Unusual Silk thread embroidered WW1 Wing

[cwnorma]

I recently acquired this wing, in part because I have never seen anything quite like it...

It is indeed quite unusual. To begin with, it is 3.5 inches wide, silk embroidery, and dead to a blacklight. Everyone I have shown it to agrees, upon seeing it; it does seem to have "real age" to it. It was also apparently sewn to something at some point.

The back is interesting as well. It has remnants of glue and black photo-book paper so it was apparently at one time glued in a scrap book. The rick-rack is beginning to disintegrate, and the black paper is flaking away. There is quite a bit of yellowing and general aging to the back
It is also quite padded and three-dimensional

I have seen other silk embroidered wings, but none that look like this. This wing was embroidered in silk apparently to specifically mimic the WW1 bullion wings. It does appear to be old (at least it does not appear to have been made recently).

I wish I could say that when I got it it was sewn to a mothed-out named tunic but that is not the case. All the seller could tell me was that it came from a Florida estate sale.

Some speculations

Sweetheart or mother made item for a pillow-case, pennant, or other patriotic wartime decoration?
For wear on a Canadian or British uniform for a pilot who learned to fly in the US?
Made for the movie "Wings" or some other early aviation production?

Happy New year, and as always, your thoughts are appreciated.

Chris

[cwnorma]

Whoah. That is weird. Tried to edit the post and it came out like that. I hope you guys can still read it...

[Baker502]

It has a very strong British appearance to it, and I think Terry Morris has a similar example in bullion if memory serves me right. I think they are pretty kick a$$ kings my self. Definitely not the norm. Thanks for showing it Paul

[cwnorma]

Paul,

 

Thank you. I personally lean toward mother- or sweetheart-made. My guess was it was once sewn to a "forget me not" needlework tribute to a young aviator or something similar.

 

I do marvel at the skill with which the embroiderer accomplished the needlework. If you look closely, there are 13 individual "stars" in the canton.

 

Chris

[cwnorma]

One more shot--to show the wing's scale and detail compared to other WW1 wings:

 

Happy New Year to all!

 

Chris

[pfrost]

Somewhere there is a thread showing a silk embroidered wing with (IIRC) photographic proof of it being worn on a uniform. I wouldn't be too quick to move this into the "sweetheart" box.

 

P

Seek... and you shall find....

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/29382-ww1-bullion-wing-variations/page-8

 

see post #198 in particular.

[pfrost]

Thanks for sharing this great wing. to me, this is one of the best posts of WWII wings in some time. I'm not sure people will realize how rare this wing may well be, and in this condition!!!

Also, are you sure that the wing was put in a photo album or is the paper actually part of the construction process?

 

Really great wing and thanks for sharing!

 

P

[Gerradtgrant]

Somewhere there is a thread showing a silk embroidered wing with (IIRC) photographic proof of it being worn on a uniform.  I wouldn't be too quick to move this into the "sweetheart" box.

 

P

Seek... and you shall find....

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/29382-ww1-bullion-wing-variations/page-8

 

see post #198 in particular.

I just saw a picture last night in the wings "bullion wings" section.

 

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

 

 

[cwnorma]

are you sure that the wing was put in a photo album or is the paper actually part of the construction process?

 

Patrick,

 

I cannot say for certain one way or another.

 

The black paper appears thicker than tissue paper, and looks {to me} to be the residue of photo-book paper attached to glue--similar to the backside of many photos... But I suppose it could be the remains of paper that was glued to the back to protect the threads as well?

 

I don't like to handle this wing much because it seems that each time I move it, little bits of paper and rick-rack fall from the back. While age hasn't hurt the frontside threads or the backing wool much, the back materials do seem somewhat brittle.

 

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this wing. Somebody with excellent needle-working skills went to a lot of trouble to embroider it. It certainly isn't regulation in construction material--even if it is close to regulation in size. The padding, and the way it is executed is somewhat impressive though...

 

It is an interesting curiosity to be sure.

 

Chris

[pfrost]

I don't know for sure, but I suspect that there may have been some confusion early on with the first group of aviators to get to Europe about what their pilot badges were to look like. The RFC influences using embroidered wings may have impacted on the first group of American pilots. It wouldn't shock me if some of those guys emulated the RFC pilots and wore wings like this rather than bullion wings--at least at first. Cliff would probably have a better idea on that.

 

You are lucky guy to have that in your collection.

Patrick

[cwnorma]

Fellow wing-nuts,

 

When I purchased the above wing, I bought it inexpensively thinking it was a sweetheart piece or something a patriotic mother made. Forum friend pfrost suggested that it might be something more.

 

I recently stumbled across these images of WW1 Ace Lloyd Andrews Hamilton. Who earned his wings learning to fly with the British. In the photos, hamilton appears to be wearing a very similar wing:

 

Lloyd Andrews Hamilton

Lloyd Andrews Hamilton

Now in no way am I claiming that this wing was somehow Hamilton's. I also note that the wing hamilton is wearing does not appear to have the extra black threads in the shoulders--which may be attributable to saturation issues in old photographs, or may be a variation--.but in shape, and detail, the wings seem, to my eye--at least, to be very, very similar.

 

Perhaps, and this is entirely speculation, a few early US aviators like Hamilton, who learned to fly with the British overseas, purchased and wore these silk embroidered wings?

 

As always, your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Andrews_Hamilton

 

Chris

[pfrost]

Great picture. I think you have a very nice, pilot-worn wing in silk thread. NOT a sweetheart or patriotic wing. As I said before, you are one lucky fellow to have that beauty in your collection. The picture is great too.

 

P

[trenchbuff]

I think it's beautiful!

[cwnorma]

Patrick, Mark,

 

Thank you both for your kind words.

 

When I got the badge I immediately recognized that it was an extremely fine piece of workmanship. But, having never seen one quite like it in wear, I remained burdened by doubts.

 

Now, having seen the photograph of Hamilton, wearing a very similar, if not identical, wing, some of my doubts have been lifted.

 

My operative theory now is that these badges were made in the UK, by a maker of RFC wings.

 

I'd love to see if there are more out there.

 

Chris

[pfrost]

I think the wing in your photo is likely a bullion one. I have a couple of images with similar bullion wings. However, that being said, who knows what these guys were wearing some of time?

 

This is a very interesting picture of a guy with what looks like a folded over embroidered wing pined to his uniform. I'm sure someone would say it is a fake if this showed up at a militaria show.....