Plans to exhume body of dog buried at former home of Dambusters to be discussed at council meeting amid plans to house migrants at the historic site
- The black Labrador, called N*****, was owned by Wing Commander Guy Gibson
- He led the RAF’s 617 Squadron Dambusters raid from RAF Scampton, in 1943
An extraordinary meeting is to be held over proposals to exhume the body of the dog buried at the former home of the Dambusters due to concerns connected to the site’s use as a migrant camp.
The black Labrador, called N*****, was owned by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who led the RAF’s 617 Squadron famous Dambusters raid from RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, in May 1943.
The dog died on the eve of the raid and, as per Wg Cdr Gibson’s instructions, was buried on the grounds of the Grade II-listed Hangar 2 at the base, which earlier this year was earmarked for use as accommodation for asylum seekers.
The application by RAF Heritage to West Lindsey District Council, submitted in May, asked for Listed Building Consent which would allow the group to remove the grave and the memorial to the dog and move it to RAF Marham in Norfolk.
In a heritage statement, Wg Cdr Erica Ferguson, of RAF Heritage, said: ‘As there is now no guarantee of a sustainable heritage-focused future for Scampton with careful management and interpretation of the story of the raid and Wing Commander Gibson’s dog, we believe the grave site is at risk and carries significant reputational risk given the racial slur now associated with the dog’s name.
Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC (right), Dambusters hero with his devoted dog. The black Labrador was killed by a hit-and-run driver just hours before Gibson led the RAF’s crack 617 squadron to drop ‘bouncing bombs’ on German dams in May 1943
The black Labrador, called N*****, was owned by Wing Commander Guy Gibson (left), who led the RAF’s 617 Squadron famous Dambusters raid from RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, in May 1943. The application by RAF Heritage to West Lindsey District Council, submitted in May, asked for Listed Building Consent which would allow the group to remove the dog’s grave (right) and the memorial to the dog and move it to RAF Marham in Norfolk
Wg Cdr Erica Ferguson, of RAF Heritage, said: ‘Ideally the grave would remain at Scampton as part of the important story in the location hugely significant parts of the RAF, and indeed the nation’s, story but the future is now too uncertain to recommend this course of action.’ Pictured RAF Scampton
‘We feel it would be better to return the marker and any remains to 617 Squadron.
‘The dog was one of the Squadron’s mascots and would take care of the story for the foreseeable future.
‘Ideally the grave would remain at Scampton as part of the important story in the location hugely significant parts of the RAF, and indeed the nation’s, story but the future is now too uncertain to recommend this course of action.
‘Recent video footage of a group known as ‘Abandoned’ who broke onto the base and accessed the Officers’ Mess increases concern over the future of the heritage fabric of the site.’
Wing Commander Guy Gibson is pictured with members of the 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force
Pictured: Wing Commander Guy Gibson (in door of aircraft) and his crew board their Avro Lancaster bomber for the squadron’s raid on the Ruhr Dams, May 16, 1943
While the grave itself is not listed, the council has deemed it to be a curtilage-listed structure to the hangars at the base, meaning consent is needed for any work to be carried out.
As of Tuesday, 200 comments have been made in relation to the application, with at least 170 objecting to the proposal.
The public comments come from residents living in multiple areas of Lincolnshire but also as far afield as North Yorkshire, London and Scotland.
The council’s planning committee has been recommended to refuse at the meeting taking place on Wednesday by several bodies.
They include the council’s planning and conservation officers, the Scampton Heritage Group and Historic England.
Historic England said: ‘The story of Guy Gibson’s dog is part of the wider story of Bomber Command, Wing Commander Guy Gibson and the Dambusters Raid, all of which are centred at Scampton.
Wg Cdr Gibson’s dog was featured in both his biography and in the 1955 film The Dam Busters. Actor Richard Todd is pictured as Gibson in the film and alongside his dog
‘The dog’s grave is deliberately placed at Scampton in close association with Hangar 2 and Guy Gibson’s office.
‘The loss of Guy Gibson’s dog’s grave would harm the significance of Number 2 hangar, a building listed at Grade II.
‘The dog’s role as a mascot, its life and death and deliberate burial adjacent to No 2 hangar, is part of the history and significance of the listed hangars.
‘Furthermore, the loss of the dog and its grave reduces the heritage significance of Scampton more widely as a place.’
The council’s planning officer said in their comment that there were ‘no identified public benefits that would outweigh the level of substantial harm’ caused by the proposal.
The plans to use the base as a site for up to 2,000 asylum seekers was announced in March by the Minister for Immigration, Robert Jenrick, a decision the council described as ‘irrational’.
The scheme has been heavily criticised by the MP for the area, Sir Edward Leigh, with a £300 million regeneration plan for the site having to be put on hold.
At a High Court hearing in May, a judge ruled against the council after lawyers asked for an interim injunction preventing the Home Office from moving ‘materials, equipment or people’ onto the land, pending a final ruling.
The Dambusters: How bouncing bombs flooded the Ruhr and delivered a crucial blow to Hitler
On May 16, 1943, 19 Lancaster bomber crews gathered at a remote RAF station in Lincolnshire for a mission of extraordinary daring – a night-time raid on three heavily defended dams deep in Germany’s industrial heartland.
The dams were heavily fortified and needed the innovative bomb – which bounced on the water over torpedo nets and sank before detonating.
To succeed, the raiders would have to fly across occupied Europe under heavy fire and then drop their bombs with awesome precision from a mere 60ft above the water.
The Mohne and Eder Dams in the industrial heart of Germany were attacked and breached by mines dropped from specially modified Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron.
A Lancaster Bomber on a commemorative flight in 1967 to mark the anniversary of the Dambusters raid that breached the Mohne and Eder dams
The Sorpe dam was was also attacked by two aircraft and damaged.
A fourth dam, the Ennepe was reported as being attacked by a single aircraft (O-Orange), but with no damage.
Up to 1,600 people were estimated to have been killed by floodwaters and eight of the 19 aircraft dispatched failed to return with the loss of 53 aircrew and three taken prisoner of war.
Wg Cdr Guy Gibson, Officer Commanding No. 617 Sqn, is awarded the VC for his part in leading the attack.
The raid, orchestrated by Guy Gibson and the RAF’s 617 ‘Dambuster’ Squadron, was seen as a major victory for the British, and Wing Commander Gibson is recognised as one of the war’s most revered heroes.
Their success was immortalised in the classic 1955 film The Dambusters, its thrilling theme tune and gung-ho script evoking the best of British derring-do.
Wg Cdr Gibson was killed at the age of 26 when his Mosquito plane crashed during a night-time sortie over Germany.
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