Sq Ldr George "Johnny" Johnson

Jonathangus

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-63899393

The last of the Dambusters.  101.

RIP, Sir.

guitars4you

Just seen this on the B'eeb and on R5 - Maybe the first I knew of this raid was watching the famous movie when I was a kid - My sister had a junior school teacher who was a rear gunner on the raid - I live quite close to Lady Bower Reserve where they practiced for the raid - I don't 'Johnny' one little bit - But am saddened to hear such news - He was 21 when he went on the raid - Remarkable - To Johnny I say RIP and a big thanks to you, your colleagues, Guy Gibson and his 4 legged friend Nigger 

DefaultM

guitars4you said:

Just seen this on the B'eeb and on R5 - Maybe the first I knew of this raid was watching the famous movie when I was a kid - My sister had a junior school teacher who was a rear gunner on the raid - I live quite close to Lady Bower Reserve where they practiced for the raid - I don't 'Johnny' one little bit - But am saddened to hear such news - He was 21 when he went on the raid - Remarkable - To Johnny I say RIP and a big thanks to you, your colleagues, Guy Gibson and his 4 legged friend Nigger 

Christ on a fucking bike.

scrumhalf

21!

You just can't imagine it. 

darthed1981

Rest in Peace, sir.

The Dambusters raid was a superb achievement of technology and human skill, and despite the horrific losses to the squadron proportionately, I can think of no other time such disruption was achieved for the loss of just 8 aircraft.

If anyone wants to read more, I'd go more for James Holland's book on the raid than for Max Hastings' one, BTW.

Offset

I remember doing a mini-play dedicated to The Dambusters when I was at primary school, believe it or not.  Balaclavas and empty yoghurt pots made reasonable flying caps and the Lancs were, um, 'virtual' before that use of the word was invented.  This wouldn't have been much more than 20 years after the war ended so the raid would still be reasonably fresh in the nation's consciousness.  As my Dad was in the RAF during the war, it was a story with which I was very familiar from an early age.

Guy Gibson's black labrador really WAS called that.  He was run over and killed by a car on the day of the raid.   There was a memorial to him at RAF Scampton and a couple of years ago it was removed and replaced with a plaque minus the pejorative term, amidst some controversy.  I have very mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand I don't think we should be airbrushing history; on the other I totally get the offence the term gives to most people.

With JJ's passing the final link to a key episode in our past passes with him.  RIP Johnny, God bless.

NB - Hasting's 'Chastise' is on my bedside table awaiting my attention :-)