Just a spot of Sunday morning ‘old man’ pedantry...
[pedant on] It should be “RAF Flying Badges” as there is more than one for all Aircrew. The Pilot’s Flying Badge has two wings and the other types of Aircrew have one (Observer, Navigator, Air Gunner, Air Engineer, Air Signaller, etc...), which in 2003 was amalgamated into one Flying Badge - the Weapon System Officer (WSO) for Officer Aircrew and the Weapon System Operator (WSOp) for Non-Commissioned Aircrew (NCA). There are others too, for ground-branch Airborne Specialists like Airborne Image Analyst (IA), Airborne Technician (AT) and Fighter Controller (FC), plus also the Parachute Jump Instructor (PJI) who were given Sovereign approval over 70 years ago to be “Honorary Aircrew”. All of this is swept up in Queen’s Regulations (QRs).
As for the word “Brevet” this has for some time been misused by the ill-informed (including some in the RAF). It is actually a French word meaning certificate or diploma and originally to get one’s Brevet meant getting the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Aviator’s Certificate or Military Flying Course Completion Certificate. Unfortunately, as you received your Certificate at the same time as your Flying Badge then some individuals got a bit confused. The French still use the word Brevet for their flying certificates - in their Brevet de Base de Pilote d'Avion, which is a basic Private Pilot’s Licence. Here is a picture:
This is one of the very first Brevets:
So:
1. Never
The RAF Flying Badge, but just The Pilot’s Flying Badge.
2. Never a Brevet, which is a certificate, and always a Flying Badge (unless some muppet has got it wrong in a document, which happens from time to time!).
Sunday morning history lesson ends...
[pedant off]