Letters to David Irving on this Website

Unless correspondents ask us not to, this Website will post selected letters that it receives, and invite open debate.

Stuart L. relates what his father, an officer in 617 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, told him about their much-fabled commander Guy Gibson

Guy Gibson VC, centre, with his men of 617 Squadron, the "Dambusters"

Was Dambuster Guy Gibson, VC, an unpopular commander?

ON the subject of Guy Gibson, you might be interested in an incident recounted to me by my late father, who served in Bomber Command during the war.

After completing two tours of duty as part of the bombing campaign against German cities, my father's crew were transferred to 617 Squadron sometime after Gibson went missing in action.

He told me that on entering the mess for the first time he saw one of the pictures that hung there was turned to face the wall, and on enquiring who this was he was surprised to learn it was Gibson's photograph.

It was clear to him from the respondent's demeanour that Gibson was not well liked, but the precise reasons were not explained to him. My father rarely talked about his wartime experiences, but remained certain of the necessity for the bombing campaign, and when he did discuss this period of his life he was unapologetic about the actions of Bomber Command.

Stuart L.

Dying British airman admitted in 1992: Shot down, killed Dambusters hero Guy Gibson in 1944 by mistake - RAF covered it up
Prestigious actor Stephen Fry chooses to alter history: in his new Dambusters film script, the faithful black Labrador "Nigger" of hero Guy Gibson VC (right) is renamed Digger. - Why not Tigger, or Snigger - or even more appropriately in Stephen Fry's case, B*gger? As Churchill said about Tom Driberg MP: "B*ggers can't be Choosers" | BBC

 

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David Irving replies:

THANK you so much for your letter, Stuart, I have just rewritten my 1973 book on the Dams raid. Can't deny the stoic heroism of guys like your father - I met and spoke with quite a lot in the early 1960s. The odds of survival were very heavily stacked against them. I also met Bomber Harris in 1962 and interviewed him a couple of times (right), and he wrote me a wonderful handwritten letter of praise as an historian -- the only one he would trust in future, he said. I must dig it out and put it on my website.

PS: In the Himmler biography which I am writing now (15 years' work so far), is en episode one of his adjutants told me: Himmler entered the Mess of the Leibstandarte a year after Rudolf Hess had flown to Scotland; found that the portrait of Hess had been discreetly turned to face the wall, and ordered it turned back the right way again, making a complimentary remark about Hess's fine character.