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Derwent Valley
© Courtesy of Peak District National Park Authority
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Home of the Dambusters |
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As with all military airbases in times of conflict, locals would not have known about the top secret operation. However, according to Mike Hodgson at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre near Woodhall Spa, a home to 617 Squadron in the later stages of the war, the frequent comings and goings from Scampton suggested a major operation being prepared for. 
617 Squadron badge
© Deltaweb International Ltd |
But it was not only the locals who were kept in the dark over the operation; the Squadron crews themselves were only told the destination of their mission a day before the raid.
Time constraints meant the Squadron’s training had to be incredibly intensive, more than 1,000 hours of flying time were spread over less than two months. They practiced their precision flying and bombing skills across the UK, from Derwent Valley reservoir in Derbyshire to the Eyebrook reservoir in Leicestershire. Locals thought they were under attack during the practices, little knowing the real reasons behind them. In an article in the 'Leicester Mercury' in May 2003, Geoff Band recalled that, while living in the village of Great Eastern as a teenager, he had witnessed the squadron training. He recalls them practicing at dusk and that “they’d come over the village, circle round and have another go at the lake. They were so low, I said at the time that they were going to hit the village’s church spire”.
The burst dams
© Crown Copyright |
To this day, Lincolnshire people remain proud of the Dambusters and celebrate the area’s connection to 617 Squadron. There is a memorial to the Dambusters at Woodhall Spa where the Squadron holds twice yearly reunions. The Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa was requisitioned by the RAF during the Second World War and in 1943 it became the officer’s mess for 617 Squadron. The hotel’s Squadron Bar is dedicated to this famous group of men. The airfield at Scampton is still used by the RAF, and contains a museum dedicated to the Squadron.
Your comments
1 Rosa Manson from Devon - 13 January 2004
"I have been asked why so many flying objects have been flying over the Derbyshire Vales. Maybe the locals don't know about the Derwent Valley Reservoir. Would you know if this had any influence on what people saw in the the following areas. Hurst Farm Estate (Matlock), Bakewell; Ashbourne near Tissington and Rowsley. If you have any information on why people should be seeing various objects flying over these areas or the "Vales" of Derbyshire I would be very interested in finding out."
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