Souvenir Handkerchief : Flight Sergeant N F Skinner, Royal Australian Air Force

Souvenir printed handkerchief with lace edge. The centre of the handkerchief is black, with a border of Tudor roses, Scottish thistles and green shamrocks. At each corner is a badge representing Britain and the Commonwealth: the Australian Rising Sun badge; the Canadian General Service badge; the badge of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force; and a naval badge. This border design is enlarged and repeated at the edge of the handkerchief. In between these two borders are images of the badges of various British units.

Souvenir handkerchief associated with the service of Norman Frederick Skinner. Skinner was born at Narrabri, New South Wales on 4 February 1917. Before the war he managed his own dairy and served with the militia. He enlisted in the Second AIF on 4 November 1940. He served in the AIF with the service number NX2056 for five months before being discharged and later enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force in June 1940 with the service number 402209. Skinner was an aircraftman class 2 on enlistment. He was promoted to leading aircraftman in July and to temporary sergeant in February 1941, when he qualified as an air gunner. He married Eileen Ann Bourne on 22 February 1941. Skinner embarked from Sydney on 8 April 1941, arriving in England in August. He served in the Middle East, attached briefly to in 458 Squadron RAF, then serving with 104 Squadron RAF, flying Wellington bombers, part of 238 Wing, 205 Group in North Africa in 1942, before returning to England. This handkerchief may have been purchased by Skinner while serving in England. He returned to Australia in 1943, where he spent the remainder of the war. Skinner received his commission in early 1945, which was terminated in October due to the end of the war.