Where would I start to look for the names of ground and aircrew who lost their lives while working on or flying from a particular airfield during 1941 to 1945?.
Do I try Kew, Hendon, or write to the Air Historical branch of the RAF?.
And has anyone else carried out this type of research and had success?.
By: Denis - 2nd April 2005 at 17:35
Thank you Geoff,
I will start looking into this right away. Many thanks
By: von Perthes - 2nd April 2005 at 09:01
Dennis,
Kew is probably the first place to start. You’ll need to check the Operations Record Book (ORB) for the airfield which covers the period you’re interested in, and also any appendicies to the ORB for the same period. Next will be the ORBs & appendicies for the squadrons and other units based at the airfield during the relevant period, not forgetting squadons that used it as a forward base etc.
The Kew (TNA) website is at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm Here you can search the on-line catalogue to see what is available. If you already have a Reader’s Card you can pre-order documents so they are there when you arrive, although anything on micro-film doesn’t need to be ordered. If you don’t have a Reader’s Card you will need to get one on your first visit, as they can’t be ordered over the Internet.
This will give you a list of names which can be checked against the CWGC website or books such as ‘Bomber Command losses….’ to confirm if aircrew posted missing were killed or not. There are also records relating to POWs, and a book for Bomber Command which lists theirs, at Kew which can also be checked.
It may also be worth checking local wartime Police records, as it seems the local Police were informed of missing aircraft in case they might have come down in the local area.
Using the CWGC website, you could also try checking the churchyards & cemetaries near to your base to look for aircrew who were buried locally rather than taken home. The airfield ORB may well give you the name of the place which was used by the airfield for burials.
This may well pick up ground crew/non-flying personnel who are very unlikely to be mentioned at all in the squadron ORBs, and whose deaths are not always mentioned in the airfield ORB. They are the most difficult to find, but the Internet may well help these days, with a search for ground crew associations etc.
I don’t know how useful Hendon or the AHB would be, but it may be best to save them for checking any names that you can’t confirm from any other source as having lost their lives.
I hope this is helpful to you, and that others will also come up with some ideas for you.
Good hunting!
Geoff.
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April 1, 2005 at 11:12 pm