Anyone fancy a walk ?

[minigundiplomat]

The Bomber Command Memorial needs £2 Mil.

It's going to be up to us again. I suggest a sponsored walk from Lincoln to the Mohne Dam (Relays etc, with people walking 25-50Miles).

Would love to get the ball rolling, but deploy soon. Anyone in the UK for the next 6 months (long shot, I know) interested in picking this up?

MGD

[TiffyFGR4]

I'm up for it. :ok:

[minigundiplomat]

Yeah me too depending on dates. What we need is someone to organise it. Dip/Land clearance, liaison and approaching Hertz etc for the loan of a support wagon etc.

Someone must possess the skills and need their SJAR fattened up?

[Sven Sixtoo]

Notwithstanding our rapprochement with our German allies (eg the exchange officer who organised the Boulmer BoB party with the slogan "Ve vere at ze battle, ve vill be at ze pissup, ja?"), wouldn't it work better from the Moehne to Scampton? - remembering at each stage of the return journey those who never made it, route from Harwich via many Bomber Command bases, and more effective press coverage at the end, with the Arrows in full flow above?

And care should be taken. Not decrying 617s magnificent and terrible heritage (9 crews lost out of 19 in one night), but Bomber Command's real courage was the thousands who faced up to 3% losses night after night, which for a crew on 2 raids a week added (multiplied?) up to a 50/50 chance of being dead in 3 months.

The only fear worse, I understand from my father, was when the war in Europe ended and large numbers of Bomber Command crews were earmarked for operations against Japan. Crews believed that over Germany, they would at least survive if they got out of the aircraft alive.

Sven

[seanbean]

You can count on my support, but what kind of memorial costs £2M?:confused:

[Sven Sixtoo]

A valid point - is the expenditure justified, and if yes, should not a fundraising effort contain a proportion towards help for the survivors? The survivors of Bomber Command are now in their mid-to-late 80s. RBL and other Service charities do their best, but more money would be appreciated and it could be argued that our greatest redeemable debt is to those who live with the scars.

Sven

[fantaman]

You can count me in. I'd definately be up for helping organising it aswell, I like getting my teeth stuck into this sort of thing especially when its for such a worthy cause.

minigundiplomat could you send me a PM with your thoughts?

Cheers

[chiglet]

As an [ex] Fighter Command person,
Why not a sponsored walk from Scampton to Derwent Water....and back
And a Sponsored Golf Tournament at Woodhall Spa... or any RAF affiliated Golf Clubs.
Just a thought, 'cos I'd be up for it....:ok:
watp, iktch

[minigundiplomat]

Thanks for all the PM's and positive feedback. I think we can do this, as a break from the normal round of sniping. We all possess useful skills, it's time to put them to good use.

FANTAMAN is keen to take on this task, and I would urge anyone interested in walking, or feels they have some skill to offer to get in touch with him.

As for whether £2 Mil is needed, I don't know, but I can't see RAFA having an ulterior motive, so lets just get behind them.

Thanks and good luck.

[Stretch182]

I'm up for this as well - either just as a walker or can assist with admin & org if required

[C130 Techie]

Cracking idea. Contact details sent to Fantaman.

[minigundiplomat]

7 people so far from over 1200 views....Hmmm, maybe if we had a sponsored banterthon.....

[jpboy]

I'm in. 55000 reasons to support this great cause.

For any given 100 aircrew in Bomber Command, 1939-1945,
the statistical breakdown was:
Killed on operations 51
Killed in crashes in England 9
Seriously injured 3
Prisoner of War 12
Evaded capture 1
Survived unharmed 24

[shobakker]

I'd be interested. My Dad was in the RAF during WW2 - nothing exciting due to his eyesight but he served from 39-45 in the admin side of things...He often spoke of the bombers going out, the great mass of planes in the sky and the planes returning in single numbers, shot to pieces, falling apart or crashing on the runway...

[Mmmmnice]

sorry I'm late to this thread - did someone mention drugs? wehey I'm in...........and you think you're gay MGD? oh well each to his own....

[Rocket Chucker]

I'll help on the organisational front. I helped with the safety planning for a Parachute Regiment Association do at Old Sarum last year, (it's my job - lokul guvinmint :8) and I'm sure I can get one or two of the other guys who wer on the team to lend a hand - call in a few favours etc. as we're ot planning anything for 2009 at the moment.

I liked the sound of the golf tournament in one of the other posts as well - maybe we could factor that in at some time??

Let me know one way or t'uther.

[minigundiplomat]

sorry I'm late to this thread - did someone mention drugs? wehey I'm in...........and you think you're gay MGD? oh well each to his own....


