George Holden (RAF officer)

George Holden
Born	1913 Oldham, England
Died	16 September 1943 (aged 29-30) Dortmund-Ems Canal, Nordhorn, Germany
Buried	Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1934–1943
Rank	Wing Commander
Commands	No. 617 Squadron RAF
Battles / wars	Second World War Operation Garlic  †
Awards	Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Mentioned in Despatches

Wing Commander George Walton Holden, DSO, DFC & Bar (1913 – 16 September 1943) was a British aviator and a pilot in RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. He was briefly commander of No. 617 Squadron RAF—"The Dam Busters"—before his death.

Biography

Born in 1913 in Oldham, he was the son of Frederick Charles Holden and Beatrice Holden. He was educated at Ashburton Grammar School, and enlisted in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1934.

Commissioned in 1941 with the service number 103484, Holden served with No. 102 Squadron RAF.

He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 2 September 1941 while with No. 35 Squadron RAF and a Bar to his DFC on 12 February 1943. A Distinguished Service Order followed on 11 June 1943.

After the Dams raid, Guy Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross and was retired from flying duties. Holden was brought in to command No. 617 Squadron RAF.

Holden only took part in 4 operations with No. 617 Squadron as he was killed during Operation Garlic, a failed raid on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. Four of Gibson's crew from Operation Chastise (Deering, Hutchison Spafford and Taerum) were with Holden and all perished. He is buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany.