RAF Service Records

[Chris Pointon]

For many years I have been telling people to write to RAF Innsworth for service records relating to their family. Unless I have got this completely wrong you now write to RAF Cranwell http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/service_records.html and download the Certificate of Kinship form sending this to:

RAF Disclosures Section
Room 221b
Trenchard Hall
RAF Cranwell
Sleaford
LINCS
NG34 8HB

Can readers confirm that this is now the correct procedure - the £30 fee is still in place much to my disgust.

Chris

[Rene Romainville]

Hello Chris,

If you send a request to RAF Innsworth and it is no more the right place, would your mail be forwarded to the proper address

Best regards
Rene

[Rene Romainville]

Hello Chris,

I called RAF Innsworth this morning.
You can write there. Theygive me the address and it is the same ; RAF Records, Room 5 Building 248A, RAF Innsworth , Gloucester GL3 1EZ.

I will have a next of kind to write and will tell you the result
Best regards

Rene

[Chris Pointon]

Hello Rene

Many thanks for your information

Best wishes

Chris

[AndyB]

Hi Chris

You may be interested to know that RAF Innsworth closes down in two weeks time, March 31st, see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/content/articles/2008/01/23/raf_innsworth_history_feature.shtml

I'm not sure what this will mean in terms of getting hold of records but no doubt there will be an announcement regarding where they'll be transferred to.

Regards

Andy

[CZ_RAF]

Hi Chaps,

any actual info which address is now the right one?

TIA

Pavel

[Rene Romainville]

Hello Pavel,

So for no news.
I do know that the records is ordered by the family, it is on his way as soon I have it I let you know

Best regards from Belgium

René

[dennis_burke]

Chaps

http://www.rafcom.co.uk/support_veterans/index_veterans_info.cfm

See advertisement/notice on right hand side

http://www.veterans-uk.com

Veterans UK website and it seems to be the latest up to date information for all services veterans.

http://www.veterans-uk.com/service_records/service_records.html

Specific to the RAF is:
http://www.veterans-uk.com/service_records/raf.html

So that lists RAF Cranwell, For SERVICE RECORDS ,address details on the above link. I think that is clear cut. I would guess that since the previous office address is in books and webpages everywhere, of course they will forward on letters to Cranwell, but it appears clear that the new office is Cranwell as per Chris' original posting. The official RAF website point you there.

However, this link does show other services still active at Innsworth.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/links/contacts.cfm

Service Records - Cranwell

Decorations Citations - Innsworth
Medals Claims - Innsworth
Casulaties Enquiries - Innsworht and the the AHB

I would suggest you keep an eye on all those relevent links above and note changes.

Dennis

[CZ_RAF]

Thanks a lot for useful links Dennis!

Pavel

[richardwardys27]

it is correct
just had my fathers records from there

RAF Disclosures
Room 221b
Trenchard Hall
RAF Cranwell
Sleaford
LINCS

regards
rich


For many years I have been telling people to write to RAF Innsworth for service records relating to their family. Unless I have got this completely wrong you now write to RAF Cranwell http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/service_records.html and download the Certificate of Kinship form sending this to:

RAF Disclosures Section
Room 221b
Trenchard Hall
RAF Cranwell
Sleaford
LINCS
NG34 8HB

Can readers confirm that this is now the correct procedure - the £30 fee is still in place much to my disgust.

Chris

[Keith_H]

I've had a negative and a positive experience with the RAF, and I want to share this with fellow genealogists.

The negative:
I sent a cheque for £30, along with the full name, address at conscription, date of birth, his squadron and non-commissioned rank to Cranwell. They asked if I was aware of his service number (which I wasn't). They said they did not have a service record for this man, according to their records.

After this, I went to Kew, and consulted the list of RAF service numbers in AIR 78. There was only one man with this name and surname on the list. This man's son's birth certificate was ordered, and the same service number was on the certificate.

