Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy (31 page)

Pensions for Royal Marines were administered in the same way as those for Royal Naval officers, the Greenwich Hospital being used for both forces. As such it is possible to find relevant service records in a number of different sources:

•
 
ADM 201/22–23 lists Marine officers being awarded Greenwich pensions in alphabetical registers from 1862 to 1908.

•
 
Information for widows of Marine officers who were awarded pensions can be found in ADM 196/523, PMG 16, PMG 20 and PMG 72. The earliest records begin in 1712 and details can be found for widows up until 1926.

The vast majority of records relating to service in the Royal Marines are held at The National Archives. However, the Royal Marine Museum in Southsea, Hampshire, may also be worth visiting. Along with the entire archive of
The Globe and Laurel
the Museum has a large collection of medals and other items relating to Royal Marine history. The Library has collections of Navy and Army Lists and journals such as the
Naval Chronicle.
The Museum also has a large document collection including diaries of prominent Royal Marine servicemen, prisoner of war papers and operational unit diaries and reports. Further details of the Museum can be found on its website at www.royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk
.

The Admiralty also recorded casualties suffered by Marines whilst on service. These can be found in ADM 242/7–10 for 1893 to 1956. This series contains detailed information about each individual including birth details, burial and next of kin. ADM 104 also has numerous registers of Marines who were injured or died on service, from 1854 to 1941. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission also records Marine casualties from the First World War onwards.

The Royal Marines kept good genealogical records; specifically registers of births, marriages and deaths were maintained by each Division. These registers were kept as Marines were entitled to certain benefits if they had children whilst on active service. Each Division kept records for different time periods. Chatham has the most complete collection, covering 1830 to 1913 in ADM 183/114–120. Plymouth Division's records start in 1862 and go on to 1920 and can be found in ADM 184/43–54. Portsmouth and Woolwich Divisions only have registers for marriages, in ADM 185/69 (for 1869–81) and ADM 81/23–25 (for 1822–69) respectively. The Royal Marine Artillery's registers are also complete, ranging from 1810 to 1853 (in ADM 193) and 1866 to 1921 (in ADM 6/437).

Very much the junior branch of the armed forces, the Royal Air Force has only been in existence since 1918. This chapter provides information about how to trace the service histories of its individuals, including the various branches of the Army and Navy from which the RAF was formed, as well as general research into the operational activities of the RAF in both war and peace, and where to look for further details of planes, RAF bases and general aviation history.

The Royal Air Force was officially created on 1 April 1918, but this was not Britain's first military air force. On 13 May 1912 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed by royal warrant in response to Germany's rapidly increasing air fleet. The development of aeronautical technology had only begun a decade earlier in America, and initially its potential as a resource for the British army was not recognized by the government. Britain was more concerned about German naval competition, until in 1911 it was realized that the Royal Engineers' newly formed Air Battalion, which had grown out of the Balloon Section formed in 1890, could not match the number of aircraft and experienced pilots possessed by other European countries.

‘The RAF played a decisive role in securing Britain's safety during both world wars.'

The Royal Flying Corps was set up under the command of the War Office and was made up of four main components – the Naval Wing, the Military Wing, the Central Flying School (CFS) based on Salisbury
Plain, and the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough. The principal function of the RFC was to provide unarmed reconnaissance support to the army and navy rather than as a defence and attacking force in its own right. The Military Wing was responsible for building an aerial reconnaissance force designed to support army ground operations. The Naval Wing, however, took a more proactive approach to the use of aircraft in warfare and began to explore the possibilities of using planes during long-range attacks. The Navy had used seaplanes since 1911 to help protect naval ships against submarine attack, and the growing threat of German airship development (and sightings of unidentified aircraft off the British coast) led to the RFC's Naval Wing being separated from the rest of the Corps in July 1914 to form the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) under the command of the Admiralty.

When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Britain's air force was still an under-equipped, fragile resource relying on primitive aeroplanes and observation balloons. There was an initial reluctance to employ aircraft in the war, as the cavalry were considered more reliable for reconnaissance missions, but once the fighting in France became mainly trench-based the advantages of using aircraft over cavalry were clear. The planes could cover a wider area for observation and the information they provided the army proved to be highly accurate. A year after the outbreak of war the Germans developed fighter aircraft built with specially designed machine guns, and Zeppelin airships began bombing London in 1915, which forced the British to make technological advances in their aircraft's capabilities and led to a largely airborne war by 1917.

