Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy (32 page)

If you believe your RAF ancestor was tried by a court martial then have a look in the RAF Courts Martial Registers in AIR 21, where the name, rank, the nature of the offence, the place of the trial and the sentence given to each prisoner between 1918 and 1965 are recorded. The RAF Courts Martial Proceedings records for district, general and field courts martial trials both for officers and airmen from 1941 to 1994 are held in AIR 18, but there is a closure period of 30 years on the later documents.

A muster list was taken of all the airmen who joined the RAF on its first day on 1 April 1918, and the original document is kept in AIR 1/819/204/4/1316 with supplements in AIR 10/232–237. Service records of the first 329,000 men who served in the RAF and men who joined the RFC but continued service with the RAF after 1 April 1918 are held as original documents in AIR 79. They are arranged numerically by service number but there is an alphabetical index held on microfilm in AIR 78. If your ancestor had a service number higher than 329,000 or if his service number was between 1 and 329,000 but he continued to serve during the Second World War, then his records will still be with the RAF. Ex-service personnel can request a copy of their service history to be sent to them by writing to ACOS (Manning) at the address given above (page 211), detailing their name, date of birth and service number if known. If the service person has died, their next of kin can request a
copy at a fee of £30 by sending a letter to the same address giving the service person's name, date of birth, service number and any known information about their career with evidence of their death certificate.

Records of births and marriages for RFC personnel and their families should be found among indexes to GRO Army Births 1881–1965, GRO Army Marriages 1881–1955 and GRO Army Marriages within British Lines 1914–25, while the Army Chaplains' returns for 1796 to 1955 will contain records for the RAF from 1920.

The deaths of service personnel during the two World Wars are well recorded. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has compiled a Debt of Honour Register from its First and Second World War cemetery and memorial records. The 1.7 million names contained on this can be searched for free on www.cwgc.org. Entries on this database can give as much information as the name, age, nationality, regiment, rank, date and place of death and burial or memorial as well as the names of next of kin and their address.

If you cannot find an entry on the Debt of Honour database for an RAF ancestor who died during the Second World War then it is worth searching the indexes to GRO War Deaths, RAF All Ranks 1939–48. Indexes to the deaths of RFC personnel during the First World War may be found among the GRO War Deaths, Army Officers 1914–21 and GRO War Deaths, Army Other Ranks 1914–21, while those of RNAS service personnel may be found among the GRO War Deaths, Navy All Ranks 1914–21. The RAF Museum at Hendon also has a casualty card index for RFC and RNAS personnel during the First World War.

Deaths on service of RAF personnel since the wars may be found in the indexes to Air Deaths and Air Deaths – Missing Persons between 1947 and 1965, held by the GRO for all deaths occurring on aeroplanes registered in the United Kingdom.

All of the birth, marriage and death indexes for service personnel and their families recorded by the General Register Office are held at The National Archives in Kew. If you find a likely entry in the indexes for your ancestor you will need to order a duplicate copy of the certificate from the GRO at www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates.

The National Archives of Scotland have recently catalogued the wills of 61 RAF airmen and officers from 1939 to 1950 and some RFC airmen from the First World War, which can be searched via the NAS online catalogue: http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/soldiersWills.asp.

Julian Clary didn't know much about his paternal grandfather, Jack Clary, as he died in 1951, several years before Julian was born. Julian's father, Peter, had vague memories of Jack, though mainly associated with visiting him whilst he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in the 1930s. This was a line of research that Julian followed up, discovering that Jack voluntarily admitted himself to Napsbury hospital in Hertfordshire between 1926 and 1938. Although there appeared to be no superficial connection with his stay in hospital, it emerged that Jack has spent time during the First World War as chief mechanic for the Bristol fighters of 48 Squadron.

Having obtained this information from within the family, Julian was able to follow up with some detailed research at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and The National Archives, Kew. At Duxford, he was able to find out more about working conditions, as well as the distinguished history of the squadron which was formed as part of the former Royal Flying Corps in Netheravon on 15 April 1916, and moved to France in March 1917 as the first Bristol Fighter Squadron.

Julian learned that his grandfather's daily routine in France would have been tough, back-breaking work, living under constant threat from enemy air attacks and with the daily pressure of ensuring the aircraft were serviced and mechanically sound, ready for action at any time. In short, the pilots' lives depended on the skill of Jack and his team.

Furthermore, by examining the service records for the RAF at The National Archives in record series AIR 79, and official records of the squadron in record series AIR 1, Julian was able to work out the precise history of Jack's involvement with the 48 Squadron; his movements around France; and indeed associated combat reports that the airmen filed on return to base. By reading these contemporary accounts from official sources, it was possible to step ninety years back in time and gain a real sense of what it must have been like to work on these early planes on the front line – and what it was like to face such danger on a daily basis.

There are no surviving records of service for officers of the WRAF or WAAF, but records of service for airwomen for the First World War period can be found in alphabetical order in AIR 80, kept on microfilm at The National Archives. (There is an index in AIR 78.) Women who did not have domestic responsibilities were sometimes sent to help out in France and Germany between 1919 and 1920 and were known as ‘mobiles' because they could live on camp and be posted anywhere, while ‘immobile' airwomen would have lived at home and worked part time. An airwoman's record of service will indicate whether or not she was mobile, along with her age, address, marital status, names of any dependants, and information about any promotions.

