Page 191 - Who Was Sapper Brown

Postscript – Sergeant ‘Lofty’ Henderson

Barely two days later, RAF Akrotiri received the very welcome
news that Sergeant Henderson had a son who had attended

the official Dambusters Anniversary celebrations in UK on
Saturday 18 May and had heard about the wreath laying

ceremony in Dhekelia. The following e-mail was received

shortly afterwards.

‘I cannot tell you how much it has meant to my husband
that you have laid a wreath on Bob’s grave to mark the

anniversary of the raid. We went up to Lincolnshire for the
commemorations there and had heard that someone had laid

a wreath in Dhekelia, but knew no more than that. To receive
the document and photos this morning has made Hendo’s day,

thank you so very much.

Hendo was a teenager at boarding school in UK when his Father

died and had not seen the grave in Dhekelia until Easter 1996.
It has only been with the Grandchildren that we have started

to take a more active part in the Dambuster commemorations
and tributes - which has helped Hendo to learn more about

the part his Father played in such an iconic raid and to learn
snippets of information and stories about the man he was.

Sergeant Lofty Henderson
(smiling, centre of front row)
32

Thank you so very much for sharing the photos and the document with us - but more than anything, thank

you for taking the time to lay a wreath.’

Debby Henderson (Lofty’s daughter-in-law, e-mail to author 21 May 2013)

32 Photograph of Sergeant Lofty Henderson kindly supplied by Alex Bateman and Terry Hissey.

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