The Kings crown
Cunning Artificer
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When I joined in '63, one of my fellow Brats had a King's Crown cap badge, given him by his grandfather. It was slightly more oval in shape than the Queen's Crown version that we had as standard issue and bore a King's Crown, but "Cookie" wore it every day and on every parade. Those who were Brats will know how often that badge was peered at (and even on occasions removed to see if there was any Brasso residue on the back...) on parades, but he was never picked up for it.
Even though the letters in the middle were RFC instead of RAF...
Even though the letters in the middle were RFC instead of RAF...
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Ah, real cap badges.
Can you reveal the secret? Was it really years and years of brasso that wore them flat or aa bit of judicious machining to make them smooth?
Once the staybright plastic badge came in well - standards.
Like the pair of brass buckles on the back of the webbing belt. Bl**dy useless and a sod to clean. The belts without buckles were highly prized.
Can you reveal the secret? Was it really years and years of brasso that wore them flat or aa bit of judicious machining to make them smooth?
Once the staybright plastic badge came in well - standards.
Like the pair of brass buckles on the back of the webbing belt. Bl**dy useless and a sod to clean. The belts without buckles were highly prized.
Join Date: Jan 2005
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cap badge
..........or on the underside of the bedside mat. I still have my Dad's Kings Crown cap badge - He joined in 1935 - which after being given it on his retirement in 1970, I wore every working day for the next 18 years. It had to have a few running repairs during its life.
When I joined in Jan '64 our working blue was the old national service best blue, ie of best blue shape/cut but made with working blue 'Hairy Mary' material. This had brass buttons with Kings crowns.
Good story of the Kings/Queens crown. I prefer the factoid version though.
Merry Christmas and all the best for 2007 to all Ppruners.
'We knew how to whinge but we kept it in the NAAFI bar'.
Cunning Artificer
Join Date: Jun 2001
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The accepted method at Halton Pontius, was to put some of the RAF issue scouring powder on the back of the bedside mat and add Brasso to make a thick paste. Then the badge was rubbed vigourously face down in the paste until it was reduced to the fashionable flat surface. Hand polish with a yellow cloth to remove the scratchiness and Bob's yer uncle.
To digress a little - another old Brat tip. Take one pair of ammunition boots, smear in a thick layer of boot polish. Set fire to the boots and wait until the dimples disappear. Bull them up with Cherry Blossom, yellow cloth and loads of spit in the customary manner, to build up a nice layer of shiny black wax. So far, so good - its SOP - but to get the perfect finish, rub your hands together vigorously for a minute then use the heel of the palm to buff the bulled-up toe caps, insoles and heels to a perfect finish. The warm hand melts the outer layer of the 'bull' just enough to give that ultimate gloss.
Why?
I dunno.
Bull**** baffles brain...
To digress a little - another old Brat tip. Take one pair of ammunition boots, smear in a thick layer of boot polish. Set fire to the boots and wait until the dimples disappear. Bull them up with Cherry Blossom, yellow cloth and loads of spit in the customary manner, to build up a nice layer of shiny black wax. So far, so good - its SOP - but to get the perfect finish, rub your hands together vigorously for a minute then use the heel of the palm to buff the bulled-up toe caps, insoles and heels to a perfect finish. The warm hand melts the outer layer of the 'bull' just enough to give that ultimate gloss.
Why?
I dunno.
Bull**** baffles brain...
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Blacksheep
Brilliant - was in O lines at St Athan in 62 and we shaved the iinsde of the hairy battle dress trousers to make a crease
Brasso and newspaper (lead print) was the best window cleaner ever!
Bull nights, Bed Packs and Kit inspections still give me a hard on
Polishing the centre deck with a 'bumper' till it looked like glass makes me wonder why I ever left
Happy days
Merry Christmas
B15
Brilliant - was in O lines at St Athan in 62 and we shaved the iinsde of the hairy battle dress trousers to make a crease
Brasso and newspaper (lead print) was the best window cleaner ever!
Bull nights, Bed Packs and Kit inspections still give me a hard on
Polishing the centre deck with a 'bumper' till it looked like glass makes me wonder why I ever left
Happy days
Merry Christmas
B15
I recall that the 'low dome' brass buttons were replaced by the 'high dome' staybright versions in around 1969?
Before then it was button sticks and picking the Brasso gunk out of the crowns with a matchstick at RAFC Cranwell.
'Kings' crowns' were still seen in the 70s, but not many since. Tradition certainly allowed 'hereditary' wings to be worn on flying suits.
There was still the odd 'flying O' (to give it it's polite name) on some navigators' uniforms when I joined. And, SASless, that was long after we started putting the bullets in the blunt end of guns, rather than using ye goode olde ramrods!
Before then it was button sticks and picking the Brasso gunk out of the crowns with a matchstick at RAFC Cranwell.
'Kings' crowns' were still seen in the 70s, but not many since. Tradition certainly allowed 'hereditary' wings to be worn on flying suits.
There was still the odd 'flying O' (to give it it's polite name) on some navigators' uniforms when I joined. And, SASless, that was long after we started putting the bullets in the blunt end of guns, rather than using ye goode olde ramrods!
Cunning Artificer
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It was tradition for the Wing Duty Officer to give Brats on Jankers an extra special going over on their last night - the apparent idea being to try and charge them with being 'filthy on parade' and get them back on Jankers.
