How do you tell a Caterpillar Club Badge

[SAS1]

Looks to be a recent, official replacement, from Irvins.

[Landyman101]

A recent addition to the fold...

Sgt E Charnock 101 Squadron RAF

Edward Charnock was born in 1917 and volunteered for the RAF in 1941. After training as an Air Bomber he was posted to 101 Squadron Ludford Magna. On the night of the 30th January 1944 the Squadron was tasked with ops to Berlin. Charnock's Lancaster was to undertake Special Duties carrying the ABC radio equipment and additional crewman operator.
The Lancaster took off from Ludford Magna and was attacked by a Night Fighter and shot down at Teltow 16 KM South West of Berlin.
Sgt Charnock was one of only three survivors the remaining five crew were KIA and lie in Berlin War Cemetry.
Originally held at Stalag Luft 6 with a POW number of 976, he was later transferred to Stalag 357, where he remained until April 6th 1945.

[Frank Kelley]

What made you buy that particular badge I wonder, given it's condition, I would certainly have thought lot 22 would have a much better choice, or was in the membership card you were keen on?

Originally Posted by Landyman101

A recent addition to the fold...

Sgt E Charnock 101 Squadron RAF

Edward Charnock was born in 1917 and volunteered for the RAF in 1941. After training as an Air Bomber he was posted to 101 Squadron Ludford Magna. On the night of the 30th January 1944 the Squadron was tasked with ops to Berlin. Charnock's Lancaster was to undertake Special Duties carrying the ABC radio equipment and additional crewman operator.
The Lancaster took off from Ludford Magna and was attacked by a Night Fighter and shot down at Teltow 16 KM South West of Berlin.
Sgt Charnock was one of only three survivors the remaining five crew were KIA and lie in Berlin War Cemetry.
Originally held at Stalag Luft 6 with a POW number of 976, he was later transferred to Stalag 357, where he remained until April 6th 1945.

[Landyman101]

Originally Posted by Frank Kelley

What made you buy that particular badge I wonder, given it's condition, I would certainly have thought lot 22 would have a much better choice, or was in the membership card you were keen on?

Hi Frank ...

Yes I noticed that there was another example in the auction .. but not only did this have the membership card and was spot on for a wartime issue ... but it was to the squadron that I am the Welfare Secretary for ... 101 Sdn RAF

Cheers

Gary

[Frank Kelley]

Okay, I see, well, clearly you had little choice other than to put your hand in your pocket and buy it then.

[Frank Kelley]

Good heavens, I've just thought, you will doubtless be celebrating their centenary in another two years time, I think they were at their very best after they had left 3 Group and joined 1 Group in 1942 and you now have a real link to that in your collection!

Originally Posted by Landyman101

Hi Frank ...

Yes I noticed that there was another example in the auction .. but not only did this have the membership card and was spot on for a wartime issue ... but it was to the squadron that I am the Welfare Secretary for ... 101 Sdn RAF

Cheers

Gary

[Landyman101]

Originally Posted by Frank Kelley

Good heavens, I've just thought, you will doubtless be celebrating their centenary in another two years time, I think they were at their very best after they had left 3 Group and joined 1 Group in 1942 and you now have a real link to that in your collection!

Indeed it will be 101's centenary in July 2017 and both the current Squadron and Association are planning to make it a great celebration.

My main interest is the period June 1943 until the end of the war it was then that 101 transferred into Ludford Magna from Holme on Spalding Moor , Yorks and soon took on the special duties role of ABC radio jamming.

I did in the summer have the privilege of meeting our oldest member S/Ldr (Ret) Ian Blair who at 97 was on the squadron pre-war in 1938 as armour/rigger and by 1940 was an Act/Sgt Observer in Blenheim's in the western desert and earned an immediate DFM for flying his damaged aircraft back to base having never flown before when his pilot was killed in an initial attack from an Italian fighter.
A great publicity photo taken at the time was made into an official wartime safety poster!. The powers that be then sent him off on pilot training and he became a spitfire pilot towards the end of the war. ( He did mention that he was collared by the MP's in Egypt when walking down a street just after gaining his wings he was still wearing his corporal stripes, as he was still classed as A/Sgt, but had put up his DFM ribbon and the MP's had him down for being an imposter !!)

So the caterpillar pin, being to a Ludford 'man' was a rather extravagant addition to my RAF collection ...

