Crests, Badges and other Memorabilia of the BCATP

This page is an attempt to make some sense of the memorabilia of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. I have been collecting this memorabilia for a number of years and have recently found that there were others out there who share my passion. What you see below is the result of their generous sharing of scans from their collections.

Only a small portion of the page will cover the historical details of The Plan, as there are many other sites which do a more than adequate job of that. It will instead focus on the crests, badges, and insignia, both official and unofficial, which the instructor/teachers, other employees and aircrew cadets wore to signify their designation, rank or simply their membership in the BCATP. Also, it will include ephemeral items such as graduation programmes, stationery, a few photos (I have hundreds but webspace is limited) personal histories, and so on.

My name is Stephen Scriver. I live in Edmonton, Alberta. This page has already been a success because I have come in contact with three other collectors, Ken Keegan, Ray Provick and Pierre Rodrigue.

The ultimate goal of the page is to put together a book on either cloth badges of the BCATP or all badges of the BCATP. (Our version of Eagles Recalled.) Authorship of this book is not an issue with me. If it is a communal effort, so much the better. E-mail me by clicking here if you have similar interests.

This page was updated on March 4, 2003. Thanks to George Diller, who has filled in some information on the Efficiency Flag on the ephemera page, including a photo of the raising of the E flag at #5 EFTS, High River, AB. Thanks, George! I am now at a point where the page has no more space, so some things will be eliminated in order to include others. Sorry about the loss of the info on Dafoe and also on the Ground Defense crest.

I was in Saskatoon last Spring and decided to drop in at the library to see what information they had on Crest Craft. Here's what I found. Gustav Werle, the founder of the company, moved to Saskatoon from Langenburg, SK as a boy so he could attend high school. One of the things he had done to pass the time on long winter nights on the farm was learn how to use his mother's sewing machine. In Saskatoon he parlayed this skill into spending money by making crests for his school mates. Crest Craft was begun in 1931 and "Gus" was also a member of the RCAF Reserve. When WWII came about, he was too old to join, but he had military contacts across Canada, which is why his crests turn up from coast to coast. One story is that Gus's friend in Gander, Newfoundland was making such good money on his sales commissions that he was the only man ever to refuse a transfer back to Canada. Werle kept the business until 1967, but Crest Craft didn't survive the 1980's.

The following links will take you to a number of different classes of BCATP memorabilia. Click on your desired destination.