Fellowship of the Bellows

The Fellowships of the Bellows were loosely organised international groups formed during World War II to collect funds for the purchase of aircraft for the Royal Air Force. Lord Beaverbrook, owner of the Daily Express and Minister of Aircraft Production in Winston Churchill's war cabinet, and soon to be Minister of Supply, said at the end of 1940: "All the fighters and all the bombers that we lost during the months the battle has raged over Britain have been paid for in full, completely and entirely, by public subscription."

Argentina and Brazil
The name and concept of Fellowship of the Bellows probably started in Argentina in October 1940, when a group of young British and Anglo-Argentine men from Buenos Aires: "... formed, half in fun and half in earnest, the Fellowship of the Bellows. Aim: "to raise the wind" for purchasing Hurricane and other fighter planes for the RAF. Method: each member contributes one Argentine centavo (4¢[US]) for each Axis plane downed during the month.

The name may have been chosen because it fitted in with the name of the aeroplane, Spitfires as were, coincidentally Whirlwinds and Tornados. In 1940 a Spitfire or a Hurricane cost about £5,000 and in November more than £2,500 was collected in Argentina.

Similarly in Brazil some British citizens looked for a way to help the British war effort. An initial "Spitfire Fund" was started, and donations bought Spitfires for the RAF. These aircraft purchased were identified with the names of the fundraisers which were painted on the side of the engine or under the canopy. Seeking to widen the scope of the campaign, the owner of Sloper's department store, with the help of the Brazilian Telephone Company, began a telephone campaign to obtain more donations. Also known as the Fellowship of the Bellows this was a complete success: "The main body of the group were students and shop workers. Each member of the Bellows paid a monthly subscription. The club eventually reach ten Brazilian States and in 1942 raised the amount of £80,000 sterling."

The Fellowship helped with the purchase of de Havilland Mosquitos for No. 692 Squadron RAF shortly after it was formed in January 1944.

Curaçao
In Curaçao in the Dutch West Indies the Rotary Club founded the Curaçao chapter of the Fellowship of the Bellows, and in addition it spearheaded a drive to acquire a Red Cross lifeboat and helped establish the Prins Bernhard Foundation. Each of these channeled financial help to the mother country (the Netherlands) and Britain. Aruba in the same island group had a similar group.

Other groups
Other places in the Americas with such groups were:


 * Chile
 * Falkland Islands
 * Mexico
 * New Orleans


 * Paraguay
 * Peru
 * Uruguay
 * Venezuela

Fellowship of the Bellows RAF squadrons
Aircraft purchased through groups of Fellowship of the Bellows went in particular to these squadrons:


 * No. 193 Squadron RAF
 * No. 263 Squadron RAF
 * No. 692 Squadron RAF