My name is Charles Foster. I’m a writer, editor and designer and I live in Dublin, Ireland.

Since 2008, I have been compiling and writing a blog about the Dambusters – the aircrew from the RAF’s 617 Squadron who took part in the Dams Raid on 16/17 May 1943. It was set up as a service to anyone who would like to find out more, or share material, about the RAF’s 617 Squadron between its formation in March 1943 and the end of that year. I wrote a series of online profiles of all 133 men who took part in the raid between 2013 and 2015, and these have now been gathered together in a new book, The Complete Dambusters, published by History Press in 2018. (See separate page).

This website supplies a list of all the 133 men who took part in the raid, and each has a link back to their individual profile on my Dambusters blog.

The intention is to give each of the men the dignity of their own entry. Too often, their names are lumped together in the appendices at the end of a book, sometimes with their names misspelt and their family details incorrectly recorded.

That said, I am sure that there are still mistakes in my biographies, but the beauty of the internet is that I can correct and update the entries as and when more information emerges. So if you spot anything that is wrong or can provide further details, then please contact me.

The reason for my interest is personal: my late mother was Jean Foster, née Maltby, and was Dams Raid pilot Sqn Ldr David Maltby’s younger sister. David and his whole crew were killed returning from an aborted operation in September 1943. This led me to write an earlier book about David Maltby and his crew, which was published by Pen and Sword in 2008.