caterpiller club badge

[nickn]

i had a very lucky find at a boot fair today a gold caterpiller club badge
is it possible to trace the recipient whos name is engraved on the back?
could someone post photos for me?
nick

[lnijherald]

Nick, you can send the pics to me by e-mail. If you lost it, it's on my website (see my profile).

Luc

[Helmetluvva]

You gotta be kidding! Looking forward to the pics, lucky lucky you!

Marcus

[lnijherald]

For Nick.

Luc

[nickn]

the owner was
D E Randall
RAAF
shot down over cologne 30th may 1942

[Mike Swan]

403818 Douglas Evans Randall
Born 8 March 1918, Hamilton, New South Wales
Enlisted Sydney, 3 March 1941
Discharged 2 Medical Rehabilitation Unit, 26 Oct 1945


Congratulations on a great acquisition. The only caterpillars I find down here are on trees !!

Mike

[ROBB]

WOW . Red eyes shot down over the ground Blue eyes shot down and ended up in the drink . Great catch . Rob

[seebee1]

Amazing find, especially at a boot fair, congratulations .

[paddywhack]

WOW . Red eyes shot down over the ground Blue eyes shot down and ended up in the drink . Great catch . Rob

iv been reading up on these and it seems theres a myth that the color of the eyes tell how the person was shot down!il post the link when i get home!

[nickn]

rubies were replaced by blue glass as they could not easily get rubies?
but then why not red glass ?

[paddywhack]

GREAT thread on the caterpillar club!!!


http://www.britishmedalforum.com/vie...iller&start=30

[Bluehawk]

Here are some other variants:

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/foru...terpillar+Club

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/foru...terpillar+Club

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/foru...terpillar+Club

[Seaforth72]

i had a very lucky find at a boot fair today a gold caterpiller club badge
is it possible to trace the recipient whos name is engraved on the back?
could someone post photos for me?
nick

I recently (2012) located a caterpillar badge still in the hands of a Canadian airman who was shot down in an RAF Stirling bomber over France in 1942. He allowed me to photograph it but he would NOT part with it. It has the red eyes. His last name was incorrectly spelled on the back. He is under the impression that red eyes were for a flamer. His initials are MGL. He also has his Observer wing, POW dog tag and Pathfinder wing. Since he was working with the French Resistance and was held by the Gestapo he will not talk about his POW experiences outside of his family. I have known him for over a decade and had no luck in getting these items which will stay in the family.

[nickn]

so the gold was issued by irvin uk the silver irvin us???

[Dave Bybee]

I have a letter from Irvin from summer of 1944 telling a RAF POW that the myth of the color of red eyes is not lnked to the plane being on fire, all the eyes are red. He also states that due to wartime shortages the caterpillar pins are not being produced for the duration and will be sent when the war is over.

I have not heard of blue eyes but I don't doubt that some customized their caterpillars after the fact. I have seen about 30 -40 over the years and have owned 5 myself and have never seen anything but red eyes an the gold caterpillars. Later war and immediate post war North American made caterpillars have red painted eyes and are substantialy larger that the British version.

Dave