Air Force Records

This practical and accessible guide shows how to explore British air forces – and ancestors who served in them – through the wealth of material at The National Archives and elsewhere.

Reviews:
If you are planning on going to Kew (even if you are an old hand) it would be well worth investing in a copy Air Historical Society Journal
With this expertly written book you will certainly be guided along the right path on how to achieve the researcher's goal Air Crew Association


Thoroughly revised and updated, it covers air forces as varied as the Royal Engineers Balloon Section, the Royal Flying Corps, the RAF and WRAF, Fleet Air Arm, Glider Pilot Regiment and Royal Naval Air Service, in campaigns spanning the Boer War and two World Wars to Korea, Kenya and Suez. Written by a military specialist who served in the Fleet Air Arm, it considers all aspects of air force records, from operational record books and unit war diaries to individual service records, medal rolls, gallantry awards and casualty lists.

Air Force Records draws on an insider’s knowledge to chart the online releases of records such as:
• Medal Index cards
• World War II Unit Diaries
• London Gazette
• Repatriated prisoners of war (World War I and II) debriefs
• Courts martial
and shows how to use them in your own research. Whether you are tracing an ancestor, squadron, airbase or campaign, this is an invaluable guide to Britain’s air forces and the thousands who served in them.

Contents:
• Military Flying up to 1914
• Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force up to 1918
• Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Glider Pilot Regiment and Army Air Corps from 1919
• Royal Engineers Balloon Section Records of Service
• Royal Flying Corps Records of Service
• Royal Naval Air Service Records of Service
• Royal Air Force and Women's Royal Air Force Records of Service
• Operational Records
• Casualties and Air Crashes
• Medals and Awards
• Courts Martial
• Prisoners of War and War Crimes
• Medical Records
• Photographs
• Records Held by Other Institutions
• Research Techniques

Author:
William Spencer has been the military specialist at The National Archives since 1996. He served in the Fleet Air Arm for 13 years, including active service with 848 Squadron in the South Atlantic, and holds an MA in War Studies from the prestigious Department of War Studies at King’s College, London. He is the author of the bestselling Medals: The Researcher’s Guide (The National Archives, 2006), Family History in the Wars (2007), and two other flagship titles for the new series, Army Records and First World War Army Service Records (2008).