Never forget their sacrifice for us all
THE picture accompanying Tony Rennell’s article about the birth of the RAF was very familiar to me. It is of No.1 Squadron RAF, taken in Clairmarais in 1918, including my grandfather, Captain C.S.T. Lavers. He was an ace fighter pilot who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) at Buckingham Palace.
MARGARET DEAN, address supplied. EVER since I saw The Dam Busters at the age of 13, I’ve been in awe of the bravery and sacrifice of the famous 617 Squadron. On the night of May 16, 1943, 18 Lancaster bombers left RAF Scampton to destroy the great Ruhr desk. A few sheets were reeled off when you needed to go to the outside toilet.
I can still see the boys shouting ‘Charge!’ with loo roll flying in the air as they raced across the playground.
C. D. FIELD, Mellieha, Malta. WHEN I became headteacher of an infant school, I immediately allowed loo roll in the school toilets.
I thought it was degrading for a teacher to issue toilet paper from her desk and demoralising for the children.
ANNE DONNELLY, Munslow, Shropshire.
Proud to be British
OUR ruling class may be ashamed to be British (Mail), Valley dams in Nazi Germany. They breached the Mohne and Eder dams with the loss of eight Lancasters and their seven-man crews. The damage caused was huge and boosted morale when it was needed in the UK. Each year on May 16, my wife Sandra and I watch the film, but this year we will be at the Mohne Dam to mark the 75th anniversary since it was breached by Squadron Leader Guy Gibson and his men. It will be the third time we have attended an anniversary of the raid, but this year will be even more significant: it will be a week after our 50th wedding anniversary. In this 100th but I am certainly not. Next Tuesday, I will be granted British citizenship.
I was born in Ireland, but lived here since I was a year old. All my life I have loved everything about this country and always regarded myself as British. For a few years I thought about applying for citizenship and was finally spurred on by the Brexit vote. I will be proud and grateful to become a British citizen.
As for the ruling class who wish to undermine the vote of year of the RAF, we shall be making a donation to the RAF Benevolent Fund. I hope many others will do the same.
MICHAEL BANKS, Okehampton, Devon. I ENJOYED the wonderful picture of 96-year-old Squadron Leader Allan Scott in a Spitfire (Mail). For my 90th birthday, my wife arranged a one-hour flight from Biggin Hill in the same Spitfire — what a thrill! My next adventure is a tandem parachute jump in aid of St Michael’s Hospice in St Leonards-on-Sea.
JAMES KNIGHT, Bexhill-on-Sea, E. Sussex. the British people, I say shame on them. If they want to be yoked to the rulers of Brussels, then they are welcome to surrender their British citizenship and move to Belgium. ANTHONY BENNETT,
Chorley, Lancs.