WWII Air Transport Auxiliary ID Bracelet

This sterling ID bracelet carries the story of one man’s quiet but vital role in the Second World War. Its oval plaque bears a finely detailed winged badge, the emblem of the British Air Transport Auxiliary, the civilian ferrying service tasked with delivering aircraft to Royal Air Force squadrons.

The bracelet belonged to Leland Cooper Lloyd of San Antonio, Texas, whose U.S. draft card dates to 1942. Like many Americans who joined the ATA, Lloyd volunteered to cross the Atlantic and fly a variety of military aircraft, often without radios, in unpredictable weather and directly from factory to front-line base. The ATA’s pilots freed combat aircrews from ferry duty, keeping Britain’s air arm supplied at a critical moment in the war.

A sterling curb chain and period clasp complete the piece, with Lloyd’s name still legible on the front and reverse. More than an ornament, this is a wearable artifact of an extraordinary chapter in aviation history, a reminder that wars are won not only by those who fight at the front, but by those who ensure the front is ready to fight.