Filed under RAF Service Records: A Method Guide
Where should you start looking?
Officer research follows the same spine as other ranks, but the paper trail often runs through commissioning records, service papers and published lists in addition to the service record itself. Keep the person, the rank and the dates together, because officers changed appointments often.
A person who served in two periods, two units, or two services will look like two people until the threads are joined by dates and numbers. The question to carry into every record is small: does this name, number, unit and date belong to the person I started with, or to someone like them?
How to read this kind of entry
If an entry seems to contradict the previous entry, read the entries between them. The contradiction often dissolves into a transfer, a posting, or a correction. The order of sheets in a file is not always the order of events. Rebuild the date order yourself, and do not trust filing order to do it for you. Look for what the entry does not say, as well as what it says. A missing expected entry, a blank column, or a skipped date is itself a finding.
What are the common dead ends?
The most expensive dead end is a wrong person adopted early. Everything after that looks consistent, because it was built on the wrong foundation. The common dead ends here are a shared name, a variant spelling, a thin record for the dates you need, and a unit that cannot be fixed from the clues available. A missing sheet, a closed record, or a file held by another holder are three different problems, and each has a different next step. Do not treat them as one problem called missing.
How do you work through it step by step?
Order matters more than speed here. The same records, opened in a different order, produce a different timeline, and only one of those orders can be checked. Do not skip the step that checks the filters. It feels redundant when the filters seem obvious, and it is the step that catches wrong persons. Work from the most reliable record you have towards the least, not from the most interesting towards the most convenient.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fix the service dates first, so you know which holder is likely to hold the file. |
| 2 | Note the service number exactly, including any change after remustering or re-enlistment. |
| 3 | List postings in date order, and treat each posting as a separate check against unit records. |
| 4 | Test every later record, medal or casualty entry, against the personal file before adding it to the timeline. |
Where to go next from here
The next record in the chain is usually the one for the same dates in a different record set, not the next date in the same record set. Ask what single fact would most strengthen the weakest link in the timeline, and let that fact choose the next record.
The cluster around this guide is a chain, not a shelf. Reading it in chain order, following the links at the foot of each page, keeps the person in view. Stop at the record that answers the question, and note the reference before moving on.
Primary sources for this guide
This guide keeps its claims general and points to the official holders, so the holder itself is the place to check the current position. It is general educational information only, not personal professional advice, and it offers no record lookup service and no determination of any individual's service.