The positive:
Although WW2 campaign medal rolls are not in the public domain (unlike those of WW1), I applied for the campaign medals for the above airman. (MOD Medals Office - SPVA, Gloucester.) My assumption was that even if the medals had been issued, they could confirm when the issue had taken place, and confirm the service number. There is no cost incurred in applying for medals.

Within 3 weeks of having received the application, they sent the campaign medals, and advised that his service record had survived; they had referred to this when considering the application.

If you get the brush-off from Cranwell, it is still worth applying for the medals, as this is likely to confirm whether the service record still survives, and should be able to confirm (or even advise) of the service number. Given that the MOD Medals Office have acknowledged the survival of the service record, it is my understanding that RAF Disclosures are obliged to find the service record, and to send me a copy.

[Clementine]

I apologize if this information is somewhere else, I am having trouble using the site and navigating posts, most clicks of the button result in a "cannot display webpage" message, so I am trying to sort through messages as I can.

Can anyone tell me what kind of information you get when you send off for the RAF records? We want information on our grandfather but we are a bit fearful all we will get is the name, rank and serial number type thing and we already have that. We'd really like some detailed information on the man, as he is very much a mystery to us.

[jossleclercq]

Hello Clementine,

The Service Records is usually a double side page, A3 size or the like. It contains basic details such as full ID, date and place of birth, date of joining.

Then the musterings (pilot, observer, air gunner, fitter, etc...., pupil / under training, etc, with dates), and the ranks / promotions.

We also have the various units, especially the training units, and the operational units, again with dates.

These records are full of acronyms, and many of us will be happy to help you decipher them.

These are not biographies of airmen, only pure records, in tables, of an airman's in the air force. But it's a very useful source of informations, both for families and historians/researchers like us.

I'm sure other forumites will give a link with a sample of a service records. I'm almost sure someone has already produced a link to a webpage in the past.

Joss

[Clementine]

Thank you, Joss, that is very helpful.

Clem

[namrondooh]

Hello Clementine,

Once you learn of the training &/or operational units (as applicable) - this can often lead to further facts by researching the unit etc. and widening the picture and so on... Personally , I think the £30 charged by the MoD is far too high for what you get back but nevertheless feel from reading what you appear to have already, there is no alternative . Have you considered posting your Grandfathers 'number, rank and name' in the 'main category'? as it could just be possible a reader may have further clues/information that may be useful to you.

Good luck with your research.
Norman

[Clementine]

Hello, Norman,

Actually there is a thread dedicated to my grandfather already, it was posted by someone trying to help me search a few years back. I got derailed by a death in my family and have only just started trying to search again. He had the very eccentric name of Shuthi Nandi Napoleon Leslie Oswald Banerjee Smart. He served with 149 Squadron.

Having found the thread through an Internet search, I thought I'd join the forum to see what I could find out. (Plus with a WWII US Army veteran father and an RAF grandfather, I am just interested in WWII.)

My grandfather is quite mysterious to us in all respects, he was illegitimate and so the circumstances of his birth were hidden, and we don't even know who his father is. (There is a name listed on the CWGC records, but we think it is fictitious and is, in fact, different from the name listed as his father on his marriage certificate, which listed his mother's father as his father - we think his mother may have been claiming he was her brother and not her son at that time to hide the fact of his birth from the man she married that same year. It's crazy, I know.)

While his RAF records are of great interest to us, we hope there might be some personal information to be gleaned from those records, as well, such as where he may have attended school. We have reason to believe his father may have put him through school. We thought that might have been required information on some of his RAF forms.

But anything we can find on Shuthi would be a prize.

[Sandy Conway]

how did you fare? This a similar tale to mine, except we're even dealing with a fabricated birth cert. for my Dad. sad state of affairs the churches left these girls in, eh?
All I have is the name "Bud" Riggs.

[HoodyBill]

I know this is a long ago thread but I have only just joined. I ordered my Dads Records from Cranwell last week. My Mother was able to sign for them so they were free. The package arrived 2 days later and we have 3 A3 pages with my Dads early records then the computer printout for the remainder, you also get a few other bits like a list of all the abbreviations. I am very happy with the service so thank you Cranwell.