WTF????????????

[cargosales]

I'm in.

Fantaman / MGD, please check your PMs

CS

[CirrusF]

What about the channel? I'll volunteer to row it if I can get hold of an ocean rowing skiff up there, and another volunteer.

[Zoom]

A trip to Germany sounds like a rather dodgy idea to me. There is a fair chance that any route would pass through areas where Bomber Command was not too popular in WW2 or even now, especially near any dams that were breached or cities that got pasted. It would be rather like rubbing their inhabitants' noses in it - again - and we should be beyond all that. Perhaps the fund-raising effort should be confined to the UK and could involve a route that took in all of the airfields that hosted bombers during the War. After all, this should be about what Bomber Command did for us rather than against someone else.

[cargosales]

Zoom:


A trip to Germany sounds like a rather dodgy idea to me. There is a fair chance that any route would pass through areas where Bomber Command was not too popular in WW2 or even now, especially near any dams that were breached or cities that got pasted. It would be rather like rubbing their inhabitants' noses in it - again - and we should be beyond all that. Perhaps the fund-raising effort should be confined to the UK and could involve a route that took in all of the airfields that hosted bombers during the War. After all, this should be about what Bomber Command did for us rather than against someone else.


Thinking about it, that's an extremely good point, very well made and an excellent idea :ok:

A UK-only exercise, taking in all of the airfields that hosted bombers in WWII would also make the logistics of the exercise a darn sight easier, as well as being a very, very powerful message for the press to present to its various audiences.

On the logistical front:


Getting people/walkers in position would be an awful lot easier.
It would significantly boost the numbers who turned out to walk, even if it was a symbolic distance (perhaps involve local RAFA/RBL branches? - nothing like veterans with medals on their blazers to get the press interested!)
You'd have much more support and help on the ground E.g. from those surviving stations I'd hope at least for soup and rolls for the walkers, as well as a 'base' to operate from.
Plus we'd get tons of local press coverage which we wouldn't otherwise get, as well as the likely national publicity, to get over the message of why the walk is taking place and why people need to stick their hand in their pocket.Good thinking Zoom!

CS

[Zoom]

Thank you CS. Another point is that one needs to be careful about making too much of the Dambusters Raid. It was a single, secretive, specialised operation that involved only a tiny number of Bomber Command personnel. It's the whole BC effort and all of the personnel that need to be applauded.

Out of interest, there is an airfield 2 miles from here that hosted Wellingtons and Dakotas, and the spire of the village church was removed and laid on timbers next to the church for the duration of the war. It would have been a significant obstacle for the aircraft in claggy weather. The airfield is still very much in use but for a non-aviation purpose.

[goneeast]

Ill do part of the walk if im in uk (live in ME) but home most of Dec. If not, ill bung a few quid in, if there is a account to do so.. bit like the lad who lost his MQ few years back?

Andy (ex BBMF)

[fastener]

Pilots walking......without GPS or nav aids? Could end up anywhere!!!

[Zoom]

Not so fast, fastener. What usually happens is nav/WSO confuses himself with a wealth of navaids in the back such as radar, INAS, GPS, Decca, Tacan, DME, Oboe, sextants and celestial charts and directs pilot into the bundu in completely the wrong direction. Pilot slides crumpled map out of pocket and has a crafty squint, nudges stick over a bit, adjusts speed a tad and says, 'Yep, on track as usual, nav.'

Seen it a million times!!!

Mind you, there are so many ex-Bomber Command airfields in the UK that anyone is bound to bump into some of them regardless of their navigational skills!

[Stretch182]

If it's a mainland UK effort, I'm sure we'll get both coverage & support, can involve RAFA/RBL & also the ATC.

Now are we going to finish talking and start planning / doing?

Stretch

[fantaman]

Morning all,

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and post on this very worthwhile subject. To all of those who have PM’d me, I am slowly getting round to replying to them all, I just wasn’t expecting close on 25 in one day.

Minigundiplomat, who had the idea and posted it on the forum, has now gone OOA and I seem to have inadvertently put myself forward to organise this. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into this and with your help, we really could make a huge dent in that two million pounds target.

Planning is now very much underway, with a few changes to the original idea. The idea of walking to or from Germany did seem like a good one however, we would have had major problems in two areas. The German public and the Gewrman Government granting us dip clearance for such an event. Therefore, we have decided to go with a relay style walk around former Bomber Command bases, probably ending at Scampton.

I will keep the board updated as we go along and if things do seem slow, it’s because we’re working hard behind the scenes with all the organising. If you think you can help and would like to offer some of your spare time, please do get in touch via the PM facility.

Thanks again

Fantaman