RAF seeks permission to move grave of Dambusters mascot
The grave of the Dambusters' dog could be moved from RAF Scampton amid a continuing fight over Government plans to house asylum seekers at the base.
The Lincolnshire base was home to 617 Squadron during the Second World War when they won fame for daring night attacks on German dams in 1943, which resulted in them being called the Dambusters.
The squadron's leader, Wing Commander Guy Gibson, won a Victoria Cross for his part in the raids, and it is his dog - a black Labrador whose name was an offensive racial term which Forces News is not using - who is buried at RAF Scampton.
The RAF wants to move the dog's remains and headstone to where the squadron is now based, at RAF Marham in Norfolk.
But, because they are within the curtilage of a Grade II-listed aircraft hangar, the RAF needs consent, something the local council opposes as it believes future generations would be deprived of seeing the base's history.
In its application to West Lindsey District Council, RAF Heritage said that moving the dog's grave was necessary "given uncertainty over the future of the former RAF Scampton and the potential that future plans will not include interpretation and sharing the important heritage of the station and its people".
It said the RAF could "no longer protect the heritage" of the site and the grave was "at risk and carries significant reputational risk given the racial slur now associated with the dog’s name".
Concerns had also increased following video footage of a group known as 'Abandoned' which had broken onto the base and into the officers' mess, they added.
The application did not directly address the possibility of asylum seekers being housed at the base.
An RAF spokesperson said: "The RAF deeply values its heritage and the part played by the former RAF Scampton and continues to actively explore all options to ensure the heritage of 617 Sqn and the station is preserved appropriately and respectfully for future generations, thus why a precautionary listed building consent application has been submitted."
The dog died on the day of the Dambusters raids after being hit by a car, and was buried while Gibson was leading the attack.
The headstone had originally been engraved with the pet's name but it was replaced with a new stone in 2020 with the name removed.
It comes as West Lindsey District Council lost the first round of legal action against Home Secretary Suella Braverman's plans to house asylum seekers at the site.
The council had asked a judge to impose an interim injunction, preventing the Home Office moving "materials, equipment or people" on to land at RAF Scampton, pending a final ruling.
But Mr Justice Kerr dismissed the council's application after considering arguments from lawyers representing the council and the Home Secretary at a High Court hearing in London.
The council says Home Office plans to house asylum seekers at Scampton are irrational and do not take account of proposals to regenerate the site.
Mr Justice Kerr indicated that judges would now have to consider the next stage of the litigation - whether the council had an arguable case and whether a trial should be held.
According to Historic England, carrying out "unauthorised works to a listed building is a criminal offence and individuals can be prosecuted".
"A planning authority can insist that all work carried out without consent is reversed. You should therefore always talk to the local planning authority before any work is carried out to a listed building," the organisation says.
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