The Airman’s Badge Earned on Foot

How does a badge go from official to unofficial?

The Late Arrivals Club badge was created during the Western Desert campaign for RAF airmen who had bailed out, been shot down or force-landed, then walked back to their unit through the desert.

Their exploits became a valuable morale boost, and RAF public relations officer George W. Houghton gained permission from Lord Tedder to present them with a winged boot badge.

That permission applied only in the Middle East theatre during the campaign. Outside it, and after the fighting had ended, the badge was considered unofficial.

Fewer than 500 of the first type are thought to have been made. They were locally cast from aircraft alloy, with two loops on the back.

On this example, those loops have been removed and replaced with a German award stickpin, possibly from a miniature Panzer badge. German awards were often made in stickpin form for civilian wear.

It is a fitting alteration. The RAF men who earned the winged boot had been fighting Rommel’s Afrika Korps, so using part of a German tank badge to secure it adds a particularly personal twist.