Various branches of the RAF were created at different times, which can complicate record finding. The Fleet Air Arm was formed in 1924 and was absorbed into the control of the Admiralty in 1937. All service records for the Fleet Air Arm remain with the Navy, but enquiries can be sent to:

RN Disclosure Cell

Room 48

West Battery

Whale Island

Portsmouth

PO2 8DX

The RNAS was principally responsible for home defence while the RFC was based on the Western Front in France, but as the war progressed it became apparent that the functions of the RFC and RNAS overlapped. In 1917 General Jan Smuts recommended in a special report that the RFC and RNAS be amalgamated under an Air Ministry that was independent of both the War Office and the Admiralty. The Royal Air Force was established as a result of this report, and amongst
much controversy it came into being just eight months before the end of the First World War at a time when the German offensive was at its height. Despite its difficult beginnings, the RAF played a significant supporting role helping the Allies to win the war. By the time the Second World War started, aircraft had changed the face of warfare and the RAF was vital in securing victory.

Most men in the Air Force were not pilots. The majority worked on the ground as engineers and mechanics, and women were employed as cooks, telephonists, drivers, intelligence agents and administrators as well as mechanics. Air Force records do not give much genealogical information, simply stating the name, usually a date and place of birth and details of next of kin, which help you to identify your ancestor's records. However, the records enable you to build up a picture of your ancestor's life, to understand their experiences and to place their career within the wider context of the history of the RAF.

‘Most men in the Air Force were not pilots. The majority worked on the ground as engineers and mechanics.'

Service papers for officers who joined the RFC between 1914 and March 1918 were forwarded to the RAF and are held with RAF officers' papers for 1918 to 1919 in The National Archives series AIR 76. These are kept on microfilm and are arranged alphabetically. Consult the index to AIR 76 to establish which reel contains the surname you are looking for.

If an RFC officer died or was discharged prior to the formation of the RAF in 1918 then his service record is likely to still be kept with War Office papers in WO 339, an alphabetical index to which is held on microfilm in WO 374 (see
Chapter 9
for further information on these series). There are biographies for some officers of the RFC and RAF from the First World War period kept in AIR 1 that can be searched by keyword in The National Archives online catalogue.

Officers who joined the RNAS between 1914 and March 1918 had their records kept with the Admiralty, and can be found in the Registers of Officers' Service for the Royal Naval Air Service in ADM 273. The records in ADM 273 need to be ordered as original documents and are organized numerically by service number, but each volume has an alphabetical index and there is a combined alphabetical card index for ADM 273
among the Finding Aids at The National Archives for you to establish whether your ancestor has a service record among these documents.

Prior to March 1919 it is possible to trace the careers of officers of the RFC and RNAS in the Army Lists and Navy Lists
.

All officers who joined the RAF from April 1918 and who were discharged before 1920 should have service papers held in AIR 76 as described above.

Air Force Lists were published from March 1919 onwards. The information they contain and frequency of publication vary over the years, but generally they list the names of officers, their rank and squadron, and the entry for each station and squadron lists the aircraft and the date they were posted to a unit, so you may use these to trace an officer's career over time. Each book has an index so that an officer's name can be found easily.

Air Force Lists from 1919 until the present day are on open access on shelves at The National Archives and Society of Genealogists, or you can check with your local library and archive to see if they have copies. Confidential Air Force Lists for September 1939 to December 1954 can be ordered as original documents at The National Archives from AIR 10/3814–3840, AIR 10/5237, AIR 10/5256, AIR 10/5413-AIR 10/5422, AIR 10/5581 and AIR 10/5582.

Payments made to officers who were invalided out of service between 1917 and 1920 are kept with the Ministry of Pensions records in PMG 42, and records of pensions paid to the next of kin of officers who died between 1916 and 1920 are in PMG 44. Special grants and allowances paid to officers and dependants between 1916 and 1920 are in PMG 43.

As a general rule, service records for personnel who continued serving or joined after 1920 are still held by the RAF, but copies of these can usually be obtained by the service person or by their next of kin. Enquiries should be sent to

ACOS Manning 23

Room 1, Building 22

RAF High Wycombe

Bucks HP14 4UE

quoting the full name, date of birth, service number if known and any other known details. The RAF will respond within a month to advise you whether any records have been located and they charge £30 for releasing personnel records to next of kin. Copies of the records are free to the service person if they are still alive or to their widow or widower. Proof of death may be asked of next of kin applying for records, and if you would like to contact the RAF by telephone to find out any further details then call 01494 497410 (ext. 7622)
.

