Bomber Harris feted by his men
Title
Bomber Harris feted by his men
Description
Newspaper article detailing the dinner and reunion at Grosvenor House attended by 1400 members of Bomber Command.
Creator
Date
1980-04-19
Temporal Coverage
Language
Type
Format
One newspaper cutting on an album page
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
SMarshallS1594781v10044
Transcription
THE SUNDAY TELEGR[missing letters]
[underlined] ’Bomber’ Harris feted by his men [/underlined]
[photograph]
Marshal of the RAF Sir Arthur (“Bomber”) Harris.
By PETER DOBBIE
MORE than 1,400 members of Bomber Command last night gathered to honour their former chief, Marshal of the RAF Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris – probably their last big reunion.
The grand occasion at the Grosvenor House, born out of courageous defeat of the Luftwaffe, is a victim of the common enemy, inflation. Nevertheless, the evening was a splendid tribute to Sir Arthur.
Bathed in the gentle glow of a symbolic searchlight and clearly moved by the taped roar of a Lancaster bomber, accompanied by thunderous applause, Sir Arthur, who is 88, sat down to dine with the men and women who still revere him as “Old Butch.”
Air chief marshals, air vice-marshals and air marshals graced the top table. Former Bomber Command crew from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe were among the gathering which, with the rising cost of travel and staying in London, looks like being the last on such a scale.
‘NIGHT FIGHTER’ QUIP
Sir Harold “Micky” Miller left his sickbed in Italy to attend and proposed Sir Arthur’s health at speeches following the meal.
He had cracked ribs while in a bath. “A night fighter got me.” he chuckled painfully. The evening harked back 33 years to the occasion at the Royal Albert Hall when ground and air crew shouted their support for “Bomber” Harris. Sir Arthur was not without his critics following the mass bombing of Germany, which inevitably claimed heavy civilian casualties.
The hurt inflicted by politicians and commentators on the day has clearly not healed.
Before last night’s dinner he said: “The only chaps who really know the truth are these men here. They were at the receiving end. Their achievement has never been fully acknowledged.”
Sir Arthur also confided how he received his other pet name, “Bert.” He was christened at a Baghdad air force base being used by navy men. He explained: “The navy always call a Harris Bert.”
Sir Arthur was presented with a glass decanter by Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett, leader of the Pathfinders, the group who sought out and “marked” targets for the bombers.
Mrs Eve Gibson widow of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, of Dambusters fame, was among the guests.
VERA LYNN SONGS
Almost inevitably Vera Lynn provided nostalgia with a cabaret of songs, while the hotel orchestra took on two extra saxophone players for the Glenn Miller favourites.
But for many the chief joys were the stores [sic] and recollections.
Mr Roland Hammersley, of Wareham, Dorset, recalled the Nuremberg raid in March, 1944, in which 150 of the 750 bombers were lost.
“We never knew just how important that raid was until several days later. We had 9,000lbs of bombs on board. It was a moonlit night and the Germans were picking us off like flies. Below the city was like a fairyland of lights where the bombs were raining down.”
Mr Douglas Garton, who travelled from San Diego for the reunion, recalled how, as a flight sergeant, he saw Guy Gibson off on his last mission. “He was a very brave man and always cheerful – a brilliant pilot.”
As the evening went on many of the guests said they were determined to continue the reunions.
Mr Ray Callow, a former air gunner and the organiser, said it was costing up to £100 for members to attend, “but somehow I can’t see inflation keeping these men apart. They are all totally devoted to ‘Bomber’.”
[underlined] ’Bomber’ Harris feted by his men [/underlined]
[photograph]
Marshal of the RAF Sir Arthur (“Bomber”) Harris.
By PETER DOBBIE
MORE than 1,400 members of Bomber Command last night gathered to honour their former chief, Marshal of the RAF Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris – probably their last big reunion.
The grand occasion at the Grosvenor House, born out of courageous defeat of the Luftwaffe, is a victim of the common enemy, inflation. Nevertheless, the evening was a splendid tribute to Sir Arthur.
Bathed in the gentle glow of a symbolic searchlight and clearly moved by the taped roar of a Lancaster bomber, accompanied by thunderous applause, Sir Arthur, who is 88, sat down to dine with the men and women who still revere him as “Old Butch.”
Air chief marshals, air vice-marshals and air marshals graced the top table. Former Bomber Command crew from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Europe were among the gathering which, with the rising cost of travel and staying in London, looks like being the last on such a scale.
‘NIGHT FIGHTER’ QUIP
Sir Harold “Micky” Miller left his sickbed in Italy to attend and proposed Sir Arthur’s health at speeches following the meal.
He had cracked ribs while in a bath. “A night fighter got me.” he chuckled painfully. The evening harked back 33 years to the occasion at the Royal Albert Hall when ground and air crew shouted their support for “Bomber” Harris. Sir Arthur was not without his critics following the mass bombing of Germany, which inevitably claimed heavy civilian casualties.
The hurt inflicted by politicians and commentators on the day has clearly not healed.
Before last night’s dinner he said: “The only chaps who really know the truth are these men here. They were at the receiving end. Their achievement has never been fully acknowledged.”
Sir Arthur also confided how he received his other pet name, “Bert.” He was christened at a Baghdad air force base being used by navy men. He explained: “The navy always call a Harris Bert.”
Sir Arthur was presented with a glass decanter by Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett, leader of the Pathfinders, the group who sought out and “marked” targets for the bombers.
Mrs Eve Gibson widow of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, of Dambusters fame, was among the guests.
VERA LYNN SONGS
Almost inevitably Vera Lynn provided nostalgia with a cabaret of songs, while the hotel orchestra took on two extra saxophone players for the Glenn Miller favourites.
But for many the chief joys were the stores [sic] and recollections.
Mr Roland Hammersley, of Wareham, Dorset, recalled the Nuremberg raid in March, 1944, in which 150 of the 750 bombers were lost.
“We never knew just how important that raid was until several days later. We had 9,000lbs of bombs on board. It was a moonlit night and the Germans were picking us off like flies. Below the city was like a fairyland of lights where the bombs were raining down.”
Mr Douglas Garton, who travelled from San Diego for the reunion, recalled how, as a flight sergeant, he saw Guy Gibson off on his last mission. “He was a very brave man and always cheerful – a brilliant pilot.”
As the evening went on many of the guests said they were determined to continue the reunions.
Mr Ray Callow, a former air gunner and the organiser, said it was costing up to £100 for members to attend, “but somehow I can’t see inflation keeping these men apart. They are all totally devoted to ‘Bomber’.”
Collection
Citation
The Sunday Telegraph, “Bomber Harris feted by his men,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed May 11, 2026, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/2511.