519260 Sgt Thomas Aldwyn Lewis, RAF HQ, Singapore, POW, post-war SB surveillance subject

That is really interesting and it's great that a historian can get even more value from his record.

 

Here I was wondering about the codes on the left, in particular F1298 and F6442/6462. Do they mean anything?

You are a champion heavy lifter. Not sure how many people could answer these questions, but probably not so many.

 

https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln....844/46133/MRookeFC1807892-170513-020001.1.jpg
Here's an older listing of trade breakdowns, in case anyone is interested.

 

Here I was wondering about the codes on the left, in particular F1298 and F6442/6462. Do they mean anything?

Anything with a F prefix usually refers to an RAF Form

In the case of Form 6442 and Form 6462 these are post war (1950/60s) formal tick box matrix style for recording all the attributes/skills to be considered making up the one word return recorded in the F345 (Form 345) Service Record. This was to standardize the assessment procedure.

Prewar these were very much enter the word and add a freeform note below if required - I once saw a completed assessment of "Inf." and the note "If this man were a horse I would not breed from him!"

Letters of recommendation were not HR generated in those days.

Form 1298 has been around almost as long as the RAF - Navy considers they have been in being long enough to have traditions, RAF only has habits.

Chapter and verse for this from the Admin Manual (1944)


Side bar notes are Air Ministry Orders 1942/43 and amend reporting requirements of KR&ACI

Kings Regulations and Air Council Instructions (1944) Clause 495A


Ross

 

Yes, GD clerk (later Special Duties Clerk). Can any of your friends give a general description of their embassy roles? (Esp. if they were in SD roles.) Lewis was in the Washington, D.C. embassy as SDC, with the rank of Warrant Officer.

 

Sorry, it wasn't a role that ever interested me, so I never had an understanding of what they did. I don't do the 'socials', consequently I've lost touch with all my old ex embassy buddies.

If I ever hear from them, I'll certainly ask.

Best.
John.

 

Another observation - near the end of his service time he seems to be under the Records Office (p.4/5) (the authority making the orders is either RO or RAFG - RAF General?) Would that mean he was responsible for records in his base/unit? Also next to the 'Authority' column (p.5) is the column 'Code' with 'N' or 'Basic' - what does this refer to?

 

To add to above comment - he was scheduled to go to RAF Innsworth in 1954, where the RAF Records Office HQ had moved in 1951.

 

Short answer better but longer answer to follow:

Originator
RO - Records Office
RAFG - Royal Air Force Germany

Ross

 

"Would that mean he was responsible for records in his base/unit" - Yes for what was delegated to him.

All clerks have a responsibility to carry out actions in accordance with procedure on the records they are given to action.

Senior clerical staff have an added delegated authority allowing them to delegate actions to junior staff - but they still retain responsibility for the actions of juniors.

The most senior clerk on an RAF station (usually the Station or Warrant Officer/SD Clerk) has a delegated authority from the Station Officer Commanding for all maters of admin action - responsibility retained.

Station Officer Commanding has a delegated authority on procedure for his station and lodger units.

So if you have Authority you can delegate action but everyone in the chain has responsibility - responsibility can never be delegated completely to another.

Delegation was summarised to me that "We made an error - an individual can never make an error in isolation".

In the Cold War period if a station failed a TACEVAL both the OC and his deputy would be held responsible and removed from command.

Ross

 

RAF Admin system changed early 1960s from the hand/physical paper system used from Formation in 1918 to a system more tailored to storage/retrieval on both electronic and visual machines.

Lewis record spans these periods and Authority references changes with the system change roll out.

Prior to 1960 ish! two file systems were in use Branch and Number.

Branch was used by service units and headquarter units where the number of files in use are comparatively limited and the registry clerks frequently inexperienced.
Number was used by Record Office and Command Headquarters were the quantity of files is so great that branch system becomes unwieldy.

Both systems used the same Forms and content - it was only the file designator/numbering system that changed.

Understanding is needed of the object of a file to know how a File reference was generated for Branch/Number system:

A file is always enclosed by a wrapper - Form 2007, Form 2008 or Form 2009 - and is to present the complete history of one particular aspect of a subject under one cover, in a manner which facilitates reference and preserves the correspondence from mutilation or defacement.

The wrapper defined on the front the security level of the contents, file reference, originator branch/unit, title and an issue history of who it was passed to, date and what they did.

Form 2007 was used for documents where enhanced levels of security was not required eg Normal


Form 2008 was Secret (Plug for Andy Newson and his document copy service at TNA)
This is Thor IRBM deployment circa 1962


Inside when opened as a book fold - on the inside left were two admin blocks that former papers and subsequent papers reference numbers could be added to denote lineage if you wanted to follow the breadcrumb trail.

Form 2009 was Most Secret - different colour and band marking but same general layout
Did have an image of a blank one but my filing system is not a patch on RAF Registry and cannot locate for the moment.

When a file was no longer in regular use it was Put Away PA - bottom right corner denotes this and a particular audit was carried out and recorded on an RAF Form.

If required for transfer to preservation it would be culled/redacted as required, actions noted and the redacted file usually given a new F2007 wrapper. such as shown in the Image Form2007 above.
You can tell the original document status by the File Reference Number eg BC/S.21117 eg S for Secret so it would have had a Form 2008 wrapper but down grading has removed this (and the chance for us secret squirrels to see who handled it and what they did).

In the case of my Form 2008 Secret wrapper example you see from the (downgraded from) that the original was Most Secret and the archived version in 1983/1989, although redacted for public release was not wrappered as Form 2007 leaving all the issue dates/actions on view.

