Little Rissington Crest

Probably where my initial confusion came from and it sounds like even the ‘experts’ weren’t clear so many many thanks for that Ray.

Thanks for the clarifications Ray and welcome on board! 🙂

CFS crest and badge

Having read all of the posts on this topic, I thought I would add a few comments in the hope that it adds a little clarity.

While working on the Little Rissington book (published in 2006 by P&S) the subject raised its head many times and we were surprised at how many former CFS personnel did not know the difference between the crest and the badge (including us!). Fortunately the CFS Association came to our aid and I hope the appended images are of some help.

The markings applied to most CFS aircraft comprised a badge with black/blue/green flashes either side (note that the flashes were omitted from CFS Hunters until 1962 and several CFS course Gnats in the period 1963-5).
The CFS crest was applied to the Red Arrows Gnats forward fuselage for the 1966/7 seasons and appeared on official stationary and internal signage at Little Rissington. Like a previous contributor, I cannot recall there being a station sign ouside the camp with the crest on it.

However, during a visit to Cranwell in 2004, I photographed a sign outside the then CFS HQ that contained the crest on the blue background depicted in the images.

Ray

I know that it’s in a ‘newsletter’ and it might be in this magazine! 😉

CFS Crest

Here is another one from 1987 reunion document together with cloth badge from the same era. Any good? John

Thanks for your kind comments Inkworm. Here is what you are after – a colour close-up of the CFS crest on the nose of a Gnat. Actually XR534 at Little Rissington on 25th August 1968.

So what would you call this then?

“Little Rissington Badge” (Cannot work out how to attach the chuffing thing)

A fake. (Or more likely an unauthorised badge.)

Why do I think this? Because all the research I have undertaken over the years to find a unit badge for RAF Little Rissington has drawn a blank. Official records state that a badge was never authorised. However the badge shown purporting to be RAF Little Rissington is a striking likeness of the official badge of No 3 Flying Training School (the remains of which are now at Cranwell). The only difference being that the motto of 3 FTS is “Achieve” written in English whereas the motto of the “Little Rissington” Badge is in latin and translates (very roughly to me!) as “Atlas makes you ready.”
This link below describes RAF unit and sqn heraldry and shows the 3 FTS badge. Little Rissington’s lack of an authorised badge is also stated on the same site.
http://www.rafweb.org/FTS.htm

However, no research is infallible and it is quite possible that the official records and other references that I have consulted are wrong. I would be delighted if the badge you have illustrated is “gen.” Where did you find it?

After CFS arrived at Little Rissington in 1946 the CFS badge was omnipresent anyway and was displayed on aircraft, the main gates and on all correspondence.