Project H25
Promoting Harriet's Story and Preserving History
In 2025 a new project started to both publicise Harriet's story, while working to preserve hitstory, and tell some of the real life stories behind Harriet Cornwall's adventures, from Dunkirk to Berlin, and beyond.
The Tunic
Late in 2024 I found a 1940 Royal Air Force Officer's tunic that had managed to survive the moths for 84 years, and rescued it from being disposed of and never seen again.
The tunic was unnamed, and it's past lost. It was the perfect foundation for the project.
After a little tlc to bring it back to life, it was off to the seamstress...
Norway
Even harder to find than a 1940s pattern officer's tunic, are the shoulder titles worn by those pilots of the Commonwealth, and those from the occupied countries flying under the command of the RAF, particularly the 'Norway' flashes, as worn by Harriet Cornwall throughout her story.
I found one, and then the other, over a period of two years, and while the style is the same, there are slight differences as with all hand made items of the time.
Wings
While the RAF pilot brevet of WW2 had a standard design, there was very little standard about them. There were some issued by the RAF, and many more made to specification by tailors around the world, with the regulations being interpreted slightly differently each time,
I was lucky to find the wings in the picture, that had been taken by their previous owner from a moth eaten uniform that was beyond saving, and were acquied originally mid to late 1940.
Decorations
By the end of the Battle of Britain, Harriet Cornwall had been awarded a number of medals to recognise her valour, including the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), and the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) twice, in addition to being Mentioned in Dispatches for bravery.
Original medal ribbons and devices of the period are often part of sets that I woudn't dream of breaking up, so it was off to a specialist who has been producing medals and ribbons for the British armed forces since before the war, to buy new ribbons, including a silver rosette denoting a second DFC, and an oak leaf for the MiD
The Shirt & Tie
Pilots of the time had collarless shirts of blue - grey, end on end weave, to which they attached Van Heusing collars that are said to have chafed badly when the pilots spun their heads left and right to look for enemy fighters. There's also a suggestion that they'd shrink in water, and strangle pilots who'd abandoned their damaged aircraft over the Channel.
Only one specialist tailor in Jermyn Street, London, still makes similar shirts, fortunately with the collar attached! They were also able to supply the specified woven wool tie...
Binoculars
While Britain was on a war footing from 1939, industry was nowhere near ready for the scale of war that came as the might of the German military machine swept West, and after the losses of personnel and equipment at Dunkirk, supplies were short by the time of the Battle of Britain just a few weeks later.
These binoculars are original Air Ministry issue from the period, and made of solid brass. This type were issued to aircrew, dispersals, lookouts, and observers throughout the battle, and despite being 85 years old, they still work amazingly well!
The Telephone
This 1938 GPO (General Post Office) telephone arrived in Tangmere in 1938, around the time of the munich Agreement.
By 1940, most of the village's occupants had been evacuated, as RAF Tangmere expanded to take over their homes and businesses, and the station was at the heart of the Battle of Britain. During the battle, squadrons were scramlbed into the air by a phone call, and the ring of the telephone's bell was known to chill the spine of many.
Later in the war, Tangmere was the jumping off station for SOE agents heading into France in low flying Westland Lysanders, that flew defenceless and by the moonlight into the heart of occupied europe.
If this telephone could tell stories... For now, though, it's a part of the project collection.
The Uniform
It's taken a while, and the hard work of a talented tailor, but the uniform was finally finished in May 2025.
Seen as worn by Flight Lieutenant Harriet Cornwall during the Battle of Britain, around the time that she was left to command 508 Squadron at the height of the battle, following the loss of the CO and senior Flight Commander in action against the Luftwaffe.
Behind the uniform is the original oil painting 'Of Bravery in Summer Skies' by the aviation artist Conway Rowland. The painting depicts the scene outlined above, and was commissioned in 2023.
Mk 2 Steel Helmet
The Mark 2 (Mk 2) steel helmet is synonymous with Britain and the Commonwealth in the Second World War, and was seen in use everywhere from the Air Raid Precautions Wardens in London, to the Australian defenders of Tobruk, and beyond. Based on the original 'Brodie' helmet of the First World War, it was generally made of hardened manganese steel, and had a distinctive shape that led to it being known as the 'Tommy helmet'.
RAF aircrew and ground crews alike were expected to carry their helmets, certainly during the Battle of Britain, and the following Blitz that saw the country attacked repeartedly from the air, and generally they were carried strapped to the haversack in which they carried the Mk IV or V respirators, which were issued on the expectation that Germany would drop poison gas on British cities.
Norsk Skaldmær
Those that have read the Harry's Game books will know of Harriet's Norwegian connection, and while she never wore Norwegian wings, I'd always wanted some to add to the collection.
The small badge was made of silver in England in 1944, for free Norwegian pilots flying in Norwegian squadrons operating under the command of the Royal Air Force, and was worn on the forage cap.
