‘Johnny Johnson was the last surviving member of the RAF who took part in the famous Dambuster’s Raid by 617 Squadron in 1943. He was a bomb aimer, and was detailed to deliver one of inventor Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bombs. On the day of the raid, the Rur dam his plane was required to bomb was changed last minute, the significance being they had practised their bombing raids front on, but the Sorpe Dam had to be attacked from the side, dropping the bomb on top of the middle of the dam wall. His plane had to fly near to a hillside then dive steeply down very close to a church steeple and drop the bomb as low as possible dead centre. Being such a perfectionist, bomb aimer Johnny made the Captain of the Lancaster continuously take the highly dangerous flying manoeuvre ten times before he was happy to release the bomb. Much to his fellow crew members relief! Of the 19 Lancaster bombers that took part in the raid, only 11 returned. 53 of Johnny’s fellow 617 Squadron members were killed and 3 were taken prisoner. He went on to take part in 19 other bombing raids with 617 Squadron. After the war he remained with the RAF, retiring in 1962 with the rank of Squadron Leader. He became a primary school teacher and a teacher at a psychiatric hospital. He later moved to Torquay where he took an interest in politics and became a local councillor. He passed away in December 2022 at the age of 101.
I had wanted to paint Johnny for quite some time and had spent several years looking around the country for him to find that he only lived a few miles down the road from me in Bristol! I finally found him in August 2022 just a few months before he passed away. To paint the portrait of the last surviving member of the famous Dambusters Raid was an absolute privilege but the most mesmerising part of the experience was to sit and chat with him and listen to the most amazing life story. Priceless.’
Jack Russell, MBE
We mark VE Day with a powerful portrait by Jack Russell of Johnny Johnson, the last of the Dambusters. Jack Russell met and painted this portrait in 2022, shortly before Johnny Johnson passed away, when he was the last surviving member of the RAF who took part in the famous Dambuster's Raid by 617 Squadreon in 1943.
The portrait is on display now at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries, London. From next month and throughout the summer, it will be hanging in the annual Chris Beetles Gallery Summer Show.
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