The Martin-Baker Ejection Tie Club is one of the world’s most exclusive clubs and is probably one of the least known. The only way to join is to eject from a military aircraft using a Martin-Baker seat in an emergency situation. As the biggest manufacturer of ejection seats in the world, over 7,463 air crew lives have been saved to date, including Jimmy Fallon’s Father-in-Law! On his show on Tuesday 31st March he spoke about the chance sighting of an ejection seat in the window of a watch retailer in London and how he found out about the Martin-Baker Tie Club, the special watch for ejectees and discovering that his Father-in-law had ejected in 1961 and was a member of this very club.

“This sparked a huge response from many ejectees and we have had the pleasure of being reconnected with hundreds of pilots and their families not just from the US, but further afield”, says Andrew Martin, Director of Business Development and Marketing. “These pilots have shared some of their remarkable stories with us and we are posting them all on our website. In fact, since the show, traffic to our site has increased by over 500% with US visitors increasing by nearly 2,000%”, he continues.

When an ejectee joins the club, he is given the distinctive tie, tie pin, cloth patch, certificate and membership card. Also available at a special price is the Bremont ejectee watch – just like the one Jimmy Fallon gave to his Father-in-Law. The watch is a collaboration between two British companies, Martin-Baker and Bremont and was put through a rigorous testing schedule including vibration testing, which is used to simulate 30 years of aircraft life. The result is the Bremont MBI with its distinctive red barrel which was the very first watch to go through a live testing programme.

Saving lives is our business and the figures speak for themselves. 7,463 lives have been saved – in itself this is a momentous achievement, however next year Martin-Baker will be marking another major milestone in its 80 year history when it will be celebrating 7,500 lives saved.

For further information on the Martin-Baker Tie Club, please visit the Tie Club Page or contact Sarah Jeffery on 01895 836 658.