For you other AH-Kiwis, looks like we had ourselves a bona-fide war hero right under our noses.
THURSDAY, 13 JULY 2000
N A T I O N A L N E W S S T O R Y
Dam buster hero takes final flight
13 JULY 2000
As Flight Lieutenant Shaun Johnson, flying in a Harvard aircraft above Makara, pulled the pin that released the ashes of George Bull, he felt a deep sense of loss, both for himself and his country.
Warrant Officer Pilot George Fox Bull, 86, was one of the last of an elite few, World War II pilots known as "dam busters", daredevil fliers famous for their courage in carrying out low-level flying raids.
The missions, immortalised in Paul Brickhill's book The Dam Busters and the film of the same name, included dangerous night raids on heavy water containments that, left alone, could have given Germany a nuclear edge.
Mr Bull's vital role was virtually forgotten, till the much younger Mr Johnson moved in next door.
A very private man, Mr Bull had responded to the sight of Mr Johnson in uniform. "I used to be in the air force," he said, "in 617 Squadron".
Mr Johnson recognised the reference to the famous squadron, which had led to frequent conversations, culminating in a close friendship.
"I was the only one he talked to about his exploits," Mr Johnson said yesterday. "When he talked, he'd get that look of exhilaration, sometimes concern . . . he really cherished the times."
"Exploits" may have been understatement. Bull's missions in Lancaster bombers involved low-level night flying, alone, without a backup pilot. Singled out in Brickhill's book for his "willingness", he was involved in many raids, including dropping munitions to resistance fighters.
He was one of the few to drop the famous 12,000lb bombs and tested the revolutionary gyroscopic bomb site, later used for nuclear bombs.
He crashed several times before being shot down and captured on a mission to supply arms to the European resistance in the middle of the war.
He was held prisoner of war at Stalag 4B for a year and a half, before escaping and making his way back to England.
"He tried to escape three times," Mr Johnson said. "Once he got caught trying to steal an aircraft".
At Makara today, Mr Bull's son Dave, two grandchildren and a sprinkling of friends and neighbours, watched quietly from the shore as the ashes were released, another memory buried.
"It's all very well and good to see names on plaques," an emotional Mr Johnson said. "But there are all these amazing stories . . . in another 50 years, no one will remember.
"It's important we remember".
