Other Badges worn by Czechoslovak RAF Airmen

Apart from RAF brevets, there were also other ‘unofficial’ badges that could be seen on the breast pocket of Czechoslovak RAF airmen on their uniform if they qualified for that badge.

Caterpillar Club:

To qualify for a Caterpillar Club badge, the airman had to parachute (bale out) from his stricken aircraft and survive. If that person landed ‘in the drink’ – the sea – he then also qualified for membership of The Goldfish Club.

The Irvin Air Chute Co. started the Caterpillar Club in 1922 and the practice of awarding the tiny gold Caterpillar Pin to anyone who saved his life by parachuting from a disabled or flaming aircraft. Each recipient of the Caterpillar Pin is living testimony to the life saving ability of the Irvin Type Air Chute. The Caterpillar is symbolic of the silk worm, which lets itself descend gently to earth from heights by spinning a silky thread to hang from. Parachutes in the early days were made from pure silk.

In 1919 Leslie Irvin, a 24-year-old stunt man from California, demonstrated the first “free drop” parachute. He had made the chute himself on a borrowed sewing machine. Flying safety experts were so impressed that the American Air Force and British R.A.F. promptly adopted the parachute as standard equipment. Later the same year, Irvin established his first factory for the mass production of parachutes in Buffalo, New York. In 1926 the first European factory was established in Letchworth, England.

During the height of World War II, production of parachutes at the Irvin Air Chute Co. factory in Letchworth, England reached a peak of nearly 1,500 parachutes per week. By late 1945 there were 34,000 members of the Caterpillar Club.

It is estimated that at least 100,000 peoples lives have been saved by Irvin parachutes.

Goldfish Club:

The Goldfish Club was an unofficial RAF club open to those who had ditched in the sea and had been saved by their life jacket and emergency dinghy.

The Goldfish Club was formed in November 1942 by C. A. Robertson, the Chief Draftsman at the United Kingdom’s PB Cow & Co., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of air-sea rescue equipment. After hearing of the experiences of airmen who had survived a ditching at sea, Robertson decided to form an exclusive club for airmen who owed their lives to their life jacket, dinghy, etc., enabling members to meet and exchange experiences.

With the company’s backing, the club was named The Goldfish Club: gold for the value of life, and fish for the water. Each member was presented with a heat-sealed waterproof membership card and an embroidered badge. News of the club spread rapidly, and in January 1943 the BBC broadcast an interview by Wynford Vaughan-Thomas with Robertson and two members who had qualified on their first operational flight. The Pilot and navigator were P/o Len Harvey DSO and F/L B Wicksteed who lost a Beaufighter BQ/O on 7 June 1942 after combat with a JU 88 originally reported as a Heinkel 111. Harvey was awarded a DSO and Wicksteed a DFC on 31/6/1942, two German Officers from the JU 88 were recovered from the sea off Lands End on 15/06/1942.

Due to wartime regulations, production of metallic-embroidered badges was prohibited, and all cloth was severely rationed. These problems were overcome with silk embroidery substituted for wire upon black cloth cut from old evening dress suits that were sent by readers of the London Daily Express after an appeal by columnist William Hickey. Uniform dress regulations prohibited the wearing of the Goldfish Club badge on British and American uniforms. The badge was generally worn by Naval aircrews upon their Mae Wests. Many RAF & USAAF aircrewmen placed their badge under the flap of their left hand uniform pocket.

The badge was worn under the left-hand jacket pocket. By the end of the war the club had over 9,000 members.

Guinea Pig Club:

The Guinea Pig Club, established in 1941, was a social club and mutual support network for British and allied aircrew injured during World War II. Its membership was made up of patients of Archibald McIndoe in Ward III at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, Sussex, who had undergone experimental reconstructive plastic surgery, including facial reconstruction, generally after receiving burns injuries in aircraft. The club remained active after the end of the war, and its annual reunion meetings continued until 2007.

The original members were Royal Air Force (RAF) aircrew who had severe burns, generally to the face or hands. Most were British but other significant minorities included Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and by the end of the war Americans, French, Russians, Czechs and Poles. In 1943, a dedicated Canadian wing was built at the hospital, on the initiative of the Royal Canadian Air Force and at Canadian expense. During the Battle of Britain, most of the patients at East Grinstead were fighter pilots, but by the end of the war around 80% of the members were from bomber crews of RAF Bomber Command. A minority of members had suffered non-burns-related injuries (for example, maxillofacial damage incurred in crashes); while another small minority came from army or navy rather than air force backgrounds. A few members even joined the club after the war’s end, through injuries sustained in peacetime accidents, as Ward III remained operational until 1948.

Josef Koukal and František Truhlář were treated at East Grinstead – Truhlář twice – for their burns during WW2. Post WW2, Alois Šiška also was treated there.

Late Arrivals Club / Winged boot:

The Flying Boot Club is otherwise known as the RAF Late Arrivals Club and a small silver winged flying boot badge was awarded to aircrews once they had come down behind enemy lines from their aircraft and return to their unit, usually on foot! They could also become members of the above two clubs if the criteria aforementioned applied.

The ‘Late Arrivals Club’ or Winged Boot Club was born during the Western Desert Campaign in 1941. During this conflict many airmen were shot down, bailed out of aircraft, or crash landed deep in the desert. They then had to make their way back to safety, often from behind enemy lines.

There is also the RAF Escapers Association (Society) for those who found themselves behind enemy lines and escaped or evaded capture.

Members of the RAF who were awarded the badges were allowed to wear them on the breast pocket of their uniform if they wished.