RAF Service Records

Supporting guides

• How Do I Find an RAF Service Record?
  Work out the service dates first, then check whether the record is held by The National Archives or by the Ministry of Defence. Records move between holders by date and by transfer programme, so the holder is a date question before it is a search question.
• What Does an RAF Service Number Tell You?
  A service number is mainly a unique identifier, not a code that decodes a whole career. Its value is that it lets you match the same person across a service record, an operations record book, a medal roll and a casualty record, and it helps separate two people with the same name.
• Which Dates Decide Where an RAF Record Is Held?
  The date of service is the first filter for where a record is held, because older records have generally transferred to The National Archives while more recent service records remain with the Ministry of Defence. Check the current holder guidance for the dates in question before you send any request anywhere.
• How Do I Research an RAF Officer?
  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.
• How Do I Research RAF Other Ranks?
  For other ranks, the service record plus trade and posting entries carry most of the career. Musterings changed over time, so read the trade entry in the context of its date rather than assuming a modern trade title means the same job.
• How Do I Research WAAF Service?
  Women's Auxiliary Air Force service is researched through the same service record method as RAF service, with attention to enrolment, trade, posting and discharge entries. Do not assume a posting tells you the whole story: many WAAF trades were station based and the station record may add context the personal record does not.
• What About RAF Reserve and Auxiliary Service?
  Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force service can appear in separate papers from regular service, and a person may have more than one period of service. Treat each period as its own research thread and do not merge two periods into one timeline until the dates and numbers line up.
• Why Are There Gaps in an RAF Service 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.
• How Do I Read RAF Discharge Papers?
  Discharge papers summarise service at the end point: character, trade, medals claimed or issued, and the reason for leaving. Read them as a summary written at one date, and check each claim against the fuller service record behind it.
• How Do RAF Casualty Records Fit the Service Record?
  Casualty records confirm the fact, date and place of death or injury, but they do not replace the service record. Use them to anchor the end of a timeline, then work backwards through postings to see where the person served before that date.
• Can I Get a Copy of an RAF Service Record?
  Copies depend on the holder, the date of service, and the rules that apply to records of deceased persons, including proof of death where the holder asks for it. This site does not request records for you: it explains how the holder's process works so you can approach the holder directly.
• What If No RAF Service Record Turns Up?
  A record that does not turn up may be held under a different spelling, a different number, a later transfer date, or a different service altogether. Re-check name variants, initials and dates, and test whether the person served in another service or in a reserve before concluding the record is lost.