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'A mighty man': tributes to last surviving Dambusters pilot, Les Munro 'A mighty man': tributes to last surviving Dambusters pilot, Les Munro
(about 4 hours later)
The last surviving pilot of the famous Dambusters raids, Les Munro, a quiet New Zealander who shunned publicity for the rest of his long life, has died of heart problems in hospital in Auckland, aged 96. The last surviving pilot of the famous Dambusters raids, Sqn Ldr Les Munro, a quiet New Zealander who shunned publicity for the rest of his long life, has died of heart problems in hospital in Auckland, aged 96.
His death on Monday night was announced by the New Zealand Bomber Command Association. “Our New Zealand Bomber Command Association patron, and well known Dambuster pilot, Les Munro, passed away last night following a spell in hospital with heart problems. So, so sad. He was a mighty man.”His death on Monday night was announced by the New Zealand Bomber Command Association. “Our New Zealand Bomber Command Association patron, and well known Dambuster pilot, Les Munro, passed away last night following a spell in hospital with heart problems. So, so sad. He was a mighty man.”
The New Zealand prime minister John Key paid tribute on Twitter: “Really sad to hear of Les Munro’s death, New Zealand has lost a remarkable man who led a remarkable life”.The New Zealand prime minister John Key paid tribute on Twitter: “Really sad to hear of Les Munro’s death, New Zealand has lost a remarkable man who led a remarkable life”.
Really sad to hear of Les Munro’s death, New Zealand has lost a remarkable man who led a remarkable life.Really sad to hear of Les Munro’s death, New Zealand has lost a remarkable man who led a remarkable life.
His death leaves no pilots and just two surviving veterans of the famous raids, Canadian front gunner Fred Sutherland and British bomb aimer George Johnson.His death leaves no pilots and just two surviving veterans of the famous raids, Canadian front gunner Fred Sutherland and British bomb aimer George Johnson.
Johnson, who now lives in Bristol, said he was very sad at the news: “I think I would like to pass on my complete sympathy to Les’s partner and his two sons who I met at the 70th anniversary. I shan’t see him any more at reunions and I feel very sorry about that.” Johnson, who now lives in Bristol, said he was very sad at the news: “I think I would like to pass on my complete sympathy to Les’s partner and his two sons who I met at the 70th anniversary. I shan’t see him any more [pilots] at reunions and I feel very sorry about that.”
Johnson recalled a hair-raising stunt pulled by Munro when they were in training for the raid. Johnson’s plane was flying at no more than 60ft when, he said: “This other aircraft flew underneath us, and that was Les. Although he wouldn’t admit it at first, he subsequently said perhaps it was possible that it was him. We were quite sure it was him. My skipper Joe wasn’t too happy about that because the slipstreams of the two aircraft could have created a mid-air collision with no trouble at all. But fortunately we got away with it and so did he.”Johnson recalled a hair-raising stunt pulled by Munro when they were in training for the raid. Johnson’s plane was flying at no more than 60ft when, he said: “This other aircraft flew underneath us, and that was Les. Although he wouldn’t admit it at first, he subsequently said perhaps it was possible that it was him. We were quite sure it was him. My skipper Joe wasn’t too happy about that because the slipstreams of the two aircraft could have created a mid-air collision with no trouble at all. But fortunately we got away with it and so did he.”
Sqn Ldr Munro volunteered to fly a Lancaster bomber in Operation Chastise, the 1943 raids on three German dams when RAF planes of 617 Squadron, flying by moonlight at very low altitudes, dropped Barnes Wallis’s ingenious bouncing bombs which skipped across the water towards their target. His plane was forced to turn back before reaching its objective, damaged by flak and with all its communication equipment destroyed. However, he flew a total of 58 missions in the war at a time when many pilots’ lives ended within a few weeks of active service. Munro volunteered to fly a Lancaster bomber in Operation Chastise, the 1943 raids on three German dams when RAF planes of 617 Squadron, flying by moonlight at very low altitudes, dropped Barnes Wallis’s ingenious bouncing bombs, which skipped across the water towards their target. His plane was forced to turn back before reaching its objective, damaged by flak and with all its communication equipment destroyed. However, he flew a total of 58 missions in the war at a time when many pilots’ lives ended within a few weeks of active service.
Munro retired in 1946, and although he became a local hero, with a street named after him in his home town of Te Kuiti, in New Zealand’s North Island, he was shy of the publicity that came when the raids were immortalised in a 1951 book, and then a 1955 film, which featured one of the most famous theme tunes in movie history: Eric Coates’s Dam Busters March. Munro retired in 1946, and although he became a local hero, with a street named after him in his home town of Te Kuiti, in New Zealand’s North Island, he was shy of the publicity that came when the raids were immortalised in a 1951 book, and then a 1955 film, which featured one of the most famous theme tunes in movie history: Eric Coates’s Dambusters March.
