Posted 10 years ago
holsch
(8 items)
This is an item which tickles my imagination because it seems to be a hand-me-down from one officer to another. The name of its first owner, a Flt. Lt. Grisedale, has been struck through and the name "Higgott" added. Post war officers must have been underpaid!
I found a reference to a Flying Officer A. Grisedale being promoted to Flight Lieutenant in 1948, however the name Higgott does not appear anywhere in the RAF annals found online (i.c. The London Gazette).
The hat was purchased at Alkit on Cambridge Circus, a shop still in existence in the 80s.
P.S. I recently discovered an earlier mention of Flight Sergeant A. Grisedale getting an emergency commission as Pilot Officer on probation in 1943, which could place this item well into WWII! The rank of Flt. Lt. could have been added in 1948 after his promotion.
There used to be a t shirt as spoof recruitment for the R A F in the 70's. The wording was "Join the RAF, learn to fly and then fly over countries with friendly waving people and drop Bombs on them!"