No - it's nothing other than a very cheap Network Railcard, which doesn't require a photo (it does require a name which is printed on it though) - in the past, they were branded as 'Gold Card Partner's Cards' and had special ticket stock (though functionally they did the same thing as a Network Railcard), however these days its just issued on standard Network Railcard ticket stock.

stut - re the difficulties of getting one in London, I've come across the contrary, with tales of ticket offices happy to dispense them with perhaps a little too easily - e.g. no stamping or marking of the Gold Card (or accompanying Record Card in the case of Oyster), leaving the GC holder, er, free to try again...

(Which reminds me of something I've come across in the past - whilst replacing a lost Oyster which had an annual Travelcard loaded on it might be relatively easy procedure, I think I've read about how replacement Record Cards are not issued, or at least not routinely issued - potentially problematic if you want to take advantage of the third-off discount for travel in the south east outside London...)

Edit - as you can see, my post crossed with stut's!