Celebrating Bromsgrove’s Dambuster hero

On the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters

Raid, the Bromsgrove Society has commemorated Flight Lieutenant Bill Townsend, one of the pilots, by installing a blue plaque at his former home in Marlbrook.

The plaque was unveiled at a ceremony at the Avoncroft Museum, where Bill worked as a volunteer in his later years. Members of Bill’s family attended, together with local representatives of the Royal British Legion and the RAF Association, and Bromsgrove Society members. Town Crier Kevin Ward was Master of Ceremonies and read the Air Ministry’s official declaration issued after the raid.

Bill Townsend was born in Gloucestershire in 1921 and educated at Monmouth School. After a short spell in the army, he transferred to the RAF in May 1941 and qualified as a pilot. By the end of March 1943, he had completed 26 operations and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM).

The Dambuster Raids aimed to strike at the heart of Germany’s wartime industry by bombing essential dams in the Ruhr Valley. They were to be breached by an ingenious bouncing bomb developed by maverick inventor Barnes Wallis. Codenamed Operation Chastise, the mission fell to 617 Squadron, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson.

Bill was the pilot in one of 19 AVRO Lancaster bombers that took off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire on the night of May 16th - 17th 1943. With a crew of seven, he flew Lancaster ED886/G, which was given the call sign ‘AJ-O for Orange’. It was a reserve aircraft in the third wave of the attack.

AJ-O took off at 00:14 on May 17th and was so heavily laden that it only just cleared the boundary hedge. As they approached the Dutch coast, they encountered anti-aircraft fire which, with Bill’s skilled flying, they avoided. At one point Bill flew along a firebreak in a forest, below the level of the trees.

With the Möhne and Eder Dams having been breached, AJ-O was ordered to proceed to the Ennepe Dam and was the only aircraft to do so. The crew found the Ennepe obscured by mist and despite three attempts their bomb missed its target. On their way home, they passed over the Möhne and were able to confirm the destruction from earlier attacks and report back on the devastation that had been caused.

The return flight to RAF Scampton was flown at tree-top level, and it was solely due to Bill’s immense skill at low-altitude flying that they managed to land safely on three engines. They finally landed at 06:15, the last crew to return from Operation Chastise. Out of the 19 Lancasters that set out on the mission, eight did not return and 53 men lost their lives.

Bill Townsend was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) for his bravery in the Dams Raid. Five of his crew were also recognised with medals, making them the second most decorated Dams Raid crew after Guy Gibson’s.

After Bill left the RAF in 1946, he became a businessman and later worked as a civil servant. With his wife Eileen and three children, he moved to Bromsgrove in 1949 and worked in the Department of Employment. He died in April 1991.

The Bromsgrove Society’s plaque commemorating Bill’s life and achievements can be seen at his family home at 42 Marlbrook Lane.