Les Munro - Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: England
Posts: 576
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A sad passing.
According to the BBC, he was the last of the Operation Chastise pilots, but there are still two other surviving aircrew.
Dambusters pilot Les Munro dies in New Zealand aged 96 - BBC News
According to the BBC, he was the last of the Operation Chastise pilots, but there are still two other surviving aircrew.
Dambusters pilot Les Munro dies in New Zealand aged 96 - BBC News
I shall screen the film today for my visiting grandchildren.
Lest we forget.
Lest we forget.
Lest we forget.
Lest we forget.
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Starring at an Airfield Near you
Posts: 371
Received 15 Likes
on
7 Posts
Sad day - but what an innings! Les was the stuff that real Heroes are made of. I trust that his contribution to wresting our freedoms from Nazi tyranny gets the appropriate level of coverage.
I'll raise a glass of Raid on the Ruhr Single Malt tonight (from a diminishing bottle!) to an inspirational character.
I'll raise a glass of Raid on the Ruhr Single Malt tonight (from a diminishing bottle!) to an inspirational character.
Many just cannot comprehend what these heroes did and at such a young age. We fly, we take minor risks (everyone does who drives a car or crosses the road), but I personally cannot even begin to know what these chaps went through. My uncle & namesake (Plt Off Derek Sharp, 44 Sqn) never returned from a Lancaster mission and was never seen again. In this land of 'milk & honey' youngsters have no idea of the phrase 'if I don't come back, you can have my egg'.
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Erewhon
Posts: 474
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Seen before, but most appropriate:
I hope there's a place, way up in the sky,
Where pilots can go, when they have to die.
A place where a guy could buy a cold beer
For a friend and a comrade whose memory is dear.
A place where no doctor or lawyer could tread,
Nor a management -type would e'er be caught dead!
Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke!
The kind of a place where a lady could go,
And feel safe and secure by the men she would know.
There MUST be a place where old pilots go, when
Their wings become weary, when their airspeed gets low;
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And songs about flying and dying are sung.
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd "flown west" before,
And they'd call out your name, as you came thru the door,
Who would buy you a drink, if the thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"
And then thru the mist you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen for years, though he'd taught YOU to fly,
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear,
And say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased you are here!
For this is the place where true flyers come,
When the battles are over, and the wars have been won;
We've come here at last, to be safe and afar,
From the government clerk, and the management czar,
Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise,
Where all Hours are Happy, and these good ol' boys,
Can relax with a 'cool one', and a well deserved rest.."
"This is Heaven, my son: You've passed your last check!"
I hope there's a place, way up in the sky,
Where pilots can go, when they have to die.
A place where a guy could buy a cold beer
For a friend and a comrade whose memory is dear.
A place where no doctor or lawyer could tread,
Nor a management -type would e'er be caught dead!
Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke!
The kind of a place where a lady could go,
And feel safe and secure by the men she would know.
There MUST be a place where old pilots go, when
Their wings become weary, when their airspeed gets low;
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And songs about flying and dying are sung.
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd "flown west" before,
And they'd call out your name, as you came thru the door,
Who would buy you a drink, if the thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"
And then thru the mist you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen for years, though he'd taught YOU to fly,
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear,
And say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased you are here!
For this is the place where true flyers come,
When the battles are over, and the wars have been won;
We've come here at last, to be safe and afar,
From the government clerk, and the management czar,
Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise,
Where all Hours are Happy, and these good ol' boys,
Can relax with a 'cool one', and a well deserved rest.."
"This is Heaven, my son: You've passed your last check!"
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: England
Posts: 924
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
A man who gave a life of service-he was also a JP and a town mayor, and more. A lot of the newspapers in the UK have covered Les Munro's passing in detail. I think the average Briton, if they had ever been fortunate to meet Les, would have genuinely thanked him. RIP.
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 33,068
Received 2,939 Likes
on
1,252 Posts
A fine man and a great loss.... Blue skies and RIP
