Filed under RAF Squadrons and Operations Records: A Method Guide
Where should you start looking?
A photograph proves appearance at a place and time only when it is captioned, dated or firmly placed by other evidence. Use photographs as prompts for record searches, not as substitutes for them.
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. If the first search returns a crowd of same-name results, narrow by dates before you narrow by anything else: dates cut a crowd faster than spellings do.
Working through it in order
If the steps feel slow, that is the point. Speed in this work usually means a skipped check, and skipped checks are where wrong timelines begin. A useful habit is to write the question at the top of your notes before each step, and the answer, with its reference, underneath it when the step ends. Keep the timeline open beside you as you work, and add to it as you go, rather than reconstructing it at the end from memory.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Take the posting dates from the personal file before opening any unit record. |
| 2 | Open the operations record book for those dates only, and note its reference. |
| 3 | Check names, ranks and roles in crew or personnel lists against the personal file. |
| 4 | Use station records and published histories only after the unit record for those dates has been read. |
Reading what the record actually says
Entries in pencil, entries in ink, and entries stamped later are not the same kind of evidence. The medium often tells you when an entry was made. When a file is thin, read it twice: once for what it says, and once for what kind of file it is. A thin file read as a thick one will be over-interpreted. The absence of an entry where the form expects one is worth noting. A blank column can mean not applicable, not recorded, or not surviving, and each means something different.
What are the common dead ends?
A photograph, a medal, or a story that points to a unit the records do not support is a prompt for one more check, not evidence that the records are wrong. A unit, ship or camp that cannot be fixed from the clues available is a reason to gather one more clue, not a reason to guess the most likely candidate. The quietest dead end is a record you never open because a search snippet looked irrelevant. Open the catalogue description, not just the snippet, before you dismiss it.
What should you check next?
Let the dates decide the direction. The next record should cover the dates the timeline is weakest on, not the dates it already covers well. If the timeline now has a gap with a name on each side of it, the next record is the one that could bridge that gap, and no other record will do.
Keep the person, the number and the dates together as you move to the next record, and re-check them on arrival. Filters drift when they are carried in memory. If this guide has made the next record obvious, it has succeeded. Go to that record, and take the question with you.
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.