Starting here, in order
Check the filters in the order the record itself uses them: the catalogue structure, not your own curiosity, decides what a search can find. A variant spelling is not a different person, and an identical spelling is not the same person. Both mistakes come from trusting spelling alone.
- 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
Compare the entry with the next dated entry before you interpret either. Meaning in these records often sits in the change between two entries, not in one entry alone. 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.
When is a match safe to use?
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. When every avenue returns the same dead end, the dead end itself is information: it tells you where the record system stops, and that boundary is worth noting.
What does this section cover?
A squadron record tells you what a unit did, not what one person did. Operations record books and squadron histories give the daily or monthly shape of a unit, and a person's place in that shape has to be proved by matching names, dates and roles, never assumed from a squadron number alone. 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 published squadron histories. 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
Move between record types deliberately, and note the move. A timeline that jumps record types without noting the jumps cannot be audited. Use the pillar guide for this section as a map, and the neighbouring guides as the detail for the exact point you have reached. 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
Claims in this guide are kept general and point to official holders, so you can check the current position with the holder itself. This guide is general educational information only. It is not personal professional advice, it does not offer a record lookup service, and it does not determine any individual's service.