History

To properly understand the history of this squadron mascot, we must go back to the summer of 1942. A small number of Dutch fighter pilots were then active as fighter pilots in the RAF.

At the time, they were assigned to various British squadrons operating from airfields on Britain's south coast. Plans had long been underway in Great Britain to establish a Dutch squadron within RAF Fighter Command.

Due to heavy losses and the limited number of Dutch fighter pilots serving in the RAF in 1942, this could not be achieved until the summer of 1943.

Ultimately, the experienced Dutch fighter pilots were transferred to 167 Gold Coast Squadron. This unit was subsequently renamed 322 (Dutch) Squadron on June 12, 1943. Even then, it would take considerable time before the number of squadron members with Dutch nationality became predominant.

Naturally, 322 Squadron had to be provided with a suitable emblem and accompanying motto; everyone agreed on that. Initially, a proposal was submitted to adopt the city shield of Rotterdam, bombed in May 1940, as the squadron's emblem, with the motto "We will retaliate" underneath. This initial proposal, however, was rejected for unknown reasons. When Pilot Officer Sluijter brought back an African Grey parrot upon his return from leave in London at the end of July 1943, the idea quickly arose to incorporate an image of this parrot into the emblem.

However, a disagreement about the emblem's motto persisted between the pilots of 322 Squadron and the authorities in London. In Woodvale, where the Dutch Spitfire unit was stationed until the end of 1943, the words "shoot, not talk." At the behest of the War Office, this eventually had to be changed to "do, not talk." After review by the College of Arms, the emblem and motto were finally approved by King George VI on March 4, 1945.

Polly I

The headstrong Polly I initially didn't speak human language, but he could whistle like the best. He had a love-hate relationship with most of the 322nds, as he would invariably bite their fingers. Only with Major Keith Kuhlmann, the second squadron commander of the Dutch unit, was the relationship truly unbroken.

When the squadron was temporarily transferred for a gunnery course on Tuesday, November 16, 1943, Polly Grey also moved along—by plane, of course. The parrot quite enjoyed the flight, according to Flight Lieutenant Jan Plesman, who flew Polly over. Plesman wrote the following about this unusual flight in his diary:

The squadron flew in formation to Llanbedr this morning. I flew over alone because I wanted to fly the parrot over. It was quite a trip; the parrot was in a cardboard box and talked when it was put on the plane. It sounded really funny.

The African grey parrot endured quite a bit during the war. He learned to drink gin and even went under in a pond with a slightly inebriated pilot. He also managed to escape once, after which the commander of the Dutch Spitfire squadron offered a cash reward to anyone who could track down the mascot. After a long search, in which the entire ground staff participated, the parrot was finally recaptured.

When 322 Squadron was transferred to the southern Netherlands in early January 1945, it was deemed best to leave Polly Grey behind in Great Britain, where he could be better cared for. The new home base for 322 Squadron was the recently liberated Woensdrecht, sometimes nicknamed by some British airmen as the less flattering—but more easily pronounced— Wormshit . Woensdrecht was not a dream winter destination for soldiers, but for a tropical creature like Polly Grey, such conditions were absolutely unacceptable.

Polly II

The Dutch unit subsequently served out the war without a mascot. Even during the decolonization of the Dutch East Indies, the Spitfire unit was still without its feathered support during the air campaigns over Central Java in 1948 and 1949. Only on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of 322 Squadron in 1953 did the then squadron commander, Major Robbie Wijting, order the purchase of a new Polly.

A grey parrot was purchased for 360 guilders through the Artis bird pavilion. For eight days, Polly II roamed the house of one of the squadron's pilots in Amsterdam. It seemed nothing could go wrong now—although… Two days before the fifth anniversary celebrations, Polly had a rather long, insatiable sleep. When it turned out he was completely stiff and lying with his legs in the air, it was time to sound the alarm and start searching for a new companion as quickly as possible: Polly III. With a great deal of effort, they succeeded, and thankfully, all the festivities at their then-home base in Soesterberg could proceed without incident.

Polly III

Even in the post-war period, the red-tailed parrot wasn't taken overseas. When 322 Squadron was stationed in New Guinea from the second half of 1960, Polly was not allowed to go to the tropical location. It wasn't until April 12, 1965—322 Squadron had by then entered the supersonic age with the F-104 Starfighter—that the bird was reunited with the squadron, this time at its new home base in Leeuwarden. In the meantime, Polly had been cared for by colleagues from 325 Squadron.

Before his tragic death in 1971, Polly III had a number of remarkable adventures. The mascot appeared on television several times, and the African Grey was also a welcome guest at Soestdijk Palace. The parrot of 322 Squadron also experienced some less pleasant moments. For example, during the night of November 2-3, 1967, he came into contact with the organized underworld when he was criminally kidnapped by members of 323 Squadron. His place in the cage turned out to have been taken by a life-sized crow. The 322 Squadron diary provides some clarity on the further course of the hostage-taking:

So, 322 now had to go into mourning. The flag was flown at half-mast; all pilots wore a black band and pins, and photos and anything bearing the image of our "dear" Polly were covered with black tape. In the afternoon, Squadron Commander Diekman was invited with a white flag. When we arrived, wearing long white underpants, we were met by 323. The two commanders briefly conferred, and it was agreed that 323 would bring Polly back that evening.

Polly III is taken to her final resting place.

Although parrots can live for 80 to 100 years, Polly III was not destined to suffer this fate. His passing in 1971 was, as mentioned, accompanied by some tragedy. On Monday, November 15th, the African grey, who was frequently allowed to spend time outside his cage, became wedged between a sliding chair and a substantial cabinet. When the then 19-year-old tropical bird breathed his last, he had already reached the rank of Sergeant First Class. The funeral service was accompanied by, among other things, the dropping of a wreath by a Piper Super Cub. Two Phantoms from the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Soesterberg Air Base also paid their final respects.

Polly IV

Squadron Commander Major Ton Krechting and Polly proudly display their HAVO diploma. Under the motto "The King is Dead, Long Live the King," a new Polly was immediately purchased, initially known as a "soldier-auxiliary pilot." Slowly but surely, however, this Polly IV worked its way up the ranks, and in 1983, it even earned its HAVO diploma. The certificate was presented in April of that year at Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen.

It should be noted that HAVO in this case did not stand for Higher General Secondary Education, but for Higher General Bird Training. Before the graduation ceremony, the red-tailed parrot had flown in an F-16B in early 1983. In a parakeet cage on the lap of the man in the back, Polly held her own bravely, although he was sitting a bit crooked on his perch when pulling three Gs. Passing the HAVO exam also meant that the way was clear for future commissioning into the Royal Netherlands Air Force officer corps.

"Old soldiers never die," however, didn't apply to Polly IV either. This bird died in the late 1980s.

Polly V

Since October 21, 1989, 322 Squadron has had a fifth African Grey. Polly V isn't particularly suited for crisis management operations; she remains loyal to her home base in Leeuwarden during squadron deployments. Although 322 Squadron has played a considerable role in air operations such as Deny Flight, Deliberate Force, Allied Force, ISAF, and recently Jordan (ATF-ME), this abbreviation still sounds a bit strange to her.

Nevertheless, the parrot remains the faithful mascot of the oldest squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, and it is hoped that this will continue for a long time to come.