Dambusters hero lied about age to avenge fallen Dad
THE youngest airman to die in the Dambusters raid wore a suit and lied about his age to join the RAF and avenge his father’s Dunkirk death, it has emerged.
Jack Liddell was killed along with the rest of his crew when their Lancaster bomber struck an electricity pylon during the low-level night-time raid.
The aircraft crashed in a ball of flames in a German village 60 miles from their target of the Sorpe Dam in May 1943.
Sgt Liddell, 18, was the youngest man to take part in the Dambusters raid.
Medals, RAF log books and moving letters sent to his parents confirming his death have now been collated.
Sgt Liddell’s archive includes a letter he wrote to his parents back home in Weton-super-mare, Somerset, the year before his death, expressing his frustration at missing out on a bombing sortie on Cologne due to his inexperience.
The collection was brought together by Militaria dealers War and Son of Leominster, Herefordshire.
It was bought for £50,000 by an EXRAF airman who is now a 617 Squadron collector based in Lincolnshire.
Although regarded as a success and was a big boost to British morale, the Dambusters raid proved costly for lives.