Everyone in a room would bung in to help the victim (if he was a popular bloke) and we'd remove the buttons to bull up the backs as well as the fronts, then stitch them back on. You could get the crap out of the back of a cap badge or the crowns on the buttons with meths and a stiff brush, without damaging the shine. We'd bull the soles of the boots too and polish the steel studs. Once he was dressed to kill in full webbing - including ammo pouches and back pack - we'd lay him out on a toilet door and carry him over to Wing HQ around 9.30 pm, ready for the 10 pm final inspection.
In retrospect it's easy to see that in addition to discipline & punishment, the true objective was to mould team spirit and comradeship, but at the time it wasn't bloody funny.
B*st*rds!
Beags - Our Sqn Commander in Maitland (3A Wing) had served in Mesopotamia, dropping bombs on the 'insurgents' by hand. His King's Crown wings were King George the Fifths. 'Piggy' Sills his name was. Did you know him by any chance?
I still have my button stick and brass brush as souvenirs...
Everyone in a room would bung in to help the victim (if he was a popular bloke) and we'd remove the buttons to bull up the backs as well as the fronts, then stitch them back on. You could get the crap out of the back of a cap badge or the crowns on the buttons with meths and a stiff brush, without damaging the shine. We'd bull the soles of the boots too and polish the steel studs. Once he was dressed to kill in full webbing - including ammo pouches and back pack - we'd lay him out on a toilet door and carry him over to Wing HQ around 9.30 pm, ready for the 10 pm final inspection.
In retrospect it's easy to see that in addition to discipline & punishment, the true objective was to mould team spirit and comradeship, but at the time it wasn't bloody funny.
B*st*rds!
Beags - Our Sqn Commander in Maitland (3A Wing) had served in Mesopotamia, dropping bombs on the 'insurgents' by hand. His King's Crown wings were King George the Fifths. 'Piggy' Sills his name was. Did you know him by any chance?
I still have my button stick and brass brush as souvenirs...
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Boots and badges.
Blacksheep,
Happy 1 wing memories, I remember the boots on fire technique, an alternate method favoured by a few was the hot spoon and candle way of removing the dimples on drill boots, I never did master any of it! I think the more keener brats used to put soap inside the creases of the working blue trousers to make a more impressive crease when ironed.
Bedpacks and bumpering centre decks, it all did keep us out of mischief I suppose. happy days. oh and coller studs,
Best regards,
om15.
Happy 1 wing memories, I remember the boots on fire technique, an alternate method favoured by a few was the hot spoon and candle way of removing the dimples on drill boots, I never did master any of it! I think the more keener brats used to put soap inside the creases of the working blue trousers to make a more impressive crease when ironed.
Bedpacks and bumpering centre decks, it all did keep us out of mischief I suppose. happy days. oh and coller studs,
Best regards,
om15.
Fiery boots and soaped creases in your hairy blues - the joys of that I recall indeed from my time in the South Brick Lines at RAFC in 1968....
But collar studs were nothing new as we'd had those at school.
The only Sills I knew was Colin. I don't think even he was old enough to have dropped bombs on things in Mesoptamia. But I might be wrong....
But collar studs were nothing new as we'd had those at school.The only Sills I knew was Colin. I don't think even he was old enough to have dropped bombs on things in Mesoptamia. But I might be wrong....
Nixor ut Ledo
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At Hereford back in '63 (and presumably other training bases) the NAAFI had plastic shirt collars for sale. They beat scrubbing and washing the issue linen ones but were an absolute bugger come summer and one started to sweat a bit!
Bulling the toe caps and cleaning the instep was fine until some w*nker decided to go one better and extend the bull to other parts of the boot. I seem to remember spending the best part of a year getting my graduation parade boots bulled from top to bottom because of that.
On the day one gingerly exited the barrack block and form up in threes. Then came the order "Number 1 Flight. Aaaaaaaaa.....ten.......SHUN!" And with that, a year's worth of bull cracked into myriad pieces and left a neat pile of hard Cherry Blossom where 100 Boy Entrants had previously stood.
Bulling the toe caps and cleaning the instep was fine until some w*nker decided to go one better and extend the bull to other parts of the boot. I seem to remember spending the best part of a year getting my graduation parade boots bulled from top to bottom because of that.
On the day one gingerly exited the barrack block and form up in threes. Then came the order "Number 1 Flight. Aaaaaaaaa.....ten.......SHUN!" And with that, a year's worth of bull cracked into myriad pieces and left a neat pile of hard Cherry Blossom where 100 Boy Entrants had previously stood.
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Urban Legend?
I was present with my Great Uncles 'wings' when I graduated. Like 80% of the air war fatalities he was killed whilst instructing in '42. (a solo student, on a practice glide approach, descended onto his aircraft killing both him and his student.)
I wore his wings, with 'kings crown', proudly for 13yrs. The same brevet is now mounted & framed in a quiet corner of my house.
Jacko, thank-you for the history lesson, much appreciated. Perhaps you could help further.
The 'kings crown' has been filled in with red thread. Its obviously amateur handly work - perhaps him, perahps his batman?
I've always believed that this was the equivalent of todays '1000 hour' patch.
Fact, myth, legend?
Regards
PF
I wore his wings, with 'kings crown', proudly for 13yrs. The same brevet is now mounted & framed in a quiet corner of my house.
Jacko, thank-you for the history lesson, much appreciated. Perhaps you could help further.
The 'kings crown' has been filled in with red thread. Its obviously amateur handly work - perhaps him, perahps his batman?
I've always believed that this was the equivalent of todays '1000 hour' patch.
Fact, myth, legend?
Regards
PF