From 1960s to more recent times file security ratings were tinkered with - for a while they could be designated
N - no/normal security care
Basic - basic level of sigint eg no to be taken/seen off site

Roughly equivalent to N - Press release and Basic - Form 2007

Just to complete RAFsplaining File Wrappers contents were split into two groups minutes and enclosures.

Enclosures were at the Right inside and ordered from rear to top as oldest to newest, each enclosure was given an ascending number and if required alpha part designator

Enclosures could be anything from handwritten script, message flimsy, typed text, annotated photographs etc.

Here is an example annotated 23A - draft minute on 4 Group attack on Italy.


Next enclosure is 25A - the previous draft with the hand annotations included


On the left inside book fold of the F2007 are minute sheets with numbered items in both manuscript and typed. It is arranged the opposite to enclosures, starting with 1 on the top, using both sides and going to highest number on the bottom.

This is the corresponding minute page for 23A and 25A


You can see the progress of the typed document is covered, prior and including 23A as items for the draft to include/delete, an item 24 that has no enclosure relating to intent from Senior Air Staff Officer, and then final form at 25A (all with responsibility signatures where required).

Every piece of paper - minute or enclosure has the file reference BC/S.23746/2/Ops

So the originator was Bomber Command but this file is in Branch Reference System so it was a Secret file generated by No.4 Group in response to a topic raised by Bomber Command - Directives to No.4 Group.

Preserved file cove F2007 for completeness


A fairly detailed dive into how a file was administered but I felt that confusion was starting to grow on references in Form 543s - They were an guide to look at a much more detailed item in the Registry that was very adaptable to content but extensive in editing history of the topic.

Apart from file numbering conventions (originator and subject) it is almost impossible to say what a file contained that was relevant to the service record.

Ross

 

Nice explanation and examples there. So some of Thomas's training was probably geared to the incoming new systems - electronic/machine?

 

PS It's nice when the records moved to being typed - much easier to read! I have couple old Navy records from the 1920s - some are so hard to read! Handwriting has changed a lot too.

 

I suspect that it was split into two areas admin/records and supply.

Supply was expanding on basic hollerith/electronic systems and microfilm in use WWII and adapting to the newer electronic stores systems. RAF Germany in particular was adapting to the Nato force requirements.

W/C Colin Cummings wrote a piece for the RAF Historical Society on RAF Supply organisation in the Electronic Era that excels in briefing on the changes that W/O Lewis was working within.

Page 96 onwards on this free download
Microsoft Word - MASTER 35.doc

The rest of the pdf is also worth reading at leisure.

While passing, the seminar on RAF Germany is also worth download and reading as an unusual primer to RAFG that covers items/considerations not found in most academic publications.
Microsoft Word - Journal 22A _RAF in Germany_.doc

Page 101 has a piece that may be of cross over interest to you

"By 1988, confidence building measures between NATO and the Warsaw Pact had resulted in all major exercises being notified in advance and observers from the ‘opposition being invited to attend. It was a strange feeling to be able, quite openly, to pick up a MODUK colonel at Warsaw Airport and drive him into central Poland to stay at a Polish Army Officers Hotel (roughly the equivalent of our Officers THE ROYAL AIR FORCE IN GERMANY 1945-1993 101 Mess). We would spend the next few days watching the event and photographing anything we wished (although there is no doubt that we were not shown everything).

One of the highlights of the year for Air Attachés to Warsaw Pact states (and Yugoslavia) was an annual conference which was hosted by the CIO at RAFG. The Air Attachés team from Moscow would join us in Warsaw and we would travel from there to Rheindahlen in convoy. With appropriate desk officers from the MODs DIS in attendance, each Air Attaché would review the previous twelve months activity in his area of interest with BRIXMIS covering the GDR."

Ross

 

Sorry meant to add that those extracts are from the paper by G/C M Killick starting at page 100

"In discussion with Sir Andrew Wilson, it was agreed that I would tell you something of my last three tours in the RAF, as Defence and Air Attaché in Warsaw, Deputy Chief of BRIXMIS and as the final CIO at HQ RAFG."

Ross

 

Excellent material. 'No 16 MU at Stafford became a major transport nodal point with distribution tasks met principally by No 2 MT Sqn.' (p. 83, Masterword 35 journal). Thomas was in 32 MU at a similar time so possibly also engaged in supply/transport issues. This description on p. 88 would also indicate similar assignments: ‘Maintenance’ is described as "all supply and repair action taken to keep a force in condition to carry out its mission." So that is where the Supply organisation fits into the big picture: besides its contribution to the movement of forces, supply plays a major role in their maintenance, hence enabling the operators to carry out their mission.' Getting troops/supplies/equipment to Germany (where Thomas spent some time) was also mentioned. According that author, a lot of MUs were staffed in part by civilians (Thomas continued to work at St. A after his official retirement from the RAF). I had assumed the MUs were more aircraft maintenance and repair units but it seems they were mostly giant storage/supply depots. And they all needed streamlining, a good cleanup and some cost-cutting - fortunately computers were coming in to help with those issues. It seems that military thinking needed modernising as much as the equipment did. Add to that NATO, the Cold War and the nuclear deterrent force.

 

And from the same article: 'Some twenty-five years earlier, when I was a young flying officer, there was only one way of working out what one needed to support, say, a detachment of Canberras in the Far East where we were busy bombing Communist terrorists in the jungle. That was to sit oneself down, months beforehand, and go through piles of ledgers, page by page, working out what the probable consumption of each and every one of the thousands of items was likely to be, while also taking account of a hot and humid environment. Having allowed
for differing rates of effort, etc, we added a modicum of common sense and then wrote out our requirements by hand.' Sounds like a job for a GD clerk. (Even SD depending on what was needed).