Spotted: Dambusters Ghost Dog
The loyal canine companion of well-known Dambusters hero Guy Gibson has been spotted years after the war in an old photograph.
Ghost hunters, brought in to shed some light on the photo, believe the apparition of the Dambusters’ mascot is standing guard over his master’s old working quarters.
They believe that the spirits of both the chocolate–coloured Labrador and Wing Commander Guy Gibson guard the remote airfield where they both spent so much time during the war. Investigators starting looking into the photograph after spotting, what appears to be, Gibson’s long since deceased dog, sitting at his master’s memorial.
The photo, from the 1980s, shows the chocolate Labrador sitting among a choir group at the memorial to pay tribute to the Dambusters. The spot the dog has chosen is said to be close to where he was buried.
The photographer claimed at the time that the dog appeared as if from nowhere just at the time the photo was taken and no matter how hard they tried, he wouldn’t be shooed away.
After the photo had been taken, the dog was said to disappear again, never to be seen again.
Gibson’s Labrador, loved by all squadron members, became the mascot for the team that launched the famous night-time raid on three heavily guarded dams in Germany, with the use of bouncing bombs.
The success of their mission was remembered in the 1954 film; The Dambusters, and is set to be re-told again soon by Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson.
The tragedy of the story is that Gibson’s Labrador was killed after being run over outside the base, with just a matter of hours before the raid was due to begin. A heartbroken Gibson decided to keep this a secret until after the raid as he feared it may be a bad omen for his team. The dog was buried quickly just outside the squadron hanger.
