Possessing, as I do, a modest interest in the history of aviation warfare I frequently find myself checking the obits for another sad passing.  These days almost all of those astonishingly gallant young men who survived their tour of bombing sorties to Germany and occupied Europe are over eighty.  The obituaries, inevitably, are becoming rarer. 

Today, however, the Telegraph carried the obituary of one such man, David Jackson Penman,  OBE, DSO, DFC who died on November 27th at the age of 85.  The article concentrates largely on his part in the low-level, daylight raid on a diesil engine factory in Augsburg on April 17th, 1942.  Twelve aircraft, six Lancasters apiece from 44 and 97 Squadron, were sent to bomb the M.A.N factory, which made diesel engines for submarines.  Five returned, all damaged.  Militarily, nothing was achieved.  Production of the diesels was inconvenienced, no more.

Today, I suppose, the average, super-compassionate, humanity-adoring liberal would, in consideration of the raid, seize the opportunity to parade his emotional credentials and loudly decry the waste.  But I do not believe the losses that day were in vain.  Augsburg is one of a tiny number of raids that, through their great risk and heavy cost, have passed into RAF legend.  As such, it speaks not of pacifism or waste but of generosity, courage and love – actually, qualities perfectly natural to young men in times of war.  I even have some faith that the depredations against white males of the last four decades of feminism and family breakdown are as nothing in the face of such things.

There is one extremely scary question, though.  If male fertility is, as they say, falling throughout the western world because of the seepage of female hormones – and heaven knows what other things - into our drinking water, will we find ourselves short of a hero or two in the press?  A very curious way for peace to descend upon the world.  Time, surely, for all men of military mein to think about installing a water butt ... or maybe relocating to an area hydraulically served by artesian supplies.  Leave the river water to the liberals!