A MEMORIAL plaque to ‘an outstanding hero of Penarth’, Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson - one of the ‘Dam Busters’ - has been unveiled at West House.

Wing Commander Gibson is remembered for his distinguished war record and in particular for leading the Royal Air Force 617 Squadron on Operation Chastise, which resulted in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr, Germany, in May 1943, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Born on August 12, 1918 in Simla, India, Gibson married Penarth-born entertainer Eve Moore at All Saints Church in the town in 1940, and they lived from 1940-1943 in her family home at 21 Archer Road.

The plaque was erected by Penarth Town Council last Thursday (April 26) and unveiled by the Mayor of Penarth, Cllr Anthony Ernest.

"Guy Gibson VC has been commemorated in many places as a result of his great heroism – at St Edward’s School, Oxford, his old school; at a pub near RAF Scampton where he was based for a time; in London where he found a home for a short period; and not least in the blockbuster film the Dam Busters, in which Richard Todd played Gibson’s role in 617 Squadron," said Cllr Ernest at the ceremony.

"However, Penarth has never previously recognised adequately one of the town’s greatest heroes from the Royal Air Force, and we wanted to correct that omission once and for all."

Aged just 18, Guy Gibson joined the RAF, becoming an Acting Pilot Officer in 1937.

By the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, he was a bomber pilot and in July 1940, he won the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Aged 23 he was posted to command 106 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, and in 1943 was selected to command the new 617 Squadron, with the mission to destroy vital dams in the Ruhr area of Germany. This was achieved using the unique Barnes Wallis ‘Bouncing Bomb’.

On May 16, 1943, under Gibson’s leadership, his squadron executed one of the most devastating attacks of the war – the breaching of the Moehne and Eder dams. Wing Cdr Gibson had made the initial attack on the Moehne Dam, before circling low for 30 minutes, drawing the enemy fire and permitting the following aircraft to attack the dam in turn. He repeated similar manoeuvres at the Eder Dam with complete disregard for his own safety.

He completed more than 170 sorties, involving 600 hours operational flying, and had - his Victora Cross citation read - ‘shown leadership, determination and valour of the highest order’.

Gibson was subsequently sent on a lecture tour of the US by the Government, and in December 1943 he was awarded the Legion of Merit (Commander) by the President of the USA.

In 1944, he returned at his own request to Bomber Command, but within some nine months was killed, on September 19, when his aircraft ran out of fuel due to a faulty fuel selector switch. He was 26.

Guy Gibson’s grave is located in the Roman Catholic churchyard in Steenbergen, Holland, where he died.

At the unveiling ceremony in Penarth, Cllr Ernest said: "It gives me great pleasure to unveil this splendid commemorative plaque, to honour at last the debt Penarth, and the rest of the United Kingdom, owes to this courageous and unfearing RAF Pilot.

"He halted much of Germany’s war production in its tracks, and thus brought the end of World War II a little closer for us all."

RAF Service colleagues and representatives of the Royal British Legion, RAFA Club, and Glamorganshire Golf Club - where it is said Gibson celebrated the news that he had been awarded the Victoria Cross - were also present at the ceremony.

Chaplain, Rev. Malcolm Davies, gave a short prayer, following Cllr Ernest’s speech, and Rev. Peter Cox, Vicar of All Saints, Penarth, also led respects.