Caterpillar Club Badge

Thanks, I should have tried google myself first.
Paul

I have a couple at home, but Google is quicker 🙂

scroll down..

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/Caterpillar%2520Pin.gif&imgrefurl=http://f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/sgtharry.htm&h=89&w=205&sz=6&hl=en&start=7&tbnid=6qKLpu8AJZOqlM:&tbnh=46&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCATERPILLAR%2BCLUB%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

TT

Could somebody please post a picture of a caterpillar badge for me, I’ve not seen one before.
Thanks Paul

I had a reply back from Airborne Systerms. Tell me that they could not disclose the details to a third party. So i will passs this back to the family i was trying to help.

Dave

According to Simon W Parry’s book “Intruders over Britain” Operation Gisela took place on the night of 3-4 march 142 Ju88Gs started to come over britain, first wave took off at 23.00. The station commander at Oulton airfield had a suspect aircraft over his station. Hostiles began to be reported at headquarters of No100 Group. The order ‘Scram’ was given this was to divert to an alternative airfield. But the Mosquito was shot down en route to his diversion airfield. Coming down at Buxton, Norfolk. 34 RAF bombers where attacked of which 24 crashed.

Dave

MM640. This was on the way back from Germany, then shot down over Norfolk.

Hi Dave

Interesting story… and a casual inquiry… do you know the circumstances of him being shot down over Norfolk? Was it an intruder, friendly fire or a crash as a result of damage on the raid?

March ’45 is very late in the war so I guess he was very unfortunate to be shot down over home turf.

A more general question to the forum… were intruders very active over the UK at this point in the war?

Thanks

Seb/lmisbtn

Many thanks to all of you. I will let you know how i get on. Yes it has got Red eyes. I also have a friend Jack Bromfield who still has a small display at Bletchley Park. He always wears his red eyed caterpillar, He was shot down on the 5-6 jan 1945 over Hanover. he jumped from a 158sqdn Halifax NP-Q
MZ432. He was taken on a guided tour of the factory

Dave

Caterpillar Club

I am trying to find out if there is a list of when these awards where given out. A person i have thatched a roof for, father recieved this award. Talking to customers wife she has it on a charm bracelet. It just says PO J W Pierce. They told me he was killed 4 March 1945. From this i was able to tell them that 174944 F/O John Walton Pierce was in Mosquito X1X V1-H 169sqdn
MM640. This was on the way back from Germany, then shot down over Norfolk. His pilot was Sqn/Ldr V J Fenwick. This was unknown by the family, his son being very young at the time. But I now am trying to find out when and what aircraft he bailed out off to recieve the caterpillar badge.

Many thanks

Dave

Hi Dave, I’ve sent you a PM with some contact details.

Chris

Hear hear – my friend was passing their factory a few years ago and noticed the sign, being a CC member (and wearing his badge) he popped in and they took him to lunch!

Great to see a company honouring its heritage!

TT

I take my hat off to Irvine Aerospace. About 1 year ago, a good friend of mine was looking through his grandads old papers when he found a brown envelope from Irvine… It was the envelope that was used to send out his caterpillar. He was a gunner on a 300 (Polish) sqn Lancaster and got shot down over Germany. I told my friend to get in touch with Irvine which he duly did, and for a VERY small fee, they had their jeweler make a new badge, stamped on the inside with his grandads name.

I dont suppose anyone from Irvine will read this, but well done… And thank you.

Crikey, something I know a bit about!

Dave -as you know you had to apply for a Caterpillar badge, it wasnt automatically granted – pretty stringent levels of proof too so I understand – I have one which was given to me some years back and a friend is actually in the club.

Irvin Aerospace are the successor company and apparently they have records (I’m told there were 70,000 members at one point)

Little known fact – if the eyes are RED in the caterpillar then the aircraft was on fire when the chap bailed out.

I’d write to Irvin Aerospace, they may well have a copy of the ‘application form’ for the badge.

Hope that helps

TT