During the war there were a number of unofficial clubs instigated particularly by aircrews for members who had to make a “swift exit” from an aeroplane. I know of four of such clubs: The Goldfish Club: One had to be rescued/survived an aircraft ditching from the sea where their life preserving equipment (Mae-West and/or dinghy) saved their life. The Caterpillar Club: One had to parachute (bale out) from his stricken aircraft and survive, if that person landed 'in the drink' he then also qualified for membership of The Goldfish Club. The Flying (Winged) Boot Club: One had to 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. And of course, the world famous Guinea-pig Club for airmen, particularly pilots injured during the Battle of Britain who had suffered severe burns and were treated by Sir Archibald McIndoe at the burns unit of Queen Victoria's Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex. I wonder, does anyone know of any more such clubs?
Never heard of the top 3 Brian, only the Guinea-pig Club which i saw documented on the History Channel ... :thumb:
I knew two ex RAF aircrew who became members of the Caterpillar club; my uncle, W P Bates who found it necessary to exit their Manchester during a cross-country exercise in 1942. He rejoined his unit, 106 Sqdn and in April 42 he was assigned to a new crew skippered by F/O Hopgood (of Dam Busters fame). In May 42 they converted to the new Lancaster aircraft. They flew together until the end of the tour and Hopgood along with Gibson, Shannon and Burpee were transferred to the new 617 squadron. He was given the opportunity to join the squadron but my Aunt had got wind that the “special work” was either North Africa or the Far East, so she put her foot down … with a firm hand! His next tour was as a Navigator with 106 squadron which by then had re-equipped with Mosquitos and become part of the Pathfinder force. By November 44 he had completed 3 tours of ops. The second member of the Caterpillar club whom I knew was Ron “Curly” Emeny, who was also a member of the “Flying Boot” club. Ron evaded capture after suffering horrific injuries when shot down when on 207 Squadron, on the Mailly-Le-Camp raid of 3/4 May 1944. He was the last airman taken across the Pyrenees by the Comete Line, on June 6th 1944. He remained as aircrew in the RAF, ultimately as an AEO on Vulcans until he resigned in 1965 but retained his commission in the RAFVR(T). He was awarded the AFM in 1957. He was also awarded the Croix-de-Guerre and the Criox-de-Resistance for his wartime work while he was on the run in France. I well remember him trying to get something done one day whilst we were at an ATC Summer Camp. Having made no headway on the telephone he asked me to accompany him to the Station HQ to sort things out. He threw open the door and standing there sporting the ribbons for his AFM, Croix-de-Guerre, Criox-de-Resistance his Pathfinder badge and the usual campaign medal ribbons, he just stated “I am Flight Lieutenant Emeny … you were saying?” The Corporal behind the desk just turned a pretty shade of white before looking for a hole to crawl into!
Well these are all new to me, were these groups made up with colleagues from the same Squadrons Brian, or were they open to everyone. I guess the Guinea-pig Club answers it self, but maybe the other three?
These clubs were open to anyone who met the criteria; it wasn’t squadron based. In almost all cases the award had to be applied for, it wasn’t just granted and the awarding club then did their own investigation into the circumstances. Having done some more digging (Google is your friend), The Caterpillar Club was instigated by the Irvin Parachute Company and they still maintain a list of members. There were two kinds of caterpillar badge, one with plain eyes which meant that the recipient baled out of a stricken aircraft and the other with red eyes meaning that the aircraft was on fire when the bale out occurred. GQ Parachutes operate a similar scheme for airmen who used a GQ parachute to bale out. The Goldfish Club is still going and one of its more recent members is Sir Richard Branson who is the only member to exit from a lighter than air craft into the sea. 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 made it back to their unit. There is also the RAF Escapers Association (Society) for those who found themselves behind enemy lines and escaped or evaded capture. Members who were awarded the badges were allowed to wear them on the breast pocket of their uniform if they wished. Some links for further details: You can search for the various club names on your favourite search engine or use these links below: Caterpillar Club - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Goldfish Club - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia RAF LATE ARRIVALS CLUB - British Pathé Has a short video about some aircrew receiving their "Winged Boot" badges. Royal Air Forces Escaping Society 1945-1995 AFEES - U.S. AIR FORCE ESCAPE & EVASION SOCIETY