The biographies of the first men to join the RFC between 1912 and August 1914 (service numbers 1 to 1,400) along with many photographs can be found in
A Contemptible Little Flying Corps
by Webb and McInnes.

If an airman of the RFC died or was discharged before April 1918, then his service papers should be held with those of other ranks of the army in WO 363 and WO 364. These records are kept on microfilm at The National Archives and arranged alphabetically by surname. Those documents held in WO 364, created from pension claims, can now be accessed online from the subscription-based
website www.ancestry.co.uk, although most local libraries have a subscription to the site that visitors can use for free. See
Chapter 9
for more information about locating documents in WO 363 and WO 364.

If an airman served in the RNAS prior to April 1918 then his record of service up until 31 March 1918 will be found in the Registers of Seamen's Services held in ADM 188, which can be searched from the Documents Online search engine found on The National Archives website. A search can be conducted for name and official number. Each entry in the register should give a name, date of birth, the name of the ship or shore establishment where the individual served and a short account of their service and appointments. The RAF kept service records for men who served after 31 March 1918.

Information about accidents that occurred during operations is usually found in the Squadron's Operational Record Books in AIR 27 (see below). Some correspondence relating to crashes and casualties is kept in AIR 1 and there are reports for crashes that took place between April 1916 and November 1918 held in AIR 1/843/204/5/369 to AIR 1/860/204/5/427, 914–916, and 960–969.

There are also Accident Record Cards, Casualty Files and Aircraft Record Cards held by the RAF for non-operational accidents. If you would like the RAF to conduct a search of these cards for you, then write to them at:

    
Air Historical Branch (RAF)

    
Building 824

    
RAF Northolt

    
West End Road

    
Ruislip

    
Middlesex HA4 6NG

The RAF Museum at Hendon has copies of the Aircraft Record Cards and you can request a search of those by writing to

    
The Department of Research and Information Services

    
Grahame Park Way

    
Hendon

    
London NW9 5LL

If you have an RFC, RNAS or RAF ancestor who was held as a Prisoner of War (PoW) during the First World War then it is easy to find evidence of this if he was an officer simply by checking the
List of British Officers Taken Prisoner in the Various Theatres of War between August 1914 and November 1918
by Cox and Co., a copy of which is held in the Library at The National Archives in Kew. This gives information about the regiment, theatre of war, name and rank of the officer, the date he was captured, when and where he was held, and the date he was released or his date and place of death if he died while a prisoner. If the officer survived you should find a report about the circumstances of his capture in his service record.

There is not a similar published list for airmen who were captured as PoWs, but it is worth looking at
Researching British and
Commonwealth Prisoners of War: World War One
by Alan Bowgen, held behind the Research Enquiries Desk at The National Archives to see which records might be able to help you. Series AIR 1 holds some records about RAF, RFC and RNAS Prisoners of War, and there are additional registers in ADM 12 for RNAS servicemen who were captured during the First World War. Service records of ordinary RFC, RNAS and RAF personnel or their Medal Index Card should contain some notes about their capture.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva holds a list of some known Prisoners of War for both the First and Second World Wars and will respond to written queries at an hourly rate if enough information is supplied in writing. The address is:

    
International Council of the Red Cross

    
Archives Division

    
19 Avenue de la Paix

    
CH-1202, Geneva

    
Switzerland

    
[email protected]

The names of RAF Prisoners of War captured by the Germans during the Second World War may be found in an alphabetical list compiled towards the end of 1944 held in AIR 20/2336. There are related files in AIR 40, including escape and evasion reports kept in AIR 40/1545–1552, and AIR 14/353–361 contains reports of escaped RAF Prisoners of War and nominal lists of reported RAF prisoners. There is a nominal list of British and Commonwealth PoWs held during the Second World War in WO 392/1–26 with specific sections dedicated to the Air Forces held in WO 392/8, WO 392/18 and WO392/21. (For more detailed information about finding records for Second World War PoWs have a look at The National Archives' Military Information Research Guide 20 on the online Research Guide alphabetical index under ‘Prisoners of War, British, 1939–1953'.)