thank you for those dates. I did already have them on the photos when I edited them on the 28th of December after updating my master. A friend, Alex B, provided them for me on his Facebook page. Alex has been a great help to me with his knowledge of 617sqn and Bomber Command. The only two who I do not have day/month for are Ivan Whittaker and Frank Appleby. A lady who traces the Appleby line states that "Frank's date of death is not recorded on the GRO index - Only the year and Jul-Sep Qtr. With respect to photos, I have been in contact with many of the families in Canada, Shere "Fraser", Maureen O,Shaugnessy, daughter of Harry O'Brien to name a couple and others through Ancestry who have provided personal photos and grave photos of their fathers which I am also endeavoring to collect as well. There have also been quite a few who have seen my posts through my RAAF Facebook page and sent me photos. Cheers and a Happy New Year Geoff
Geoff, Work in progress looking good.....thanks for updating us with the progress of your project. Best Wishes for the New Year.....no doubt basking in the sun unlike we in the UK
Harry, was 40c in Melbourne on Thursday. Should post the rest of the Dambuster crews this week. Best for the New Year to you also. Cheers Geoff
While I have added the slides singularly, I have put them together on You Tube to the Dambusters March Theme. Hope you like it! Best viewed in Full Screen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkEPh4lIo0Q
There are now only two Dambusters living. George "Johnny" Johnson (UK) from McCarthy's Crew (14) Frederick E. Sutherland (Canada) from Les Knight's Crew.(9) Cheers Geoff
Leonard Cheshire Perhaps the wrong place for this but here is some video taken over the Gnome et Rhone aero-engine factory in Limoges, France, 02-08-44. Dramatic footage of WW2 bomb raid emerges
Of the 133 airmen that set out on the Dams raid, 30 were Canadian. Fourteen were killed during the raid and one became a Prisoner of War. Exactly 50% of the Canadians who took off did not return. Doc Sutherland was the front gunner on Les Knights Lancaster AJ-N that went to the Mohne Dam, and then successfully attacked and breached the Eder Dam. Shot down four months later, he managed to evade capture and escape back to England with the help of the Resistance movements, returning through Holland, France and Spain. As of July 2016, he continues to reside in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. 93-year-old Fred still drives his car and he and his wife manage very well in their own home
Hi Tim, Many of the crew lived to a good age. There ended up being 3 returning to Canada from that crew, albeit not until 1952 that Australian Robert Kellow and his Canadian born wife and their two Australian born children emigrated to live in Winnipeg. Bob had married Doreen Alice Roberta (PAL) Smith in 1946 in the Merewether Methodist Church Newcastle, New South Wales. Bob Barlow was employed at the Engineering Division of the Manitoba Power Commission (predecessor to Manitoba Hydro), starting as a draftsman in 1953 and retiring as an executive assistant in 1982.. He passed away on 12th February 1988 at St Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg. He was 71. Kellow visited Knight's grave in the 1980s as did other members of his grateful crew on a number of occasions. Cheers