Starting here, in order
Initials are a filter, not an identity. A search on initials plus surname will match strangers, and a search that ignores initials will miss the right person. What you do not know matters as much as what you know, because a search built on an assumed date or an assumed unit will miss the right record.
- Start with the person: name, number, service, dates.
- Settle the unit or ship from the record, where it allows that.
- Read the record for those dates, and note its reference as you go.
- Let only dated, sourced facts into the timeline.
The organisation behind these records
Do not assume a modern map, a modern rank table, or a modern unit list applies to a record from another decade. Check the period source for the period entry. Check whether an entry was written by the unit, by a clerk, or by a later compiler. The writer decides how much weight the entry can carry.
When is a match safe to use?
A name that appears in a local list but in no national record may be a local spelling, a nickname, or a different person entirely. Test all three. If two records give the same person different numbers, do not pick one and discard the other. Numbers change on transfer, on re-enlistment, and on reorganisation.
What does this section cover?
Trades and ranks are the shorthand of a service record, and they change meaning over time. A trade title from one decade does not always mean the same job in the next, so read every trade and rank entry with its date, and check it against a service glossary or museum source for that period. This section is organised as one pillar guide plus supporting guides that each answer one question about the same record type. Read the pillar first for the shape of the records, then follow the supporting guides for the detail that matches your case.
The records in this section are held principally by The National Archives, the RAF Museum and service glossaries. Holdings change as transfer and digitisation programmes proceed, so the holder and coverage statements in each guide describe the general position and point you to the holder's current guidance for the exact position.
Going further in this section
Note the reference of this record before you leave it. A timeline without references cannot be revisited, and a revisit is where most errors get caught. Check the holder current guidance before any next step that involves a request, a copy, or a visit. Guidance changes, and a step planned on old guidance wastes a session. The person you started with is the test for every next step. If a step loses that person, it is the wrong step, however interesting it looks.
Primary sources for this guide
Everything here is kept general and tied to official holders, so check the current position with the holder for your own case. The guide is educational information only: it is not personal professional advice, it is not a lookup service, and it settles nothing about any one person's service.