IT HAS been reported that a remake of the Dambusters film is going to change the name of Guy Gibson’s dog. This should be abandoned immediately.
To re-name Gibson’s Labrador by substituting a “D” for an “N”, thus calling the dog “Digger”, is not only offensive to the memory of Gibson and his men, but also to the memory of his dog.
Using the name of his dog to signify when any of the Ruhr dams were breached was Gibson’s way of perpetuating the name and place in history of his much-loved dog, which had, unfortunately, been run-over and killed on the night of the raid.
Seeing that the pseudo-intellectual Stephen Fry is behind this ludicrous idea explains it all. Fry should remember that there will be many people who don’t know the real name of Guy Gibson’s Labrador and will go away, after seeing his film, believing that the dog was called “Digger”.
What will he decide to do next, so he doesn’t offend the Americans? Instead of using Lancaster bombers, will he change the bombers to Boeing B.17 Flying Fortress’s or Consolidated B.24 Liberators?
Philip Roe, Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge, York.
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