"Hello dad, I'm sorry it's been so long"
Hero's daughter finally sees his resting place
Today the nation will pause for a two minute silence to remember countrymen and women who have lost their lives in both past and present conflicts.
One woman whose remembrance will have special poignancy is 70-year-old Chris Connolly who made a long-awaited visit to Belgium to visit her father's grave for the first time last Friday.
Chris of Clifton Road, Shefford lost her father when she was just four years old when he was shot down and killed in 1943 while taking part in one of the most famous operations of the Second World War.
Lancaster bombers led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson mounted Operation Chastise after months of planning, during which crews specially selected for the job trained in absolute secrecy.
The Lancaster bombers flown by 617 Squadron were extensively modified, and the crews trained to fly at less than 100ft above the water, the height required to drop the bombs invented specifically for the task by the aircraft engineer Dr Barnes Wallis.
Their exploits were immortalised in the 1955 movie The Dambusters.
But although the raid was hailed as a success and provided a huge boost for wartime morale, there was heavy loss of life.
Chris said: "My dad was a Dambuster and he was one of the 51 men that didnt come back.
"I was only four when he died and I don't remember him at all. All I have are pictures. When my mum was very ill she kept telling me to go and see his grave and I told her I would because nobody had ever gone, but I just kept putting it off.
"So as a birthday present my daughter asked if I wanted to waste a load of money on a big party or use it on going to see dad's grave, so obviously I said visiting dad's grave."
Her father Leonard Weller, who was a volunteer reserve pilot officer for the Royal Air Force Squadron 617, came down over Holland and was buried at the war cemetery in Bergen-Op-Zoom.
Chris, who visited the cemetery with her daughter, was the first member of her family to visit his grave since his death 65 years ago
She added: "Once we got there it was really hard to find my dad's grave. There was a lot of graves there so I went one way and my daughter went the other and we finally managed to find him.
"It was just sad and really really strange knowing that he had been in there for 65 years and nobody had been to visit him. I just said: 'Hello, dad, I'm sorry it's been so long.'"
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Weather for Luton
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to -1 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South east
