Stuart L. relates what his father, an officer in 617 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, told him about their much-fabled commander Guy GibsonGuy Gibson VC,…
·297 words·~2 min read
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?
[Guy Gibson VC] 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.
. – 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
Free download of David Irving’s books Bookmark the download page to find the latest new free books
FEW WRITERS have the self-confidence to promote their own work with an 'endorsement' like this.[]PoliticosDecember (?) 2002DECEPTION AND DECEITJulian Lewis...