I am hoping to go up to the National Archives shortly to look at Squadron ORBs. Could anyone tell me if these are fairly easily accessible at all or do they have to be ordered in the usual wa?. It is a while since I have been up there and I have to get my readers ticket renewed as well.
Many Thanks
OG
By: Old Git - 14th September 2014 at 11:01
Many Thanks for all the very helpful responses here. This is all totally new to me as I am a civil researcher more than anything. The idea of downloading them had a very strong appeal I have to say but I am getting my overweight carcass into gear and will go up.
Many Thanks
OG
By: Sabrejet - 10th September 2014 at 11:25
Search before you go on the TNA ‘Discovery’ tool: no need for those old paper index books!
By: Zidante - 10th September 2014 at 08:17
Perfect advice above. If it is just the squadron ORBs that you are after then it should be pretty trouble free as the microfilm readers are usually almost all free (on a weekday at least). If you do need something in a station ORB, and there are plenty of gems and nuggets there, order them as soon as you know you want them. If you have a list of ones you are looking for then I’m sure that some of us here can give you the reference numbers ahead of time to save looking in the red AIR indexes. When you get there, the AIR 27 ORB films are in cabinets at the far end of the section tucked away behind the information desks (looking out over the pond).
Happy hunting!
By: Edgar Brooks - 10th September 2014 at 07:02
Reader’s Card renewals can now be done in an office on the top floor, but be sure to take your two forms of I.D. The photo, typical of a passport type (if you look like it, you need the holiday) is taken at the same time, so no need to supply one. The microfilms are still on the first floor, but hidden round the back of the enquiry desks, roughly at 2 o’clock (not the one directly in front of you) as you pass through the (open) swing door, no longer in the main body. If you turn sharp right, you’ll see a row of tables, on your right, and the lever-arch files, containing the file references, are on the other side of the tables.
By: Sabrejet - 10th September 2014 at 06:41
Despite an assertion by the National Archives that WW1 diaries would be available on-line, it isn’t quite that way at the moment: coverage is patchy, and in any case (and including WW2 and more recent ORB’s), the only on-line coverage is generally restricted to AIR 27: therefore I’d alwsays recommend a visit to Kew, to make sure all corners are covered. Depending on what you’re looking for, there are often nuggets to be had in the lesser AIR files, as well as WO, AVIA etc.
By: BobKat - 9th September 2014 at 23:23
Many of the ORBs can now be downloaded online in pdf form from the National Archives website at a small cost for each month required.l Maybe you could save yourself a journey?
By: Old Git - 9th September 2014 at 22:11
Thank you Sabrejet – I have a number to go through and didn’t want to hang around waiting too long.
Best Wishes
OG
By: Sabrejet - 9th September 2014 at 13:32
The AIR files (ORB’s) are either on microfilm (easy access/no need to order) or available as the original ORB. In the latter case you can order them when you get there, and it’s usually only a 30-minute (max) wait before they turn up in your cubby hole.
Get there early to renew your ticket though, as it does get busy in there!
Sign In
September 9, 2014 at 1:08 pm