Tributes continue to be paid to the last Dambuster George "Johnny" Johnson
He was born near Horncastle and had a long association with the county
Last updated 9th Dec 2022
Lincolnshire has been paying tribute to George "Johnny" Johnson, the last surviving Dambuster, who's died at the age of 101. He was born in the county and had a long association with the area.
As a member of RAF 617 Squadron, better known as the Dambusters, Johnny was a bomber aimer during the operations in the second World War, he was tasked with attacking German dams.
Around a third of the RAF Bomber Command crew did not survive that raid.
Now, Johnny Johnson has passed away at a care home in Bristol, surrounded by his family on Wednesday the 7th of December.
Many people in Lincolnshire met Johnny and were honoured to be in his presence. We spoke to several of those that wished to share their tributes to Johnny and his family.
Neil Atkins is the Station Commander at RAF Scampton:
"Johnny was a real dear friend of our station and very generous with his time. He visited many times to Scampton, most recently in 2019. Although, I last met him back in 2014. He's really generous, funny, a very sharp-witted gentleman, but my endearing memory was to see how he interacted with our young and our junior personnel and the time he gave to them. They were they were genuinely inspired by the stories he could tell."
He continued to detail that day he met Johnny and what it meant to him:
"It was just amazing to be able to meet somebody who was part of that history. We at Scampton were especially proud of our years of history that dates all the way back to the First World War. But predominantly Scampton has been a bomber station ever since the late 1930s and to just be able to meet somebody who lived through that era, and who fought in Bomber Command... It's really amazing to be honest."
During Johnny's last visit to the county in 2018, he participated in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight that saw him return to his office in the bomber position of an Avro Lancaster. The Officer Commanding Squadron Leader Mark Sugden told us what it was like to fly him:
"It was the 75th anniversary of the Dams raid, and he was here on BBMF (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Centre), we were in the crew room, we were watching- the night before he actually flew in our lovely Lancaster- the film, The Dambusters. So, to watch that film with a Dambuster is, you know, a memory that clearly I'll never forget."
We also spoke with Suzanne Bellhouse, a volunteer at the International Bomber command Centre who had the honour of meeting Johnny several times:
"I think the one thing I remember most about him; was he was such a gentleman and so incredibly easy to talk to. Johnny had a great sense of humour and such a really really special person, and he will never be forgotten.
"I admired Johnny very much for his work within the teaching fraternity, with his role in wanting to teach adults with severe learning disabilities. I think that takes a special kind of person, with special skills... He was the right man for the job."