The wings aren't displayed on the uniform, but they now live in the chest pocket, as did those she was presented as a sign of respect and admiration by the Norwegian squadron she led when she left.
Gas - Gas - Gas
By sheer luck I came across a rare 1939 MK IV General Service respirator in such good condition that it could have just have been issued from a shelf in the stores.
This version of the MK IV was generally replaced by 1940, with the older models being sent back to the factories to be broken down, and their parts and rubber reused in the newer versions. As such, there aren't that many of this style MKIVs about, and even fewer in this condition.
The MKIV respirator was the type issued to the British Expeditionary Force when they left for France in 1939, and was carried throughout the Battle of Britain, including by pilots when they weren't flying.
This particular respirator was issued to a soldier of the East Yorkshire Regiment, and ended up being stored in his family's loft for many years in its original haversack, with anti dimming cream, anti gas cream, and anti gas goggles.
The New Tunic
While working on Falling Shadows, I gave some thought to expanding the collection a little with the addition of a First Aid Nursing Yeomanry uniform, as worn by Emily Strachan in the story.
What I didn't realise is just how challenging this would be. The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry were such a small organisation that there weren't many uniforms around even back in the 1940s. Even fewer survive over eighty years later.
The tunics are different in cut and design to those worn by the women's branch of the wartime British Army, the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), and they retained their unique claret coloured rank insignia.
Behind the tunic is a 1979 Special Operations Executive print by Denis Pannett, signed by Odette Hallowes GC, SOE Agent and member of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry.
Sam Browne Belt
Sam Browne belts are traditionally worn with service dress by officers of the British Army, and have been since the 19th century when they were created by General Samuel Browne of the British Indian Army. First Aid Nursing Yeomanry officers also adopted the Sam Browne belt as their uniform developed, though without the cross strap
While officers of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry often had their uniforms made by specialist tailors, they were also supplied during the war by LIlliywhite's of Piccadilly, a specialist sportswear department store of the period, and the Sam Browne belt with this uniform was made for them, and marked with their brand.
Parachute Wings
Women of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry who were seconded to the Special Operations Executive (SOE) were trained as commandos and saboteurs, and expected to meet the same challenging standards of their male counterparts.
As part of their training, they were sent to RAF Ringway in Manchester (these days better known as Manchester Airport), where they were trained as military parachutists. Depending on the time of their training, and the needs of the service, this was sometimes curtailed to the bare minimum of training jumps. Trained parachutists were awarded military parachute wings available at the time, which were worn in the original army position above the left breast pocket, as seen worn by some in photos of the time, including Nancy Wake.
The parachute wings on this tunic are original early 1940s British issue. Padded, with horizontal woven silk.
Rank Insignia
While the officers of the Auxiliary Territotial Service (ATS) used army rank insignia, including the Bath stars worn by Lieutenants and known as 'pips', the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry used bronze buttons covered with claret coloured fabric.
The rank insignia on this tunic is a single 'cherry pip', denoting the rank of Ensign in the First Aid Nursing yeomanry, the equivalent of a Second Lieutenant, and is the rank worn by Emily Strachan following her training.
Suitcase Wireless
While many of the women sent into occupied Europe by the SOE were deployed as couriers, tasked with the logistical management of their circuits, including reconnaisance, and selecting of landing sites for agent and supply drops, they were all trained in the basics of wireless communications, and some were deployed as wireless operators following specialist training, perhaps the most dangerous of all roles.
These collected pieces include a late 1930s / early 1940s British Morse key and headset, and antenna cable, the types issued to the SOE at the time.
The wireless sets themselves were heavy pieces of equipment, and to keep them hidden the operatives would carry them around France, Belgium, Holland, and beyond in tatty three lock suitcases that were commonly used at the time. This is an original period suitcase, though there isn't a wirless in it. They're incredibly rare!
WTS Car Badge
As I searched for a uniform, and other associated bits and pieces from the new book, I came across an old First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Women's Transport Service (WTS) car badge that was quickly added to the collection.
Of the approximately 6000 members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry to serve during the Second World War, around 4000 were seconded as drivers and mechanics to the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women's branch of the army, where they formed Motor Companies to support the war effort. The majority of the rest were seconded to the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as wireless operators, communications specialists, inteligence analysts, and agents, among other jobs. They were also specialists in codebreaking.
This car badge belonged to Mrs Oldfield, a young FANY WTS driver who drove staff cars in North Africa and Italy, including being the personal driver of the army Pay Master, a certain Colonel Oldfield, and was a prize possession of the family.
FANY WTS Badge
A small and unique addition to the collection has been this whitened WTS collar badge.
During the second World War it was common practice in the armed forces media and public relations teams to colour badges with white chalk paint, so the lettering and features stood out in relief in the photographic media of the day.
This collar badge was used by a member of the FANY WTS while on media duties, to promote the service during the war.
