Help needed with interpreting this RFC Service Record please.

[Romilly]

I've obtained the RFC WW1 Service Record for my late Uncle, George Felix Wilson (1900 - 1970) but am struggling to make sense of it...

Can anyone on here make out where he was stationed, and when and where he was wounded? I believe that he was Invalided back to England in October 1918.

Cheers, Romilly.

[jim1]

I'm afraid it's too blurred to read. You need to scan it at a higher resolution.
This is only 74 Kb. You are allowed up to 500Kb. for a single image.

[MaxD]

Cadet Distribution Depot London
Reserve Depot (later RAF Depot) Blandford
No 1 School of Air Fighting Ayr
renamed No 1 School of Air Fighting and Gunnery
Central Flying School Upavon

The posting to the Air Ministry may have been simple administrative rather than physical.

Appointed to a (temporary) commission in Aug 18.

Invalided from France 2 Oct 1918.  Appears to have been on the books of CFS to Dec 18 stationed at Blandford.  There was a spell in hospital in Sep to Nov 18 which appears to have put his career in difficulty.

maxD

[Romilly]

Cadet Distribution Depot London
Reserve Depot (later RAF Depot) Blandford
No 1 School of Air Fighting Ayr
renamed No 1 School of Air Fighting and Gunnery
Central Flying School Upavon

The posting to the Air Ministry may have been simple administrative rather than physical.

Appointed to a (temporary) commission in Aug 18.

Invalided from France 2 Oct 1918.  Appears to have been on the books of CFS to Dec 18 stationed at Blandford.  There was a spell in hospital in Sep to Nov 18 which appears to have put his career in difficulty.

maxD

Many Thanks indeed maxD! Greatly appreciated.

And thanks too Jim1 for looking.( I shrank the page down to post on here, - I could re-do, but I think that maxD has told me everything that I wanted to know).

Cheers, Romilly.

[MaxD]

Romilly
Don't know whether you have this but your man first joined the Royal Naval Division on 11 Oct 1915.  However, he knocked 3 years off his age and said he was born 18 Feb 1897 rather than 1900.  He was attached to the 6th Battalion which was, as far as I can make out, in Gallipoli at the time.  The "attachment" almost certainly means he was on their books but not actually posted there as when he was found out he was discharged as under age from the RND training centre at Crystal Palace on 11 March 1916. Nonetheless, for his service he qualified for the British War Medal (the RN didn't have to serve overseas for this medal).  His record is at the National Archives http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7259759#imageViewerLink oand on FindMyPast if you have a sub.

The squadron he was invalided from later when in the RAF was 101 Squadron, there are a number of records at the National Archives, none unfortunately digitised.

maxD

[Romilly]

Many Thanks again maxD.

I didn't know about the Royal Naval Division, - I thought that he had joined the Army! (I found a newspaper cutting in the Welsh Newspapers on-line Site about him, entitled, 'Grammar School Boy runs away to join up', - or something like that:-) I think that his Mother, (my Grandmother) wrote to them pointing out his age, - hence the discharge. (Sounds like he had a lucky escape, - missing Gallipoli!) I would imagine that he was keen to join up, as his  3 elder brothers, (including my late Father) were in the RNR at the time.

The part of his Service record that I posted I downloaded from the National Archives, Ref: AIR/76/554

I'm looking at his Service for his daughter, (my first cousin). She has photos of him in the RFC, but didn't know where he was based, etc...

After WW1 he trained as an architect, later going into partnership with Sir John Tate. Sadly, he was responsible for some of the post WW2 re-building of Swansea. He also designed 'The Dragon' Hotel in Swansea.

Cheers, Romilly.

[newburychap]

He was never at risk of going to Gallipoli, by the time he would have finished basic training the Allies had evacuated the peninsula.

[Romilly]

He was never at risk of going to Gallipoli, by the time he would have finished basic training the Allies had evacuated the peninsula.

Just as well for him!

Romilly