Why RAF service records are a family history treasure trove

The Royal Air Force was formed on 1 April 1918, but its people came from the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Naval Air Service and, later, from every corner of Britain and the Commonwealth. If your ancestor wore RAF blue, their service record can be one of the most rewarding documents you will ever find. It does more than confirm a name and a date. It follows a person from the recruiting office to trade training, from station to squadron, and sometimes into the skies over Europe or the Far East. The handwriting can be cramped, the abbreviations baffling, but the story is there. With a little patience, you can turn a list of postings into a real sense of the life your ancestor led.

What you’ll find in a typical airman’s record

Most RAF service records begin with attestation papers. These are the enrolment forms, and they are gold dust. You will usually see the recruit’s full name, age, occupation, home address and next of kin. There may be a physical description, details of previous military service, and a signed declaration. From there, the record follows the trade training path. A new airman might be mustered as a fitter, rigger, electrician, wireless operator or clerk. Training courses, trade tests and remusters are often noted in pencil or ink, with dates and school names. Then come the postings: a steady list of units, squadrons, stations and dates. You may also find promotions, medical boards, punishments, and notes of medals or mentions in despatches. Together, these entries create a timeline that can be matched against squadron diaries and station records.

Officers, other ranks and the records they left behind

RAF records are not all kept in the same place. Broadly speaking, the further back you go, the more likely the record is to be in a public archive. For officers who served in the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Naval Air Service or the early RAF, records are often held by The National Archives at Kew, with catalogue references beginning with AIR. For RAF personnel who served after 1920, the Ministry of Defence still holds the service records. That includes both officers and other ranks. If your ancestor served in the Second World War, the record is almost certainly with the MOD rather than at Kew. Commonwealth personnel who served with the RAF may have records held by their own country’s defence authorities, so it is worth checking whether your ancestor enlisted in the RAF or in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force or Royal New Zealand Air Force.

How to request a service record step by step

Start by gathering everything you know: full name, date and place of birth, service number if you have it, and approximate dates of service. Then apply to the correct office.

• For pre-1920 records, search The National Archives catalogue by name and by the AIR series.
• For post-1920 records, apply to the Ministry of Defence. The RAF Disclosures team handles requests for former RAF personnel.
• If your ancestor is deceased, you will usually need to provide a death certificate and evidence of your relationship if you are next of kin.
• If you are not next of kin, you may need consent from the next of kin, or you may receive a redacted copy.
• A fee usually applies, and waits of several weeks or months are normal, so apply early and be patient.

Give as much identifying detail as possible. A date and place of birth is often more useful than a guessed service number, because names can be repeated and handwriting can be misread. If you are unsure whether your ancestor was an officer or other rank, say so in your enquiry and let the record office guide you.

Decoding ranks, trades and abbreviations

RAF records are full of shorthand. Ranks are usually abbreviated. AC2 means Aircraftman Second Class, LAC Leading Aircraftman, Cpl Corporal, Sgt Sergeant, F/Sgt Flight Sergeant and W/O Warrant Officer. Officers run from P/O Pilot Officer and F/O Flying Officer up through F/Lt Flight Lieutenant, S/Ldr Squadron Leader, W/Cdr Wing Commander and G/Capt Group Captain. Trades are equally compressed: W/Op wireless operator, Nav navigator, A/G air gunner, F/E flight engineer. You will also meet TOS (Taken on Strength) and SOS (Struck off Strength), which mark the start and end of a posting. Training units appear as ITW (Initial Training Wing), EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School), OTU (Operational Training Unit) and HCU (Heavy Conversion Unit). POW means prisoner of war, and camp names may follow. A good glossary, kept beside you as you read, will soon make the pages feel familiar rather than foreign.

Putting the pieces together

Once you have the record, do not stop there. Note every squadron number, station and date, then look for a squadron operations record book or a station diary. These can tell you what your ancestor’s unit was doing on a particular day, whether that was training, convoy escort, bombing operations or transport duty. Compare the trade training dates with the postings, and you can often work out when a person qualified, when they were promoted, and when they moved from one role to another. If a record is hard to read, ask for help from a local family history society or an archive volunteer. The RAF left a paper trail of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. With care, you can follow it from attestation to discharge, and give your ancestor’s story the place it deserves in your family history.