Brethren T-Shirt 2013...just a little taster...

[Fran]

The dog that must not be named. 

That'll be Digger then.... according to the long awaited movie remake!!

[Boorish Grobian]

This brings up the age old debate, do you go with historical accuracy, or what's socially acceptable in this era?  Was listening to a CBC interview with Quinten Tarentino, he had been getting some heat for his liberal use of..er, Gibson's Lab's name, in Django Unchained, and he basically said look, I can make a politcally correct movie, or a accurate period film.
I love Lab's, we have a nine year old Golden Lab-Retriver mix
.
Fax

[nickliv]

By all accounts, there was a black pilot flying for the squadron in the late 90s who had a golden lab called Honky.

'Blackdog' is the name now given to the uk fighter controllers based at Scampton.  Another legacy from Guy Gibson.

1 x XL please. Ill get it right this year too.

[Truck]

Its a shame that a slight mispronounciation of the Portuguese is seen as offensive.  Its a bit like the latin for body parts being medical and correct, but the Anglo-Saxon is rude and usually 4 letters.

Please may I register an interest in an XXL with iron on option

Lorry

[Snoring Rhino]

That is a very, very cool design.  Being a WWII aviation buff, I have special admiration for Gibson and his crews.
Fax

As I frequently state my Passion for Brooklands, the club house was Barnes  Wallace's design office in the war, and tucked away in the aircraft hanger is a replica catapult  and a prototype bouncing bomb casing from his development work.
yes xl for me please Russ and an iron on.

[Perdu]

Russ, I would be proud to have Gibson's dog named on my shirt!

The political INcorrect-ness of latter years embarrasses me more than the name of a fine dog would.

N I G G E R is a welcome part of the history of six-seventeen squadron.

[Barry]

Iron on for me as well please.

[Boorish Grobian]

It'll be a extra fatty for me, with the iron-on of course.  I've got some friends, and co-workers who are military history enthusiast's, this shirt will make them green with envy
PBS here in the US not long ago ran a episode of NOVA about the dam's raids, and the challenges that faced Wallis in engineering the bombs, and 617 squadron in delivering them.  They actually created their own scale version of the bomb, and tested it using a converted DC-4 on a scaled down purpose built dam.  Really fascinating episode to watch. Here's a link.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/bombing-hitler-dams.html
Thanks again Russ!
Fax

[Stu]

It'll be a extra fatty for me, with the iron-on of course.  I've got some friends, and co-workers who are military history enthusiast's, this shirt will make them green with envy
PBS here in the US not long ago ran a episode of NOVA about the dam's raids, and the challenges that faced Wallis in engineering the bombs, and 617 squadron in delivering them.  They actually created their own scale version of the bomb, and tested it using a converted DC-4 on a scaled down purpose built dam.  Really fascinating episode to watch. Here's a link.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/bombing-hitler-dams.html
Thanks again Russ!
Fax

For me this doesn't work as its outside UK content. But after installing this plugin onto Firefox, it does.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-hint/

I watched this as well which gives an insight to how hard it really was

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35qsu9HsYos

 

[Lord Steve]

Russ, can you put me down for a large please (with iron on). Whatever the shirts cost I'll add £5 for the iron on if you'd donate that to Help for Heroes as well.

Thanks

Steve

[mgmark]

Russ - Many thanks - as always a fantastic tribute - will be in touch re an order. 

"Black Dog" has, indeed, been in use by 617 Sqn as a formation callsign since the early 1980s, when it replaced the earlier, historically accurate callsign....the Sqn also uses the delightfully descriptive callsign of "Vandal".  Current tail livery of the anniversary aircraft appeared out of the paint shop a couple of weeks ago: 

       


The content of the 617 Sqn's wartime operations record book can be found online online at:
http://www.dambusters.org.uk/docs/recordbook.pdf The introductory pages are of interest; Page 18 is where the action of that night starts.  The main website has plenty of interest too: http://www.thedambusters.org.uk/index.html

MG Mark

[Andy Zarse]

Nice photos Mark!

The dog's name is a tricky one. In this day and age the word is likely to cause offence to a casual observer, though I deplore the revisionists' re-writing of history.

A few years ago Gimp Zarse appeared at the DfH party nailed to a cross and was bullwhipped by Vicar Zarse as we recreated a scene from the earlier work of Dutch artist Jan van Eyck. The idea was to illustrate the juxtaposition of Christ's sacrifice for the salvation of mankind with The Last Judgement, only with his cobblers peeping out of either side of the gusset of a pink chiffon G-string. That didn't really trouble anyone as I recall. What riled folk was instead of the IN RI sign above the Christ Gimp's head we had one saying RNLI. We explained away the apparent mis-spelling on the basis that the Gimp was dyslexic. Several people were very offended by our making fun of the life boat charity. We weren't, but that didn't seem to matter and at one point I thought a fight was going to start.

You wear at your own risk, even at LM.

[mgmark]

Nice photos Mark!
The dog's name is a tricky one. In this day and age the word is likely to cause offence to a casual observer, though I deplore the revisionists' re-writing of history.
You wear at your own risk, even at LM.

Not pictures that are mine but, indeed they are nice pictures; as for the dog's name and risk, your last statement borne of experience is apposite....

Date for anyone's diary that may wish to make the trip is 16 May at Derwent Reservoir (where the sqn trained before the raid was carried out - n.b. it's the one in the Derbyshire Peak district - not the Lake District or the North-East).  As with the last major anniversary (the 65th) and other previous ones, a flypast over the reservoir and dam by the BBMF Lancaster is planned (time TBD).

MG Mark

[Bob T]

Great pics Mark! Guess what I have for my PC wallpaper now...
Could I have one of those shirts pls Mr Russ? XL for me (this years diet failed).
All being well, I'll pick it up in line with Garyfrog & Perdu who WILL be there!
 

[Peaky]

WANT 

Really liking that

Put me down for XL please (diet failed here as well)