When Britain was at her lowest ebb in 1940, ACM Dowding issued an Ultra Top Secret order instructing Training Command to investigate the training of superflous middle rank Civil Servants to be fighter pilots. This was the genesis of Operation Goat. Dowding felt that the selection of the code name was obvious, and many years after events in Brussels and elsewhere have proved this to be as prescient then as it is now.

The new recruits were a little reluctant to give up their quiet comforts of White Hall so to encourage esprit de corp or is that esprit de goat the new squadron became known as Goat Squadron, and a mascot was selected and and this is the only known photograph of him.

Goat Squadron did not perform at all well in the Battle of Britain because their one attempt to intercept a German raid was hanpered by their reluctance to scramble unless quote “… the orders were signed in quintuple and issued 14 days in advance so that the request be processed in accordance with Air Ministry Regulation 735, paragraph 27, sub- paragraph 19, section 3”.

ACM Dowding ordered that Goat Squadron be disbanded and the personnel be discharged to resume their civilian duties as this would be of less hindrance to the war effort than retaining them in the RAF. The mascot went on to serve, or is that be served, in a rather delicious ragout de goat.