WWII RCAF pilot wings

[Bob Lyons]

And another contribution from Mike Swan...

[Bob Lyons]

The wing..

[Bob Lyons]

Last photo, the reverse of the wing.

Cheers

Bob

[Gary Cain]

Hi Bob,

For the life of me I can't figure out why and Aussie would have a uniform tailored in Canada. That being said I really don't like the wing. It is a little too thin in the detail and the color of the wreath is way off. Now it could be a Korean War time frame wing but I rather doubt it. What do the back of the Australia tabs look like?

Gary

Last photo, the reverse of the wing.

Cheers

Bob

[Mike Swan]

Gary,

Bob posted the wing on my behalf.

I bought the relevant tunic years ago locally. It was quite badly mothed so I removed the insignia. If the wing is suspect, it was placed on the jacket prior to my owning it.

I too thought the colour of the wreath very dark, but similar examples appear in "Eagles Recalled."

William David Tournour enlisted in the RAAF on 12 Nov 1942. He had some prior service in 29th Battalion, a local Victorian army militia unit. The reason for the Canadian-pattern wing is that he trained in Canada, part of the Empire Air Training Scheme. He was at the 3rd Wireless School, Winnipeg and and Basic Gunnery School, Mossbank.

He was promoted Pilot Officer 26 March 1944, then Flying Officer 27 September 1944.

Turnour returned to Australia 22 Nov 1944 and was discharged 11 March 1946.

You will note that I have glued the original backing to the brevet as it came adrift when I removed it from the tunic. From memory, the padding looked like small pieces of rag or handkerchief.

I have a (now deceased) distant relative who qualified for, and wore, a similar wing in Canada. Upon returning to Australia, he replaced it with the standard RAAF pattern.

Regards,

Mike

[Gary Cain]

Hi Mike,

Ok, that explains the pattern. I have Eagles recalled and you are right the color is closer than I had remembered. The backing looked fine but as we all know that could be added at any time so in itself does'nt mean much. I still don't like the thinness of the wreath but it certainly looks like a legit variation based on your further info. That is one to add to the data bank.


Gary

Gary,

Bob posted the wing on my behalf.

I bought the relevant tunic years ago locally. It was quite badly mothed so I removed the insignia. If the wing is suspect, it was placed on the jacket prior to my owning it.

I too thought the colour of the wreath very dark, but similar examples appear in "Eagles Recalled."

William David Tournour enlisted in the RAAF on 12 Nov 1942. He had some prior service in 29th Battalion, a local Victorian army militia unit. The reason for the Canadian-pattern wing is that he trained in Canada, part of the Empire Air Training Scheme. He was at the 3rd Wireless School, Winnipeg and and Basic Gunnery School, Mossbank.

He was promoted Pilot Officer 26 March 1944, then Flying Officer 27 September 1944.

Turnour returned to Australia 22 Nov 1944 and was discharged 11 March 1946.

You will note that I have glued the original backing to the brevet as it came adrift when I removed it from the tunic. From memory, the padding looked like small pieces of rag or handkerchief.

I have a (now deceased) distant relative who qualified for, and wore, a similar wing in Canada. Upon returning to Australia, he replaced it with the standard RAAF pattern.

Regards,

Mike