Saturday 11 May 2013

The Dambuster


70 years ago this week on the night of the 16&17 of May one of the most daring raids on Germany took place on the Rhur Valley to breach the The Möhne and Edersee Dams. I had already done some work looking into the background of this raid in looking for the remains of a dam used in the development tests of the bouncing bomb at the Nant-Y-Gro.
Some of the photos I took there were used in Britian at War Magazine for the 70 anniversary edition featuring the raid.  By chance while talking with a guy at work I was told one of the men from the raid was buried at a local church nearby. I felt I had to visit and see the grave of one of the people who made history. What I found was a bit more of a surprise than I expected.


  St Michael & All Angels was in Clifton Hampden and I had visited it a few years ago.
I saw this grave of Peter A Standing who won the South Atlantic medal a few years before so this time looked around some more of the churchyard.


Looking around the churchyard it was not looking before I came across some commonwealth War Graves
Then to my surprise I came across
Who is buried with his wife.
After looking round some more I finally found grave of David John Shannon DSO DFC RAAF 27.5.1922 - 8.4.1992  RAF 106 & 617 Squadron THE DAMBUSTERS.
I felt honored to have visited the graves of such men.
Beside his grave is that of is wife Ann
St Michael & All Saints is a beautiful churchyard with a view over the Thames. I will revisit and post some photos of the church inside which is just as superb.