Simon Dufton has raised thousands of pounds (so far) for Help For Heroes by following the route of the Dambusters planes by motorbike! He explains more in this guest post
The main idea behind Dambusters 2012 was a charity motorcycle ride to the Mohne Dam and back on the anniversary dates of the real Dambusters raid in 1943 when the RAF used bouncing bombs to breach Germany’s Ruhr dams. The money raised is all for Help for Heroes.
The actual ride itself took place on the 16th and 17th May and turned out to be much more difficult than expected! Four bikes set out, but only two made the ferry to Holland due a breakdown on the M25!
Two bikes reached the Mohne Dam on the same night as 617 Sqdn’s Lancasters had done in 1943 but only one bike made it back to the UK as another bike broke down when riding around the Mohnesee lake itself!
This meant the two Dambusters2012 riders who made it to Germany, myself and Victor Chevens, both came home on my bike through unseasonally cold overnight temperatures which fell to below freezing as we made our way home through Germany and the Netherlands!
So far the Dambusters2012 charity efforts have raised more than £2000 for Help for Heroes with more to come when two Help For Heroes teddies that were flown on active service over Afghanistan by the current 617 Sqdn in their Tornado jets are auctioned at the Birmingham Help For Heroes ball in November.
You can find out much more about Dambusters2012 and about the current 617 Sqdn, their operations over Afghanistan and how a small local initiative to raise money for Help for Heroes has ended with a close working relationship with the current ‘real’ Dambusters of 617 Sqdn, Royal Air Force in the Dambusters2012 blog at www.dambusters2012.blogspot.com
You can also still donate online to Help For Heroes at www.bmycharity.com/dambusters2012
