Quote:
Originally Posted by grumpy
Harlequin, thank you.
I hope that I am not splitting hairs, but surely someone in RAF uniform [except for a badge or two] who remained a civilian would have a very dodgy status re. the Geneva Convention? No F 1250 or whatever number the ID was?
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During WW2, there were clearly a number of people/formations that wore uniforms yet were not classified as combatants from a Geneva Convention perspective.
I freely admit to having much-greater interest in all things Air Force, including the more-forgotten civilian elements such as ROC / CTC / ATA / ATC etc
Certainly there were a number of anomalies regarding the civilian status of ROC members during WW2, since at Observation Post level they often had Lee-Enfields wrapped in greasy brown paper, propped in the corner, and also their Officers were often armed with Webleys (I know this to be true via direct testimony from people who served at that time). Had the invasion happened, and fighting had started in the streets, I have no doubt that a significant proportion of the Type A ROC Observers would've fought alongside the remnants of the Home Guard, and potentially been shot if captured rather than treated as POWs (once identified as not being attested members of the military).
I had always believed that the wearers of RAF Special Duties silver cap-badges were pure civilians in uniform, not wearing any rank, and as such were in a similar non-combatant sphere to the ROC. But I (and others) may have been wrong about that.
Perhaps a significant proportion of these badges were actually issued to, and worn by, mobilised members of the RAFVR.