Dambuster logbook replica given to Shrewsbury charity shop
An extremely rare replica of the mission logbook kept by Dambusters hero Wing Commander Guy Gibson has been handed in to a Shrewsbury charity shop.
It is thought there are only two other copies of the blue logbook and staff at Oxfam in the town centre believe it could be worth £200.
The log was discovered among the donations left at a book bank at the town's Sainsbury's supermarket.
Produced in 1976, it is a painstaking replica of logbook number two, which was maintained by Wing Commander Gibson, of 617 Squadron, and features a reproduction of his signature on the cover.
Shop manager Tom Cotton said: "We don't actually know who donated it. But we found it and at first we thought it was an original copy because it looked so real."
Volunteer Ralph Davis said the entries look handwritten, despite being copies.
He said: "It's just so realistic, you can read each individual entry which tells you they were bombed at 4,000 ft and what have you. It's very interesting."
The original logbook is held at the Public Records Office in London.
Wing Commander Gibson is most famous for leading 617 Squadron in Operation Chastise on May 16, 1943.
Nineteen specially-modified Lancaster Bombers took off from RAF Scampton to attack the dams in Germany's Ruhr valley.
Their triumph was later told in the film The Dambusters, starring the late Richard Todd.
Wing Commander Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross and was the most decorated pilot in the RAF. But the written entries in the logbook end on September 16, 1944. Three days later, on September 19, Gibson was killed over Holland while returning from a raid over Germany.
Mr Cotton said: "We found out it wasn't an original but it is still very rare. My colleague valued it and it is worth about £200 because it is in such good condition."
The money raised by the logbook will go towards Oxfam's mother appeal, which helps lift women out of poverty worldwide.
Mr Cotton said: "It's very important to us as a charity that the money go towards our mother appeal which we are running at the moment."
The project means the Government will match the value of everything donated, thus doubling the money brought in."
He added: "It's been very exciting for us to make such a great find and to be able to raise money for the mother appeal at the same time."
