Author Topic: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please  (Read 5448 times)

Offline DavidJP

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Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« on: Sunday 08 January 17 22:48 GMT (UK) »
Hi all,

I recently sent of for my maternal grandfather's WW2 RAF service records & received them 4 weeks later! I have since been trying to decode/translate the records. I have I think been reasonably successful with this, but am not 100% certain. This is where hopefully RootsChat comes in!

Below is what I have worked out so far from both the 10 page document I received with the service records & from googling!

My grandfather was John Phillips (1923-1981), service number 1603323 & the below are his list of postings.


Unit From            Unit To                                                Date of Movement

                          Oxford                                                   5-1-42
Oxford                Reserve                                                6-1-42
Res?                   1 ACRC (Air Crew Reception Centre)  13-7-42                 
                          S. Rhodesia                                           24-8-42
                          ITW Boulawayo (Initial Training Wing)
                          27 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School)  1-3-43             
                          21 SFTS (Service Flying Training School)                           
                          HE (Home Embarkation)                              17-12-43
                          7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre)                                 
                          16 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School)  17-3-44     
                          7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre)              14-4-44         
                          3 EFTS? (Elementary Flying Training School)  21-4-44                   
                          7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre)             12-5-44       
                          24 ?                                                                 17-5-44
                          7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre)             14-6-44       
                          Hornchurch (a) ?                                               19-6-44
                          7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre)             21-7-44       
A                        22 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School)  8-9-44           
                           7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre)             18-10-44       
                           4 S of TT (Technical Training Depot)                                   
                           71 Base                                                          29-12-44             
                           Sturgate (A) ?                                                 29-12-44                       
                           71 Base                                                                             
                           550 Sqdn  (Squadron)                 24-3-45                         
                           7 PRC (Personnel Reception Centre)             12-4-45       
                           2 ACSEA  (Air Command South East Asia)
                           264 MU?  (Maintenance Unit)                        11-2-46           
                           Fighter Sector. H.A West ? ? / PLT?/258        18-2-46
                           Met.? Sect?                                                     16-8-46
                          100 PDC  (Personnel Despatch/Dispersal Centre) 26-9-46     

The entries in black are what I have transcribed/read the entries as on the original. The entries in blue are what I have hopefully correctly decoded the abbreviations to be. First time I've had a go at this type of thing, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if I've made a mess of it! ;D

Can anyone fill in the blanks (where the question marks are) for me please?

I don't really understand what the records are telling me. My grandfather seems to have spent a lot of time at flying training schools of one type or another. Another thing that I have noticed is that after his return from Southern Rhodesia, he never seems to be anywhere for very long at all, why?

Below should hopefully be snips of the original list of postings.

Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards

David

Aitcheson, Aldred, Batty, Bauer, Bone, Brewer, Dean, Doyle, Durant, Fife, Finney, Gibson, Graham/Grayham, Hall, Harrison, Hersey, Hill, Holliss, Hudson, Hussey, Insley, Kelsey, King, Laver, Longmore, Luke, Mellor, Newman, North, Parker, Phillips, Porter, Read, Robinson, Rowel, Spink, Sproxton, Steer, Stevenson, Tanner, Witty/Whitty, Warburton, Wood.
(For more information on the above surnames please check the Surname Interest Table below.)

Offline ..claire..

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #1 on: Monday 09 January 17 00:40 GMT (UK) »

Wonder if the 'A' after Sturgate and Hornchurch is just a for Airfield. Interesting the date he was posted to Hornchurch ~ four days later saw a V1 missile just fall short of the airfield.

http://www.rafhornchurch.thehumanjourney.net/History/Vegeance.htm

claire

Luce, Tippett , Thomson, Dolling ~ Devon & Cornwall
Mocquard ~ London, France
Census info is Crown Copyright http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline ..claire..

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #2 on: Monday 09 January 17 00:48 GMT (UK) »

PLT ~ Pilot ?

MET ~ meteorological ?

Google is my best friend  ;D

https://ww2memories.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/common-abbreviations-on-ww2-raf-records-l-m-n/
Luce, Tippett , Thomson, Dolling ~ Devon & Cornwall
Mocquard ~ London, France
Census info is Crown Copyright http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline DavidJP

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #3 on: Monday 09 January 17 01:01 GMT (UK) »
Hi Claire,

Many thanks for your replies, very much appreciated.


Wonder if the 'A' after Sturgate and Hornchurch is just a for Airfield. Interesting the date he was posted to Hornchurch ~ four days later saw a V1 missile just fall short of the airfield.

Looks like another one hit one of the airfields flightpaths on the same day! Yikes!!

Many thanks for the links, much appreciated.

Pilot would make sense as he was just that. Had been recommended for training as a pilot/observer when he joined up. He was Co-pilot then pilot looking at his other details.

My thanks again.

Kind regards

David
Aitcheson, Aldred, Batty, Bauer, Bone, Brewer, Dean, Doyle, Durant, Fife, Finney, Gibson, Graham/Grayham, Hall, Harrison, Hersey, Hill, Holliss, Hudson, Hussey, Insley, Kelsey, King, Laver, Longmore, Luke, Mellor, Newman, North, Parker, Phillips, Porter, Read, Robinson, Rowel, Spink, Sproxton, Steer, Stevenson, Tanner, Witty/Whitty, Warburton, Wood.
(For more information on the above surnames please check the Surname Interest Table below.)


