Today is the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters' raid on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams that were vital to the Nazi military industrial complex.
Seventy years ago 617 Squadron left RAF Scampton on its mission to destroy the dams.
To mark the anniversary there will be a sunset ceremony at Scampton attended by members of Guy Gibson’s (the squadron leader who led the raid) family, along with two veterans of the raid and the daughter of Barnes Wallis who invented the bouncing bombs that were used in the raid.
As well as events at Scampton, there will be various fly-pasts by the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and Friday’s international service at Lincoln Cathedral. Today the last operational Lancaster will fly down the Derwent Valley and strafe the Derwent Dam (which was used by the squadron as a practice target in their training for the raid).
Unfortunately many people who would like to watch this will be unable to.
For why?
Health and safety!
Severn Trent Water, which owns the dam, and other public sector ‘stakeholders’ have decreed that heavy traffic on country lanes would pose an unacceptable threat to the emergency services. So there can be no official event at the Derwent Dam.
The Mail quotes Mary Stopes-Roe, daughter of Barnes Wallis:
"It’s absolutely ridiculous. Do they think we’re all going to fall into the water?"Where would we be now, if this absurd attitude to health and safety been prevalent during the war?
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