True Valour and Honour

Interviewer: When , Mr. James, when you think about the latter-day revisionists who are looking at the history of the time and have denigrated the contribution of strategic bombing, in general, and Bomber Command, in particular. When you think about what's being said now about that campaign, what's your reaction?

I think that campaign was absolutely disgraceful. I think it was, first of all, I, I begrudge spending taxpayers money on it, which I think we did through the CBC. I think the, the men who produced it should be ashamed of themselves. They painted an entirely false picture of Bomber Command. And I'm sure the other services would say the same about their segment of the film. They, they seemed to zero in on Hamburg because Hamburg, I think, had a 100,000 casualties. But Hamburg was a big military base. And when you're bombing strategic targets, they're not all going to fall on the building that you've selected. And they completely forgot what was done in Rotterdam and Warsaw and London and Manchester and Liverpool, and Coventry. They just ignored that completely. I think they were just out there to try and destroy Bomber Command. And, unfortunately, it got a lot of showings. I understand there were copies put in schools. I'm not sure, but I understand there was, which would give a false picture to coming generations for one of the most dangerous jobs in the, during the war. Men who... They were willing to sacrifice their lives. They knew it was... The chances were, they weren't going to make it. No, I was very upset with it, and... Do you know the name, Jeannie Muldoon, mean anything to you?

Interviewer: No, sir.

She's a Londoner, and she'd been very much involved with air force. And she's a very, very well-spoken woman. Partly disabled, but you wouldn't know it with the work she does. And she actually made a tape to offset that "Valour and the Horror". And they did a fine job. In fact, I think she got some kind of an award for it. And it was just to point the finger at, at the inaccuracies of that "Valour and Horror" film.

Interviewer: Mr. James, when you reflect back on the experience that you had with Bomber Command, and you think of the men that you've served with, what's your feelings now about the fact that no campaign medal was issued for Bomber Command?

There again, I think it was a disgrace. I think as... I believe it was our Air Marshall Harris said that every cook, and candlemaker and whatever else, who stepped foot on the European continent, even though they might have been so far away from the fighting, they wouldn't even know what was going on, they all got their campaign medals. And Bomber Command, which really at one time was the only offensive arm that the Allies had, got nothing. I think it was a disgrace and I think it could still be rectified, but I don't expect they will. But I have never lost my admiration for the courage of the bomber crews, who went out night after night in, over enemy territory, knowing full well that their chances of surviving a tour of 30 operations were pretty slim. They didn't talk about it. I don't think they admitted it to themselves, sometimes, but I think they knew. And it's my understanding that something like 40 percent of aircrew actually completed a tour. And I think they were all heroes.