Today was the 70th anniversary of the "Dambuster" World War II raid on German dams. It was marked by a Commemoration ceremony (not a celebration, out of respect for those who died on both sides of the conflict.) A Lancaster bomber flew over Derwent reservoir which was one of the practice sites that they used before the mission.
I have seen the tremendous The Dam Busters film many times with its unforgettable Dam Busters March music. My Dad was a great admirer of Barnes Wallace, who developed the bouncing bomb and often spoke of his genius. I remember how sad I felt watching the film as a child when Wing Commander Guy Gibson's dog was run over the evening before the raid - this really happened. The dog was called the N word (a common name for black dogs in those days which of course is now rightly culturally unacceptable.) Guy Gibson himself survived the raids but died on another mission a couple of years later aged only twenty six.
I was listening to Chris Evans talking about it on Radio 2 this morning when I was on my way to work and he mentioned that the pilots had to fly very low, only 60 feet above the ground - and more than a third of these brave young men never returned from the raids.
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