Hugh, whether others of your ex-colleagues post or not, and I truly hope they do, you make a most worthy spokesman, Sir! I am really pleased that you are for this idea, for some say that after so much time there is no real interest now, well there most obviously is! How the mish-mash that was done in 1945/6 can be resolved now, if it is to be, is for those in the corridors of power to decide. I feel strongly, as you do, that as far as possible, Sir Arthur Harris's wish for a Bombing Campaign Award be honoured, particularly as he was not at a time when others were! The stumbling block appears to be that only one such medal can be awarded, with a clasp for another. As I understand it you would all have been awarded the 1939/45 star, along with the Aircrew Europe or France Germany star. Those pilots who fought the Battle of Britain received the Battle of Britain Clasp to their 1939/45 star. It would seem appropriate if a Battle of Germany Clasp be awarded to those who fought that battle, as Harris named it. Whether that would accord with your wishes, medal protocols and all the other stumbling blocks, I know not. Perhaps those more qualified than I might give us their views, and I hope offer a solution.
Meanwhile thank you again for your contributions Hugh. Your mention that your aircraft could be flying the next night after so much battle damage is a reminder of the can-do attitudes of those days and the skill and dedication of the ground crews. We must never forget the debt we owe a remarkable generation!