Lancaster bomber flies over former Bomber Command building in Grantham to mark 80th anniversary of the Dambusters raid

A Second World War Lancaster bomber flew over the former Bomber Command centre in Grantham yesterday (Saturday) to mark the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters raid.

Guests gathered at St Vincent’s Hall to see the iconic plane, part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, fly overhead three times to mark the occasion.

The historic building is where engineer and bouncing bomb inventor Sir Barnes Wallis was waiting on the night of May 16, 1943, to hear the outcome of the 617 Squadron mission.

Grantham resident Mike Brummitt made the official application for the flypast, with South Kesteven District Council helping to organise the event.

Kennethen Ward, a collector of memorabilia, took along part of his large collection connected to the raids and it was displayed in the house. Entertainment was also provided by singer Melody Flyte.

After the flypast Mr Brummitt, who lives near St Vincent’s Hall, said: “All in all the whole thing with the memorabilia, the singing, the atmosphere, it really takes you back. It was really good.”

Graham Jeal, who lives at St Vincent’s, said: “For the Lancaster to come over three times was really special. It’s the 80th anniversary, these big numbers don’t come around very often so it’s nice that we’ve marked it thanks to Mike, Melody and Kenneth.”

He added: “It’s been a really nice day. It was nice to get the plane in context with the house. I don’t know that’s ever been done before, so that was really special.”

Members of the public were invited to book free tickets for the event and gathered in the gardens of the hall to see the Lancaster fly over. There was a delay of an hour in the hope of brighter weather on what was a cloudy day.

Artist Tim O’Brien, from Bingham, was also in the grounds to capture the occasion.

Mr O’Brien said: “As the Avro Lancaster has been a recurring topic with my 40 year art career, I was delighted to be invited to paint the event, especially as the setting played a key role in the Dambusters story.”

After the flypast, Mr Ward, who has flown in both the only flying Lancasters left in the world, said: “It always send a shiver down your spine. I’m a Lancaster fanatic and ebing able to fly in the only two Lancasters flying, well that’s fantastic. The bravest men that ever walked this earth are those lads who took to those bombers in the last war. Over 50 per cent of them in Bomber Command were killed. 126,000 joined up and there were 77,000 casualties.”

The life expectancy for new recruits on Lancaster bombers was two weeks.

On Tuesday, May 16, the Lancaster will fly once more over Grantham.

It will mark, to the day, the Dambuster raid known as Operation Chastise, which was an attack on a number of German dams.