Sea Rescue/Search and Rescue?
 

I was recently asked about this wing. As the story goes, it could be a pre WW2 badge from a Sea Rescue or Search and Rescue unit. Has anyone seen a badge like this before?

A very nice looking wing, especially with the colouring remaining true to the RAF wings. It is not one I have seen before. The only wings that have previously been attributed to ASR are shown below. They have been mentioned in several places as having been made and worn illegally by some of the crews. To date no photos have surfaced showing them being worn.
Dave

SR wings
 

Mike,
These could be the wings for a Southern Railways pilot. Before WW2, Southern Railways ran an air service between mainland UK and the Channel Islands and Isle of Wight; part of the Wiki entry shows:

'In conjunction with other Big Four companies the Southern Railway also invested in providing air services for passengers, notably to the Channel Islands and Isle of Wight, which complemented the shipping operations. Such operations provided the chance to take revenue from non-railway passengers, and enabled fast air-freight services between the islands and the mainland. However, this operation was disrupted during the Second World War due to the occupation of the Channel Islands, and the rationing of aviation fuel.'

The 'R' looks similar to that used in the railway's logo.
This might be the direction to look in; if so, I would think this a very rare wing.
George

I don'y think they were a seperate service.

"Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by four railway companies and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up with Imperial's services.

The railways were the "big four": London Midland & Scottish, London & North Eastern, Great Western Railway and Southern Railway."

.

Nice and unusual wing Mike – stunning condition to boot.

I called up an old friend, in his 90’s now, who was raised on the Isle of Wight, to see if he remembered or had any pictures of the pre-war airline for the Southern Railway. He was young in those days but did make a few trips to London with his folks. Like most in that era, they always took the ferry from Ryde over to Portsmouth and then the “fast” train (express I presume) to London. He wasn’t aware of the airline but said only the very wealthy would have flown in those days. Perhaps that makes your badge even rarer.

Just a comment on how things have changed, he remembers their family bought milk for the small local farms and in some cases, the unpasteurized products would spread TB. I guess not everyone had been vaccinated in the 30’s. Hmm, I wonder if there is a lesson in there somewhere?? ;)

All the best.