Hi All, I have recently dug out my grandfathers RAF service record, and there is only so much you can find on the internet. I am desperate for some answers to solve some family mysteries. Can anyone please help? I am struggling with Anything circled in red, either because I don't know what they mean, such as D2E, D2F, B, X, C & G3X in the reason column, or I am struggling to read the handwriting, such as the large circled part in the middle when he was admitted to hospital with bad teeth. Does any one know what 33 Base was? Possibly 33 Maintenance Unit (MU), Lyneham? Finally, on the second pic are the training courses my grandad did. I cannot read the first two. Any ideas? Att (attended?) LIIB???? Many thanks Alan
33 Base was a Heavy Conversion Unit with its HQ at Waterbeach; it controlled Mepal, Waterbeach and Witchford
When you refer to a letter/email etc with the phrase "re your message ,,,,," as a means for brevity, this is the same use as Reason on Form 543/ It is a short means of recording file ref for a supporting document. With only a few exceptions it does not have any predefined meaning. Reason/Auth Columns on RAF Service Records Service Record Reason Code Letter Ross
Bit in red could be "Transferred ??? Yatesbury." Don't know middle bit. RAF Yatesbury not far from Calne, Wilts.
It could well be Yatesbury. It certainly look like it. I was told a story that my grandad had some bad teeth so they just took them (all of his teeth?) out. So perhaps that's where this happened?
I think it may read Admitted Station Hospital" / Transferred to Hospital Yatesbury / Discharged Station Hospital Yatesbury". There is a bit about the Hospital at Yatesbury here BBC - WW2 People's War - My Air Ambulance experience in the WAAF
I knew Yatesbury well from the early 1950s when I attended a course there on the bombing radar, H2S4A. The place was always from the start and during the war, a technical training school for wireless and radar. The adjacent Great War grass airfield was an elementary flying school during both wars and prewar WW2. (Guy Gibson did his elementary flying training there in about 1937 when the Bristol Aircraft Company had a contract for flying training from the AM). Cannot remember a hospital there during my era,it had the standard Sick Quarters.During the war Yatesbury was the location of a large number of technical schools with an appropriate airmen student strength.The other point is did Yatesbury house a specialised medical unit? Your Grandfather from his qualifications,I would say was an Instrument Fitter or Mechanic,I would say which reflects his courses on the Mark X1V Bombsight and the Mark 11 SAB (Stablised Automatic Bombsight) and Compass gear.(Certainly the leading edge of bombsights developed during the war although the mode of bombing by night saw only No 617 Squadron, fitted with the later Mark 11A SAB which it was claimed to be capable of precision bombing from 20.000 feet with an error of 80 yards.
You are correct. He was an instrument fitter. He worked on Wellington III's & Lancaster Mark II's at 115 Squadron, and on Sunderlands in Coastal Command. Most of his training courses were at 12 School of Technical Training, which the internet tells me was at RAF Melksham. Would you have any idea what the training courses were on the 17th of November 1943 & 10 May 1944? It looks like LIIB for both. Lancaster II conversion courses? (By June 1944 the Lancaster II's were replaced by the Mk 1's & Mk III's)
It is LTTB Early war with few trade test centres the first letter was usually the location eg London but by 1944 with so ,many trade schools the abbreviation had polarised to CTTB and LTTB for Central Trade Testing Board and Local Trade Testing Board. Ross