I'm in the process of completing the forms needed to obtain a copy of my deceased grandfather's WWII military record on behalf of my grandmother, but as her memory is failing, all I know is his name (Peter Warburton), his date and place of birth (26 October 1921, Ebbw Vale, Wales), and that he served in the RAF. I don't have his service number, the rank he held during service, or what part of the RAF he served in during the war, and I was wondering if the scant information I have will be enough to obtain a copy of his records? I was also hoping to help my grandmother obtain a copy of her WWII military record (she served in the WRAF), but again her memory means I have no service number for her either. If anyone has any advice on how to obtain WWII RAF service numbers, it would be very much appreciated.
I don't know if it is the same with RAF records, but when I applied for my fathers army records I didn't have his service number either. I just put his date of birth on and they found his records from that. Lesley
I think Lesley's advice is correct. As I understand it, for your late father's service record you and your mother are both a 'Next of Kin'. With the full name, date of birth and a few other details you should probably be sent the record for the appropriate fee. Click on the following link and you can read the details: [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Page not found It should be easier for your mother as she is still living. Again, the name she served under (presumably her maiden name?) and the date of birth should provide the MoD with sufficient information to identify her in their records. Let me wish you success, Teresa, and hopefully you will find it worthwhile. It usually takes several weeks or months for the information to arrive: so you will have to be patient.
Thanks Drew. Can't decide now whether to fill in the forms for my grandmother, and have her details as the applicant, or apply on her behalf and fork out the £30 each time because I'm not immediate next of kin (she gets confused very easily, so would rather my details be on the forms and deal with the necessary, and her just sign permission). It seems a bit unfair to me that if it's done with the next of kin's permission that you still have to pay the fee
When I did it for my partner I just got her grandmother to sign the form after I filled it in on her behalf-No fee. I even had the docs sent to my address rather than hers. I honestly believe the MoD don't check the details its just there as their get out of jail free card under the FOI act.
Many thanks all for your advice and assistance You just made my day Drew, I'm going to do the same (was a little worried about not strictly following the applicant 'rules'). Thanks Ritsonvaljos... I did read that it can take a good while, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her that we'll receive them sooner rather than later. Ironically, when talking about her service during WWII after I found an old service photograph of her, she mentioned that she was posted at RAF High Wycombe during the war.....and I worked there as a civilian myself during the 1990s!
Making the assumption that he had no middle names and enlisted as Peter Warburton then AIR 78/164_2 shows only two possibles. 1317660 Peter Warburton 5056474 Peter Warburton Caution - (There are other P Warburton and one or more may be Peter) Service number block 1311745 to 1325000 started use in Nov 1940 at Oxford. The other number was postwar National Service. You can look for your grandmothers service number in the AIR 78 series as well. Not 100% but the best we have at the moment. Regards Ross
Hi Ross, many thanks for that, I have a copy of his birth certificate, so definitely no middle name. I think I've found the right place on the National Archives website to download/search the relevant AIR 78 portions.
Teresa Be prepared for a long wait - I applied for my mother's ATS records, and they took a few days short of 12 months to arrive!!
Thanks Brickmaker - I think I'm just going to apply for them and then try to forget about them or the waiting will drive me nuts! I just found my grandmother's card on AIR 78 (it has her name wrong, which I found unusual, as her birth name was Cissie Eileen Rawle), and it has the letters "JC" in the bottom right hand corner of the card....anyone have any idea what JC stands for?
Success! I now have my grandfathers service record. And it took less than 2 weeks It's not complete though -theyve refused to release his conduct and disciplinary assessment, so not sure what to make of that!!!! I understand now why people have difficulty in deciphering these records because it just looks like alphabet soup to me (!) From what I can make out, he was a Leading Aircraftman based in Iceland for most of WWII, so I have some research to do on that. He did say that he was based in Iceland, guarding German prisoners, but we always thought he was story-telling. At least now I know the Iceland part was true (still dubious about the prisoners bit though).
I'm hoping someone is able to help me make sense of my grandfather's WW2 RAF service record. I've been deciphering it slowly, but I'm stuck on one part that makes no sense to me, no matter how much I research. He was drafted as an Aircrafthand (General Duties), and stationed at 2 Recruit Centre Cardington 13 Jun 1941 for basic training, and then left there on 25 Jul 1941 to go to "1 Wg 16 RC Cardiff" (which has HH in the Reason column). I understand HH is Headquarters Holding (or Reserve Command), but I can't find any details regarding 1 Wing, or 16 RC in Cardiff (RC = Reserve Command??). He was stationed there until 14 Aug 1941 before moving on to 51 OTU at Cranfield. Does anyone know anything about 1 Wg 16 RC Cardiff? Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.
