A Bomb Aimer's Story - Les Rutherford

Les Rutherford, RAF Bomb Aimer

Born in 1918, Robert Leslie "Les" Rutherford first joined the British Army as a despatch rider (a military motorcycle messenger).  He escaped Dunkirk by paddling out to sea on a barn door then was picked up and taken to England by a French fishing trawler.  Following this harrowing experience, he volunteered for the RAF and became a bomb aimer with 50 Squadron.  After completing 24 successful live operations, Rutherford and his crew were shot down by a German night fighter on December 20, 1943.  Only he and the wireless operator survived, becoming prisoners of war.

Rutherford ended up at Stalag Luft 3, the camp famous as the site of the 'Great Escape' though he was not one of the escapees.  While a prisoner, Rutherford traded three chocolate bars for a Canadian diary from a Red Cross parcel and filled it with notes and illustrations as a record of his time in captivity.

In January 1945 the Germans force-marched Mr Rutherford and his fellow prisoners to a camp 30 miles south of Berlin as the Russians advanced.  The Russians handed the prisoners to the Americans and Rutherford was finally repatriated to England in June 1945.

Robert Leslie "Les" Rutherford passed away this week at the age of 101.

His fascinating diary can be viewed on the International Bomber Command website:
Les Rutherford's Stalag Luft 3 Diary

You can also view a short 7-minute video about Rutherford in his role as a bomb aimer on YouTube:
A Bomb Aimer's Story - Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire