Luftwaffe Ground Combat Badge

Luftwaffe Ground Combat Badge. Obverse: A wreath of oak leaves, with a tie at the base. A black massed cloud at the top surmounted by a flying eagle facing right and clutching a swastika. From the cloud is a bolt of lightning with an arrow tip striking the ground. The reverse is plain and has a vertical brooch pin.

This badge was instigated on 31 March 1942 to reward the members of the German Air Force who were engaged in military operations in support of the Army. These units consisted of 22 field divisions and were known as 'The Replacement Army'. One of the most famous parts of this Army was the Herman Goring Division. Control was vested in the hands of Goring himself until July 1944.

The badge was collected by William Alexander Trickett, who was born in Melbourne on 12 June, 1917. He joined the Air Cadets on 16 January, 1939 and transferred to the RAAF on 26 May, 1940. Trickett trained as a Navigator at Parkes, NSW. He embarked for the United Kingdom on 21 February 1941, and after further training there undertook 18 missions as a Pilot Officer and Flight Lieutenant with 35 and 76 Squadrons RAF.

On the night of 27/28 April, 1942 the Halifax bomber, in which he was the Navigator, was hit by Flak, damaging the controls of the aircraft and killing the rear gunner. Trickett bailed out with two other crew members (the Flight Engineer and Wireless Operator), over Dunkirk, was captured and became a prisoner of war. Between 1942 and 1945 Trickett was held at Stalag Luft III and Oflag IIIB. On 21 April 1945 Stalag Luft III was liberated by the Russian Army. The German guards left the camp to the inmates who had to fend for themselves. Trickett's duty at the end of April was to obtain the bread supply from the local town of Luckenwalde 30 miles South of Berlin, where he also obtained a selection of German combat badges at an abandoned shop. After his release he rejoined 76 Squadron. He was discharged on 15 January 1946.