Offline q98

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #4 on: Monday 09 January 17 04:27 GMT (UK) »
Hi DavidJP
A little information which hopefully assist your search:

264 Maintenance Unit, formed at Abbot's Ripton August 1945; disbanded September 1948.

RAF Sturgate is a former RAF station located 10 miles (16 km) north of London. It was one of the last bomber airfields built during WW2 and opened too late to see operational service. Refer:
http://www.forgottenairfields.com/united-kingdom/england/lincolnshire/sturgate-s1203.html

RAF Acronyms/Abbreviations: see http://www.associations.rafinfo.org.uk/acronyms.htm

4 S of TT: Refer http://www.raf.mod.uk/modstathan/

The following website can be used to submit information requests related to 550 Squadron members. Refer  https://550squadron.wordpress.com/information-request/

Good luck.

q98
q98
32.04'.04"S 115.48'.30"E
Hamilton, Kennedy, Lovell, McCreadie, Murray, Workman - Ayrshire, Scotland
Lovell - Texas, USA
McCreadie - Dunedin, NZ
Boyle - Eire
McCreadie, Wills, Wyatt - Queensland
Tait/Tate - Toronto, Canada
Workman, McEwan - OFS, South Africa

Offline rafcommands

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #5 on: Monday 09 January 17 09:10 GMT (UK) »
A is attached.

Essentially it means that he is still on the strength of the previous unit (and will usually return after attachment) but for messing and admin/pay his requirements will be provided by the attached unit.

HE is Home Establishment not embarkation. Defines that on qualification after basic training he was assigned to the Home force rather than Field.

Ross
Sea Losses of RAF Aircraft 1918 to date.

RAF Coastal Command 1939-45.

Between the Wars RAF Officers and Warrant Officers.

Offline rafcommands

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #6 on: Monday 09 January 17 11:42 GMT (UK) »
Generally the answer to many movements for newly trained aircrew in the 1944/45 period is that the system of training had become too efficient and there was an excess of aircrew coming out of the schools and OTU compared to losses.

Many pilots were re-assigned to Glider Pilot Regiment to make up losses at Arnhem as well as being used for interim admin duties.

However in this case I inclined to think of another reason specific to the man.

Can you copy the Mustering section of the Record? It will clear things up.

Ross
Sea Losses of RAF Aircraft 1918 to date.

RAF Coastal Command 1939-45.

Between the Wars RAF Officers and Warrant Officers.

Offline DavidJP

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #7 on: Monday 09 January 17 22:56 GMT (UK) »
Hi q98 & Ross,

Many thanks for replies, very much appreciated.

q98 many thanks for details re 264 maintenance unit & RAF Sturgate, many thanks for links also, much appreciated.

Ross, many thanks for info thus far, much appreciated. Below is mustering section as requested, also the promotions section.

I know that my grandfather was a Warrant Officer at War's end.

My thanks again.

Kind regards

David

Aitcheson, Aldred, Batty, Bauer, Bone, Brewer, Dean, Doyle, Durant, Fife, Finney, Gibson, Graham/Grayham, Hall, Harrison, Hersey, Hill, Holliss, Hudson, Hussey, Insley, Kelsey, King, Laver, Longmore, Luke, Mellor, Newman, North, Parker, Phillips, Porter, Read, Robinson, Rowel, Spink, Sproxton, Steer, Stevenson, Tanner, Witty/Whitty, Warburton, Wood.
(For more information on the above surnames please check the Surname Interest Table below.)

Offline rafcommands

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Re: Help Needed with Decoding/Translating of WW2 RAF Service Record Please
« Reply #8 on: Tuesday 10 January 17 09:11 GMT (UK) »
Cheers for that - makes things clearer.

He deviates from the normal service pilot training progression on return to the UK.

I would normally expect PRC to Advanced Pilot Flying Unit, (P)AFU, to Operational Training Unit, OTU, then Heavy Conversion Unit, HCU, and possibly Lancaster Finishing School, LFS. Roughly 1.5 years from entry to operational squadron.

As an aside it was considered to take approx 50 flying hours from no flying experience recruit to pilot in command of Lancaster/Halifax in 1944. In 2010 the RAF used the estimate of 45 flying hours from raw entrant to pilot in command of Typhoon jet. So in both cases the common denominator is time to gain muscle/brain motor skill rather than aircraft complexity,

The mustering shows he gained Pilot qualification before return to the UK so the repeat EFTS attachments are not flying assessments prior to washout decision.

Because he was not posted to (P)AFU he did not stall at this stage. He also retains the Pilot qualification on musterings so did not lose his status.

My take is that at SFTS he was identified has having a exceptional ability for one of the ground instruction classes that was part of normal elementary pilot training. On return to the UK the PRC attached him as a non flying instructor to two EFTS for assement.

He is then used by the PRC as a ad hoc ground class instructor hence the attachments to various EFTS and Stations before being retained by re-training when the wartime training scheme was reduced at end of 1944.

His retraining was at No.4 School of Technical Training.

His rise in the ranks during the UK period is faster than normal for a ground based instructor with pilot qualification so the change of progression path was one that met approval with the "Airships".

Also of note is that on the contraction of the RAF at war end he was not released along with the surplus of Driver(aeroplane) but was retained in post and advanced to Warrant Officer when all around were being reduced from war substansive ranks to lower peace establishment post rank.

Ross
Sea Losses of RAF Aircraft 1918 to date.

RAF Coastal Command 1939-45.

Between the Wars RAF Officers and Warrant Officers.