Facing the prospect that Hitler’s armies might cross the Channel and invade, in 1940, Britons braced for the Blitz, intense German bombing of the U.K. In this darkest hour, the Royal Air Force’s Arthur Harris said, “They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind.”
Almost immediately, Commonwealth aircrews – many of them Canadian – gathered at air bases across the U.K. to fly nightly against enemy targets in Nazi-occupied Europe. Our new “Bomber Command Country Tour” takes travellers to the heart of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire to explore Canadians’ role in this remarkable WWII story.
Our stops in Yorkshire include: Andrew Mynarski Memorial; Betty’s Café; guided tour of former Canadian station RAF Tholthorpe; Yorkshire Air Museum, and visit to York’s famous Railway Museum and York Minster cathedral. Then in Lincolnshire: a guided tour of RAF Scampton, home of Dam Buster 617 Squadron; International Bomber Command Centre; RAF East Kirkby, home of “Just Jane” Lancaster; RAF Coningsby, home of Battle of Britain Memorial Flight; and Lincoln cathedral, all while based at our home-away-from-home the unique Petwood Hotel, WWII quarters of the Dam Busters’ Squadron. Also, stops at IWM Duxford, RAF Hendon, Cambridge American Cemetery and full-day tour in London visiting related Bomber Command sites.
Ted Barris, recently retired professor of journalism at Centennial College, has written extensively about Canadians and the liberation of Europe. His book Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid against Nazi Germany, was a national bestseller and was awarded the RCAF Association NORAD Trophy for 2018. He and his wife Jayne MacAulay have co-hosted annual Merit tours to Europe since 2004. Our “Bomber Command Country Tour”marks their 17th trip to European wartime locations that have particular resonance for Canadians.
Follow this link: https://merittravel.com/product/bomber-command-country-tour/
For the full itinerary, accommodation, travel details and pricing, visit the Merit Travel website http://www.merittravel.com
Or call Georgia Kourakos, Senior Manager, Product Development & Groups, Merit Travel, 416-364-3775 x4259, or 1-866-341-1777.
