Charles Brennan

Charles Christopher Brennan was born on 22 February 1916 in Calgary, Alberta, and emigrated to England in 1928, one of two Canadian-born flight engineers to take part in the Dams Raid. He enlisted in the RAF early in the war and served first as ground crew before qualifying as a flight engineer, completing his course at No. 4 School of Technical Training at RAF St Athan in the summer of 1942 and joining No. 106 Squadron, where he flew as part of John Hopgood’s crew through the latter half of his tour. When Hopgood was posted to the newly formed No. 617 Squadron to prepare for the attack on the German dams, he brought the trusted Brennan with him. On the night of 16/17 May 1943, during Operation Chastise, Sergeant Brennan flew as flight engineer aboard Lancaster ED925, coded AJ-M, the second aircraft of the first wave to attack the Mohne Dam; the Lancaster was hit by flak on its run, its mine bounced over the dam, and the badly damaged aircraft, by then on fire, crashed a few kilometres beyond the target. Brennan was killed along with most of Hopgood’s crew, and is buried in a collective grave at Rheinberg War Cemetery in Germany. He had married Freda Pemberton in Leeds in 1940 and was among the airmen on the raid whose wives were expecting; his daughter was born in Otley in October 1943, some months after his death.