The WRAF was formed at the same time as the RAF in 1918. It was disbanded in 1920, but re-formed at the start of the Second World War under the name the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). It reverted to the title Women's Royal Air Force in 1949, and became a fully integrated part of the RAF in 1994. Records of service for women who served in the Second World War need to be requested from the RAF by writing to ACOS (Manning) at the address on page 211.

To learn more about the WAAF and WRAF read a copy of
Women in Air Force Blue: The Story of Women in the Royal Air Force from 1918 to the Present Day
by Beryl E. Escott. Some women also worked for the RAF as nurses from January 1919, in the Royal Air Force Nursing Service, which became Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service in 1923. All records of service for these women are still with the RAF.

Campaign medals are awarded to members of the armed services for their part in a particular war or battle. There is no First World War campaign medal roll for the RAF in the AIR series. Most men who were in the RAF after 1 April 1918 would have come from the RFC, RNAS or another part of the armed forces, so their Medal Index Card stating which medals they were entitled to will be found in the relevant series for their earlier service. If your ancestor only saw service with the RAF during the war then they are unlikely to have a Medal Index Card, but any entitlement should be detailed on an individual's record of service.

Medal rolls for those awarded to men of the RFC prior to the outbreak of the First World War are held in WO 100. First World War campaign medal rolls for the RFC are also kept (with those of the army) in WO 329. They are arranged by battalion but there are also alphabetical Campaign
Medal Index Cards kept in WO 372 that can be searched by name and rank via The National Archives website, at Documents Online. The indexes themselves give very little information about the person the medal was awarded to, but abbreviations in the index will indicate that they served in the RFC, their service number, rank, the first theatre of war they served in and the type of medal they were awarded. This can then be used to establish which campaign the medal was awarded for.

Five different types of campaign medal were awarded during the First World War, but a maximum of three could be bestowed on one individual
.

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The 1914 Star was authorized in 1917 and only awarded to those who came under fire while on service in France and Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914
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The 1914/15 Star was authorized in 1918 and awarded to those who had not received the 1914 Star but served in France and Belgium between 23 November 1914 and 31 December 1915, or in any other theatre of war between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915
.

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The British War Medal was granted for service abroad, including in India, between
5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918, or for service in Russia between 1919 and 1920
.

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The Victory Medal was for both military and civilian personnel who served in a theatre of war
.

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The Territorial Force War Medal was for members of the Territorial Forces who joined before 30 September 1914 and served in a theatre of war abroad between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918
.

First World War medal rolls for the RNAS are held in microform in ADM 171. These are arranged alphabetically, but are split up according to rank. The medal roll for officers is found in ADM 171/89–91, while that for ratings is in series ADM 171/94–119. Again, the entry gives you the name, service number, rank and abbreviations indicating which medal was awarded, but also states where the medal was sent.

The National Archives only holds medal rolls for one campaign fought since the First World War, known as the African General Service Medal, which was given to around 200 RAF servicemen who were involved in operations in Somaliland at the beginning of 1920. This medal roll is kept in series AIR 2/2267–2270. Any other campaign medal rolls issued to the RAF since then are kept with the Ministry of Defence, but information about them can be requested by writing to:

CS Sec 1d

Room F93, Building 256

HQ RAF PTC

RAF Innsworth

Gloucester GL3 1EZ

Gallantry medals were created specifically for RAF service personnel in 1918, namely the Air Force Cross, the Air Force Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Flying Medal. Prior to this RFC and RNAS servicemen would have received army and navy honours.

Medals awarded for gallantry and meritorious service were announced in the
London Gazette
and some are accompanied by a citation of the reason for the award. Digital copies of the gazette are now available from www.gazettes-online.co.uk. Recommendations for some gallantry awards issued to the RFC and RAF for the First World War are held in AIR 1. Recommendations for gallantry medals issued to RNAS servicemen prior to 1918 are in ADM 1, ADM 116 and ADM 137. Recommendations for the Second World War and post-1946 are in AIR 2, and AIR 30 also contains records of gallantry medal recommendations for RAF personnel.

ORBs are made up of Summary of Events forms and Detail of Work Carried Out forms, otherwise known as Forms 540 and 541, along with appendices containing operational orders, relevant reports and telegraphed messages. They are worth tracking down if you would like to discover a little bit more about your ancestor's experiences during their time with the Air Force, particularly for the Second World War period when service records are difficult to access.

A search for an Operational Record Book requires definite knowledge of which Squadron your ancestor was with and for what dates, as ORBs do not tend to state many names and give no biographical details about those men they do mention. However, they will fill you in on the movement of that Squadron each day and their location and activities. This can be of especial use if you have been told an anecdote about an incident that happened while your ancestor was on duty and you would like to find out more about the facts.

From 1914, the air forces were divided into Squadrons and each Squadron had subdivisions known as Flights. In 1936 the RAF was divided into four main Commands – Bomber, Training, Fighter and Coastal Commands, which were subdivided into Groups, or collectives of Squadrons, and the Groups were divided further into Wings.

Squadron ORBs for the period 1911 to 1977 can be found in AIR 27. They have both daily and monthly summaries and list details about the aircraft, crew, weapons and any casualties.