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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: ChrissieL on Sunday 17 May 20 15:47 BST (UK)
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I have found an old photo of my dads when he was in the RAF
I thought I would post it on Rootschat for anyone who might be interested. The names are written on the back but I have copied them separately.
It is dated 6 September 1941
R/C Unit. 20 Squadron. I Flight. 231 Squad.
I don't really know anything about his service career, other than he was stationed in the Middle East. If anyone can tell me any more about the squadron, I would be very interested.
Here are the names
R/C Unit. 20 Squadron. I Flight. 231 Squad
Front Row. Left to Right
M Dick. J Bradley. G Rae. W McKimley. J Brown. J Ettes. J Mitchell
Second Row. Left to Right
Wm Yuill. Wm Form. J Inglis. A Maclennan. W Fair. M. Learoyd. B Hardman. G Osborne
Centre. Cpl (Taffy) Horton
Top Row. Left to Right
K McGregor. W.M. Jones. A Blakley. T Woods. S Carter. A McLetchie. K Samuel. O Lupton. T Gay
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As far as I can tell neither of the squadrons were in the middle east. 20 Squadron at the beginning of WW2 was in India and eventually saw action against the Japanese in Burma. 231 Squadron were in Ulster then Yorkshire.
https://www.rafweb.org/Squadrons/Sqn016-20.htm and www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/231_wwII.html give info.
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All except the Cpl are ACH rank - also the R/C unit designation and high flight letter are not normal for an operational unit photo.
Suggest it is a class photo from Reception Centre - also due to background building having distinct seaside boarding house features rather than RAF Station technical site building.
Ross
edit - TNA discovery is down at the moment so I cannot post link but I suspect the photo location is Butlins at Filey - RAF Hunmanby Moor
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Thank you very much Crumblie and rafcommands for your prompt replies.
Well it's a bit of a mystery as dad is on the photo (B Hardman) and I know he was definitely in the Middle East as there are more photos in an old album of his. He was involved in the building of St Michael's Church in Tura I have some photos of it.
I agree the photo has the look of a boarding house behind it. It could be Filey as dad was from Durham, so that wouldn't be too far away
Thanks again
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I'm adding to this post from a few years ago
I would like to get my dad's service record of the time he was in the RAF during the second world war
Could anyone give me advice as who I need to contact?
My dad was Benjamin Hardman and he died in 1999
Many thanks
Christine
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https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-records-of-service
Army records from ww2 are in the process of being transferred to TNA, but I'm not sure what's happening with RAF records for the same period.
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Thank you very much. I have completed the request form and had an acknowledgement. It did say the current average waiting time is 6 months but that's OK. At least I've started the ball rolling. Thanks again
Christine
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If you did the RAF Disclosures online application and provided the required electronic proof of death - return is currently around 6 weeks.
Ask for "informal review of mustering with view to publication" - this way they can release the Mustering section without redaction rather than apply the blanket auto solution.
Ross
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Thank you Ross. That's very useful. I did provide the correct documentation so hopefully it will be processed sooner than the 6 months
Christine
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Just a quick update to say that my dad's RAF record arrived by email yesterday. Some of the information is still redacted eg Home address, next of kin, civil occupation etc. Along with the record, there is a list of abbreviations and their meanings which will be useful as I go through the details. Thanks to everyone who has helped. By the way, my original post was a photo - it did have the look of a seaside boarding house...well it was! His record indicates he was in Blackpool for his training.
Many thanks once again
ChrissieL