Wrathmonk,

Thanks for the spellcheck, still half asleep (and I can't spell).

Re AP 1358, quite so for non Standard Party (WOs will only carry swords as part of a Colour / Standard party).

However, AP3327 (Colours and Standards in the Royal Air Force), Chapter 5 para 0503 ...persons who have to handle the silk...must always wear clean white gloves.

Hope this helps

One wonders whether anyone was brave enough to ask the new boss if she could iron the standard?

Circle

It does. And well played!:ok:

Discussing WO's Gloves and Sqn standards as well as medals? - Fortissimo will be back soon even angrier than before!

I don't know why he should be, though. Starting a thread which generates over 100 posts is an achievement - thread drift or no thread drift.

Sorted it for you, ;)

You think this is pettiness? You should try some of the more provocative
Jet Blast threads :(

But I do take your point - no need for it.

We (the RAF) do corporately shoot ourselves in the feet sometimes.

A few years ago I was at the RAF Photograhic awards presentation in the RAF Club, and some amazing pictures there were too.

However, 2 winners in the "Portrait" category - and therefore subsequently widely exhibited - showed a male officer with his sword at the "present" (I think that's right - with the hilt in front of his nose) wearing gloves, brown leather; and the second showed a female officer with her hair down over her No 1 uniform collar. Good pictures but .......

Harrumph! ;)

PS - I like thread drift!!

Query,

Why does the chap have three buttons on his No.1 for his batman to polish, whereas the lady has (the old-fashioned) four ?

Congratulations, both !

Danny42C (bottom-feeder, 67 yrs seniority as Flt Lt).

One uniform pattern has a belt and patch pockets, the other doesn't.

Neither has a batman to polish buttons but then for the more than last 50 years buttons have been anodised and hence never polished.

'Hi-dome' staybrite buttons only appeared at RAFC some 47 years ago, in truth.

What's the big deal about lady Sqn Cdrs anyway? I suffered under quite a few old women in high office over the years - although few were actually female.

Pretty sure had them when I was on 12 about 66 or 67, lots of moaning having to change them so we all looked the same on parade. The buttons were a very tight fit in the button holes.

Concur with your timeframe, PN. I recall regretting the change, as the colour wasn't nearly as nice.

The first things that came out were nasty cheap bits of stamped-out anodised aluminium, the tops were loose on the bases and swivelled round (so that the [King's] crown was at the bottom half the time).

The anodising quickly wore off, leaving a leprous appearance.

Did they turn out a cast button, properly anodised, later on ? (I retired 1972).