andyspiller Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Pals Can anybody help identifing this uniform? Many thanks Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnr.ktrha Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Hello, I think he might be RAF. It's just that he is wearing a cloth waist belt, and flashes at the tops of his arms, just like the RAF do/did. I could be miles wide of the mark though. Regards, Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnr.ktrha Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Oh, and no shoulder straps, just like RAF uniforms. Stewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Andy, I think it's RAF post-War. Try and magnify the top of his right should it looks like the R.A.F. bird emblem. Graham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyspiller Posted 3 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Gents Many thanks for your replies. The original photo is not a lot clearer and won't stand up to much digital manipulation . However if I add that my man was born in 1899 (in South Africa) and also that family rumour suggested RFC. Looks like everybody agrees . Does anybody have an image of the RAF bird emblem? I might be able to then check it against the original photo. Anyway as ever, many thanks for all your help. Rgds Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyspiller Posted 3 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Gents BTW the only MIC I can find suggests that he was a driver in the RE, later a driver (332624) in the RFC. Is that possible? Thanks Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 bird?!? sacrilege!!!!!! its a heagle, always but always referred to as the shitehawk, issued in opposing pairs, worn facing rearwards to protect the airman's six-o'clock. shitehawk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyspiller Posted 3 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 3 March , 2006 LB Thanks very much. Looks as if you have hit the mark (as usual). Do you happen to know if this badge was also used in the RFC or only in the RAF - just trying to get a more accurate date to the photo..... Rgds Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Hayter Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Out of interest, what's the Chaps name? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyspiller Posted 3 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Whoops Henry Phillips Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 My ref. source says RFC as well. My dad had red shitehawks in Egypt, 1941-44. I wore them, and his spare LAC props. in red, to a family [RAF Police Cpl] wedding in 1944 and still have photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyspiller Posted 3 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 3 March , 2006 LB Thanks for this. I'll lash the £3.50 for the MIC now. Rgds Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonsstar Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Hi all This photo is from about 1919-1921 cheers Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Stewart Posted 3 March , 2006 Share Posted 3 March , 2006 Langley, I knew 'bird emblem' wasn't the thing to put, but it was done in case I left myself wide open and someone came along and said it wasn't an 'eagle', as there has been a lot of debate over it for many years, because that particular badge was for wear by RNAS personnel in the Naval Wing of the RFC and not those of the Military Wing. However I do have to hand(actually just got it out of the attic) an excellent little book called "Behind the Hangar Doors" by Philip Congdon, which traces RAF history, folklore, anecdotes and origins of RAF customs and even in there it mentions that at one time it was actually thought to be an 'Albatross'. Reading through it I find that it was eventually put to right with the discovery of Admirality Weekly Order No.2 of the 23rd June 1914 which states;-"The badge of an eagle will be worn by members of the R.N.A.S. at the top of the left sleeve - to distinguish naval airmen from naval seamen." Apparently it was also the idea of Winston Churchill(1st Sea Lord), but the task of Admiral Murray Sueter to find a suitable design. However the artists impression apparently looked more like a goose, which the Admirals wife didn't like and she showed her husband a gold French Imperial eagle brooch. He liked it and in turn showed it to Churchill and Admiral Prince Louie of Battenberg who approved the design. It wasn't adopted by the R.A.F. until 1919 and then it was red upon kkaki, as the O/R's were still clothed in khaki until the new blue-grey was introduced. It continued to be worn by airmen until removed from uniforms in 1973. Graham. Not bad for an ex-WAFU/STAB, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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