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  1. #1
    Newcomer to Brit-Gen
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    May 2023
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    Default Help Understand Military Records Search

    Hi All
    Can anyone help me understand my Military Search Record findings for my Dad.
    We know he served in the British Army Tank Corps during WWII. We have photos of him with his tank and all his crew buddies. Posted to Singapore during WWII and then to India following the war. We have photos of him sailing on the 'Otranto' with the same group of buddies.
    However when I did a Military Records search for my Dad the only one that came up was for detail of the RAF, Militia , Archive Ref: AIR 78 89 12, stating that he was a former Air Training Corps Cadet. He Enlisted at Cardington in December 1944.??? All of which we have no knowledge. I have been unable to find any other Military record for him.
    Please can anyone explain this situation to me as we do not understand why an RAF record is the only one we can find when we know he drove Tanks during WWII,
    My Dad has passed away following Alzheimer's so we were unable to ask him about his Service. He had never previously spoken of it to anyone in the family.
    Many Thanks in Advance.

  2. #2

    Default

    Hello and welcome to BritGen

    For Army records please see this post

    Regarding the RAF query, he might have enlisted into the RAF then transferred to the Tank Corp.

    Hope this helps

  3. #3
    Super Moderator - Completely bonkers and will never change.
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
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    Default

    Hello Shaz,

    Firstly, does you dad have a very unusual, possibly unique, name? It's surprising how many names you think are unusual but when you dig a little deeper there's hundreds (well at least ten) in that time frame. Hence finding the RAF record when you know your dad drove tanks.

    Secondly, there are military records which are often a snapshot of an event during someone's service, and then there are service records which should give fuller details of where someone was and what they were doing throughout their time in the miltary.
    Although service records for personnel who served before a certain time are in the process of being transferred to The National Archives, at the moment they are still mainly held by the Ministry of Defence.
    You need to read all the posts in the link Neil gave you, but then refer to the first paragraph in Lesley's first post and click on the link in the second line re applying for service records.

    Don't worry about providing a service number. The relevant details are the full name and date of birth. Plus, if it's a common name, if you know where someone was born, might have been living when they enlisted, or name of next of kin, it should help eliminate a few possibles. At a quick guess, I would estimate that your dad was born less than 116 years ago, so you will need to send a copy of his death certificate.

    If you have any further questions, do come back and ask again.
    Vulcan XH558 - “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

  4. #4
    Newcomer to Brit-Gen
    Join Date
    May 2023
    Location
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    Default

    Thank you to everyone who has provided information following my post asking for help understanding my search for my Dads Military Records. I'm new to posting and 'threads' so still not sure how to use and follow on etc, slowly finding my way.
    The information has been very useful. I applied for a full Military Record back in April 2021 and only received all of the paper work along with my cheque, back to me this week (17th May 2023). So yes I think there is quite a backlog of applications. Very kind of them to return my cheque etc. I only provided my dads full name and a death certificate which was not enough for them to trace him, they have asked me to try and find service number/numbers and to reapply for them to try again for me. Patience is needed.
    Thank you once again to those who responded to my thread. x

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