"A Second World War hero who was part of the famous 'Dam Busters' squadron has died after contracting coronavirus. Kenneth Law Sumner, known as Ken to family and friends, died at Newcastle's RVI on April 2, after a short illness and testing positive for Covid-19, his family say. Ken was born in Sackatchewan, Canada, but his family returned to the North East when he was a young man, and he studied at Durham School. He joined the RAF at 18 in July 1941, winning a Distinguished Flying Medal for his bravery while serving in ‘44 “Rhodesia” Squadron, flying a total of 27 operations in Lancaster Bomber planes, battling to complete one key mission despite sustaining a serious injury. At the age of 21 Ken he joined the famous ‘617 “Dam Buster” Squadron, known for its strategically vital attacks on German dams using bouncing bombs. There he met his future wife Phyllis “Rennie” Reynolds, to whom he was married from 1946 to her death in 2015." www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/one-north-easts-last-dam-18044675
