A SPECIAL ceremony was held today at the Plymouth Road war memorial to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Second World War Dambusters bombing raids.
Royal British Legion (RBL) President Phillip Jarvis lead the ceremony, with RBL members in attendance as well as Inspector Rich Field and PCSO Gemma Bosco-Woods.
Mr Jarvis detailed the history of the raids, and laid a wreath in remembrance of the airmen who died.
He said: “It’s an honour to be here to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters raid.
“There is also a Redditch connection as the mounting brackets which were fitted on the bouncing bomb were manufactured here in the town.”
Nineteen Lancasters, crewed by 133 airmen, took part in Operation Chastise on the night of May 16-17, 1943.
Led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the raid targeted three dams in the industrialised Ruhr region of Germany using the “bouncing bomb” invented by Barnes Wallis.
They successfully breached the Mohne and Eder dams while the Sorpe was damaged.
Eight Lancasters were shot down during the raid, which was immortalised in the 1955 film The Dam Busters, with 53 airmen killed.
