[British] Air Force Records: A Guide For Family Historians, 2nd Edition

[British]Air Force Records: A Guide for Family Historians, 2nd Edition, by William Spencer; 160 pg; Paperback; 7.5x9.5; ISBN: 978-1-905615-25-4; 2009; Item TNA02

Newly revised including expanded section on the interwar years including records of RAF actions in North and South Russia, Mesopotamia, Persia, Somaliland, India and Palestine

This practical and accessible guide shows how to explore British air forces – and ancestors who served in them – through the wealth of material at the National Archives and elsewhere. Thoroughly revised and updated, it covers air forces as varied as the Royal Engineers Balloon Section, the Royal Flying Corps, the RAF and WRAF, Fleet Air Arm, Glider Pilot Regiment and Royal Naval Air Service, in campaigns spanning the Boer War and two World Wars to Korea, Kenya and Suez. Written by a military specialist who served in the Fleet Air Arm, it considers all aspects of air force records, from operational record books and unit war diaries to individual service records, medal rolls, gallantry awards and casualty lists.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Using The National Archives
• Introduction
• 1 Military Flying Up to 1914
• The Royal Engineers and their Balloons
• The Royal Flying Corps
• The Royal Naval Air Service
• 2 Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force up to 1918
• The Royal Flying Corp
• The Royal Naval Air Service
• The Royal Air Force and Women’s Royal Air Force
• 3 Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Glider Pilot Regiment and Army Air Corps From 1919
• Royal Air Force
• Fleet Air Arm
• Glider Pilot Regiment and Army Air Corps
• 4 Royal Engineers Balloon Section Records of Service
• Officers
• Other Ranks
• Case Studies
• 5 Royal Flying Corps Records of Service
• Officers
• Airmen
• Case Studies
• 6 Royal Naval Air Service Records of Service
• Officers
• Ratings
• Case Study
• 7 Royal Air Force and Women’s Royal Air Force Records of Service
• Officers
• Airmen
• Women’s Royal Air Force
• Special Operations Executive
• Case Study
• 8 Operational Records
• Royal Engineers Balloon Section
• Royal Flying Corps
• Royal Naval Air Service
• Royal Air Force: First World War
• Royal Air Force: Inter-war Years
• Royal Air Force: Second World War and After
• Fleet Air Arm
• Glider Pilot Regiment and Army Air Corps: Second World War and After
• 9 Casualties and Air Crashes
• Casualties
• Air Crashes
• 10 Medals and Awards
• Royal Engineers Balloon Section: Campaign Medals
• Royal Flying Corps: Campaign Medals
• Royal Naval Air Service: Campaign Medals
• Royal Air Force: Campaign Medals
• Awards for Gallantry and Meritorious Service
• Royal Air Force Awards
• Fleet Air Arm Awards
• Glider Pilot Regiment and Army Air Corps Awards
• The London Gazette
• Long Service Awards
• Coronation and Jubilee Medals
• 11 Court Martial
• Admiralty Records
• War Office Records
• Air Ministry Records
• Supreme Court Records
• 12 Prisoners of War and War Crimes
• First World War
• Second World War
• War Crimes
• Missing Personnel
• 13 Medical Records
• Records up to 1918
• Inter-war Records
• Second World War Records
• Post-Second World War Medical Records
• 14 Photographs
• 15 Records Held by Other Institutions
• Fleet Air Arm Museum
• Royal Engineers Museum
• Museum of Army Flying
• Airborne Forces Museum
• Imperial War Museum
• Royal Air Force Museum
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• 16 Research Techniques
• Printed Sources
• The London Gazette Online
• Aids to Research
• Appendix 1: RAF Ranks
• Appendix 2: Useful Addresses
• Appendix 3: Unit Abbreviations
• Appendix 4: Royal Naval Air Stations
• Appendix 5: Command and Organizations found in AIR 24
• Appendix 6: Regimental Order of Precedence
• Further Reading and Websites
• Index