Ron Mayhill, his friend and president of the New Zealand Bomber Command Association, said Munro’s death came as a shock even at the age of 96, because he had only been ill in the last week. Mayhill said he always respected Munro, “not just because he was famous, but because he was a very nice fellow”.Ron Mayhill, his friend and president of the New Zealand Bomber Command Association, said Munro’s death came as a shock even at the age of 96, because he had only been ill in the last week. Mayhill said he always respected Munro, “not just because he was famous, but because he was a very nice fellow”.
“He was modest. Never talked about the war unless you asked questions. He was always helpful. Just very pleasant to be with.“He was modest. Never talked about the war unless you asked questions. He was always helpful. Just very pleasant to be with.
“This is a surprise and a real disappointment. He was a fine man, not just because he was famous as part of the Dambusters but as a man and as a person he was a very fine person. He got decorations in civil as well as military life. He was a justice of the peace, he was a local councillor, he was a mayor. His life was all about service.”“This is a surprise and a real disappointment. He was a fine man, not just because he was famous as part of the Dambusters but as a man and as a person he was a very fine person. He got decorations in civil as well as military life. He was a justice of the peace, he was a local councillor, he was a mayor. His life was all about service.”
Of the 133 crew who flew out of RAF Scampton near Lincoln on 16 May 1943, only 77 returned. The raids shattered the Möhne and Eder dams, and killed an estimated 1,600 people.Of the 133 crew who flew out of RAF Scampton near Lincoln on 16 May 1943, only 77 returned. The raids shattered the Möhne and Eder dams, and killed an estimated 1,600 people.
Munro put his medals up for auction a few months ago, intending to donate the proceeds to the upkeep of the Bomber Command memorial in London, which he visited two years ago. They were bought for £75,000 the night before the planned sale, by the Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, and presented to the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, where they are now on display beside a surviving Lancaster.Munro put his medals up for auction a few months ago, intending to donate the proceeds to the upkeep of the Bomber Command memorial in London, which he visited two years ago. They were bought for £75,000 the night before the planned sale, by the Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, and presented to the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, where they are now on display beside a surviving Lancaster.
Related: RAF Bomber Command memorial in Lincolnshire seeks veterans for openingRelated: RAF Bomber Command memorial in Lincolnshire seeks veterans for opening
Munro was well enough to attend and speak at the museum ceremony in April, where he said: “I’m comforted by the thought that my medals will be within proximity of the plane and I appreciate it very much indeed because they will have some relationship.”Munro was well enough to attend and speak at the museum ceremony in April, where he said: “I’m comforted by the thought that my medals will be within proximity of the plane and I appreciate it very much indeed because they will have some relationship.”
He was still flying well into his 90s, and co-piloted a second world war Avro Anson in January.He was still flying well into his 90s, and co-piloted a second world war Avro Anson in January.
He visited the Bomber Command memorial in London in 2013, and returned to the command’s wartime headquarters at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, where in an interview he recalled the cosmopolitan nature of 617 Squadron, with Canadian, Australian and New Zealand flyers. On completing his training, he said, he was asked whether he wanted to be a fighter pilot or a bomber pilot. “I was rather conservative in nature, and for some reason I thought bomber pilot would suit my makeup much better than a flamboyant fighter pilot.”He visited the Bomber Command memorial in London in 2013, and returned to the command’s wartime headquarters at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, where in an interview he recalled the cosmopolitan nature of 617 Squadron, with Canadian, Australian and New Zealand flyers. On completing his training, he said, he was asked whether he wanted to be a fighter pilot or a bomber pilot. “I was rather conservative in nature, and for some reason I thought bomber pilot would suit my makeup much better than a flamboyant fighter pilot.”
He recalled the Lancaster as “a beautiful plane to fly – very simple to fly, and no vices.”He recalled the Lancaster as “a beautiful plane to fly – very simple to fly, and no vices.”
In Paul Brickhill’s 1951 book on the raids, which inspired the classic film, Munro was described as a “a slow-speaking, taciturn New Zealander, so earnest and dour that he was known as ‘Happy’”.In Paul Brickhill’s 1951 book on the raids, which inspired the classic film, Munro was described as a “a slow-speaking, taciturn New Zealander, so earnest and dour that he was known as ‘Happy’”.
Munro was born into a farming family on New Zealand’s east coast, and enlisted in the New Zealand air force in 1941, aged 22, after taking correspondence courses to pass the exams. After the war he worked in property and farming, and attended many Bomber Command anniversaries and reunions, including the 60th anniversary commemoration of the Dambusters raids at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, also attended by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.Munro was born into a farming family on New Zealand’s east coast, and enlisted in the New Zealand air force in 1941, aged 22, after taking correspondence courses to pass the exams. After the war he worked in property and farming, and attended many Bomber Command anniversaries and reunions, including the 60th anniversary commemoration of the Dambusters raids at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland, also attended by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
He was a technical adviser for the 65th anniversary celebrations, when the last Lancaster in the UK in flying condition flew at just 100ft over the Derwent Valley dam in Derbyshire, watched by an estimated 10,000 people.He was a technical adviser for the 65th anniversary celebrations, when the last Lancaster in the UK in flying condition flew at just 100ft over the Derwent Valley dam in Derbyshire, watched by an estimated 10,000 people.