Filed under RAF Service Records: A Method Guide
What to check first in this record
Gaps usually mean a missing sheet, a transfer between units, a period recorded elsewhere, or damage and loss in the original filing. A gap is a finding to note, not a licence to fill it with a plausible story.
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. Where a clue comes from a relative, note who supplied it and when. A clue supplied decades later carries different weight from one written at the time. Do not let a familiar surname carry the search. In a large record set, a familiar surname is the weakest filter you have.
A step by step way through
Work one question at a time, and resist the urge to answer three questions from one record. A record that answers one question well beats a record stretched across three. 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.
- Fix the service dates first, so you know which holder is likely to hold the file.
- Note the service number exactly, including any change after remustering or re-enlistment.
- List postings in date order, and treat each posting as a separate check against unit records.
- Test every later record, medal or casualty entry, against the personal file before adding it to the timeline.
Reading what the record actually says
A date written in one format on one sheet and another format on the next is the same date wearing two formats. Convert carefully, and keep the original. An entry that names a place but no unit, or a unit but no date, is a partial clue. Use it to frame the next search, not to close the question. A record that names several people should be read for all of them, not just for yours. The others are what prove, or break, the identification.
What are the common dead ends?
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. A gap of a few weeks in a diary, a log, or a file is normal. A gap of months, in the same record, is a question. Learn the normal gap size for the record type.
- A variant spelling of the surname, or initials used instead of a full name.
- A second service number after remustering or a break in service.
- A file for later dates that has not yet transferred holder.
- A reserve or auxiliary period filed apart from the regular file.
The next record in the chain
If you feel the urge to keep reading guides rather than opening records, stop. Guides orient research; records advance it, and orientation without records is drift. From here, the productive move is usually sideways, into a different record set for the same dates, rather than forwards into the next date. Trust the dated entry over the vivid memory, and keep both in your notes, clearly labelled, so neither can quietly replace the other.
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.