Regards

Gary

[Frank Kelley]

Hello Gary,
Well, I'm more of a fighter type myself, but, their continued use of Cigar was actually quite interesting, in particular, after 100 Group were well and truly up and running, in addition, their own bomb loads must have added to their sense of achievement too on each night.
A lovely photograph of Blair, it is beginning to fade from living memory as each year ends and you certainly get a much better idea of what actually went on, nightly, throughout those awful years, by talking to the gentlemen who were there.
I think you have done the right thing, any original wartime caterpillar is really quite a scarce thing these days, if not buying as part of a "complete" group, I think it is most important to buy it with something else, as well as a reasonable provenance, which you have, as the majority of recipients became prisoners, an original 2520 is always nice as it confirms a particular recipients class upon his release from the service, in addition, a 1250 is also nice to have.
There were and still are many bits of dross being sold as original, sadly, including some actually named to "well known" recipients, again, being sold on there own.
I do remember about fifteen years ago, there was an utter numpty selling some awful examples that had been named up to both actual and spurious recipients
Kind regards Frank

[Frank Kelley]

Hello again Gary,
Forgot to ask, how many caterpillars have you got, have you any early examples with the small and more attractive engraving?
Regards Frank

[Landyman101]

Hi Frank .. sorry I have not been on the site for a while .. I do not have one of the really early ones .. but did waver and pick up another war time example .. Will post up some images soon
Cheers
Gary

[Landyman101]

Wartime caterpillar pin to F/L. R . S. HALL RCAF.


A lovely wartime issued Caterpillar Club Pin with intact eyes and safety pin type clasp you would expect to see from this period. The Clasp is quite firm and the precision hand engraving is also as you would expect to see from this period

Engraved F/L. R . S. HALL

Pres by Irvin is not present on the engraving as this is normally only seen in very early period awards

Prisoner of War MI9 Report 22.5.45 ROBERT SEYMOUR HALL RCAF R158758 from Illinois United States of America a volunteer from the USA who enlisted into the R.C.A.F. advises he was captured on D Day 6 June 1944 in Antwerp having evaded for a few days National Archives hold evader reports for two fellow Canadian crew members F/Officers Rutherford and Gouinlock. Both men successfully evaded capture.NA Ref MB1312/2069 and MB1310 these have not been referenced but if desired can be obtained.

Hall was taken to Stalag Luft 7 and Stalag IIIA he later took part in the Great March away from Luft 7 towards central Germany

Oh and the piece of white cloth that came with it is what appears to be a piece of parachute silk ..
(I have met a 101 Squadron veteran who kept a similar fragment of parachute silk from the one that saved his life and used to bring it along to reunions with him .. Bob Whitford RIP )

[Karl Kj]

Hi Landyman, I am with the Bomber Command Museum of Canada and I am researching the crew of RCAF Halifax LK811 that crashed on May 27-28, 1944 in Holland including RCAF American Robert Hall who bailed out, was on the run for a week and was finally POW as of June 6, 1944. Please contact me so I can exchange emails and maybe I could get a medium res photo of the caterpillar pin, cheers, Karl ( karl kj at rogers dot com) with suitable decoding applied

Originally Posted by Landyman101

Wartime caterpillar pin to F/L. R . S. HALL RCAF.


A lovely wartime issued Caterpillar Club Pin with intact eyes and safety pin type clasp you would expect to see from this period. The Clasp is quite firm and the precision hand engraving is also as you would expect to see from this period

Engraved F/L. R . S. HALL

Pres by Irvin is not present on the engraving as this is normally only seen in very early period awards

Prisoner of War MI9 Report 22.5.45 ROBERT SEYMOUR HALL RCAF R158758 from Illinois United States of America a volunteer from the USA who enlisted into the R.C.A.F. advises he was captured on D Day 6 June 1944 in Antwerp having evaded for a few days National Archives hold evader reports for two fellow Canadian crew members F/Officers Rutherford and Gouinlock. Both men successfully evaded capture.NA Ref MB1312/2069 and MB1310 these have not been referenced but if desired can be obtained.

Hall was taken to Stalag Luft 7 and Stalag IIIA he later took part in the Great March away from Luft 7 towards central Germany

Oh and the piece of white cloth that came with it is what appears to be a piece of parachute silk ..
(I have met a 101 Squadron veteran who kept a similar fragment of parachute silk from the one that saved his life and used to bring it along to reunions with him .. Bob Whitford RIP )

[Frank Kelley]

Where did you actually come by that, I wonder?

Originally Posted by SAS1

As might have been noticed, one was presented to Pilot Officer Tony Burcher RAAF for his bail out during the dams raid.