Triton, I think that the fire bombing of Dresden was the really regrettable
target for quite a few Bomber Command crews. It wasn't really a military target and was consequently poorly defended. But it was a reprisal raid and these things happen in wartime. Bomber Command's losses had been massive.
Years ago, I spoke with the (now late) RAAF 462 Sqn pilot, Ernie Stanton
who took part in the Dresden raid. We had a beer at his bar in his lounge. Ernie was originally a Tasmanian so the beer was Boags! 462 Sqn operated Halifax bombers from RAF Driffield in Yorkshire along with 466 Sqn. Ernie lived locally to me. In his lounge was an oil painting of Halifax E . HD. ('E' being the aircraft "tail number", 'H' meaning 4 Group, Bomber Command and 'D' being the base, Driffield.) His navigator was the oil painter.
Imagine my surprise to find out the following.. My Dad had been a member of the RAF Air Training Corps during the war. On 17th Aug 1944, aged 15, he managed to score himself an Australian Halifax test flight in E . HD for 30 minutes at Driffield. It may not have been the same airframe, as the lost aircraft were generally replaced with aircraft with the same registrations. I suppose that was for morale purposes and not to scare new aircrews of what the losses really were! Although they soon found out..
It's really heartening to hear that Bill Purdy is still flying.