The last surviving Dambuster has died peacefully at his care home in Bristol. George Leonard 'Johnny' Johnson, the last surviving original member of the famous raid, died on Wednesday, December 7 at the age of 101.
George was a bomb aimer during Operation Chastise, tasked with attacking German dams during the Second World War. The raid was undertaken in 1943 by the RAF 617 Squadron - around a third of the RAF Bomber Command did not survive the raid.
After the death of his wartime colleague, Fred Sutherland, who died in January 2019, George became the last surviving member of the original flying 617 Squadron.
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Back in November, George celebrated his 101st birthday. The retired RAF squadron leader lived in Westbury on Trym in Bristol. He was awarded an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 2017, in recognition of his services to WWII rememberance and the wider Bristol community. He also went on to become a councillor in Torbay, Devon.
Speaking after he collected the honour, Mr Johnson said the Queen told him: "Glad to see the Dambusters are still here."
TV presenter Carol Vorderman had launched a petition to get the veteran a knighthood. She marched to Westminster to hand-deliver the petition, containing 235,000 signatures, to 10 Downing Street, alongside RAF veteran John Nichol.
Posting to Twitter about George's death, Carol said: "Our beloved Squadron Leader "Johnny" Johnson, our last surviving Dambuster, has died peacefully in his sleep. I feel honoured to have known you and called you a friend. You gave us all hope in humanity. My thoughts are with his family who loved him so much."
He was the last remaining member of the famous bombing raids onm the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe damn in Germany. A total of 133 Allied air crew left for the raid on May 16 and 17, 1943. They boarded 19 Lancaster bombers, carrying Barnes Wallis's specially-adapted bouncing bombs - which looked like "glorified dustbins" according to George - led by wing commander Guy Gibson.
53 men were killed and three were captured.
Speaking five years ago, Mr Johnson said he still had "strong memories" from that period, adding: "That is something which will live forever, as far as I'm concerned. I don't volunteer, but if people ask will I talk to their club or their group, that means they are interested, and if they are interested I will talk to them.
"I've got to the stage now where I say to the children 'If I say I don't want to do this any more, you can send the box in as soon as you like.'"
Mr Johnson previously said his crew was asked to join a special mission towards the end of his first tour, when he was due to get leave. They were not told what the mission was until the night before.
"Anticipating that week's leave, my fiancee (Gwyn Morgan) and I had arranged to get married on April 3," he said.
"(She said in a letter): 'If you are not there on April 3, don't bother.' When we got to Scampton, and this was March 25, first thing we heard was 'No leave'.
"Joe (McCarthy) took us as a crew up to Gibson's office... and said: 'My bomb aimer is supposed to be getting married and he is going to get married.' We got our leave, and I got my wedding."
Six weeks later, George and his crewmates successfully dropped their bombs on the Sorpe dam. They did not destroy it but the Germans had to empty it to repair it, causing major disruption to the war effort.
After 22 years service in the air force, Mr Johnson worked as a teacher, including at Rampton Secure Hospital, and later at another hospital for people with mental health problems. He and his wife later moved to Torquay, where he became a Conservative councillor.
Former RAF navigator John Nichol, who was captured during the first Gulf War, paid tribute to Mr Johnson. "Very sad to learn that the 'Last Dambuster', Sqn Ldr Johnny Johnson, has died aged 101," he wrote on Twitter.
"His WW2 generation sacrificed so much, yet asked nothing in return. I was privileged to share many a bottle of his much-loved red wine. The nation has lost a true hero. Blue skies Sir."
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