Assistance please in researching
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:25 am
Thank you for accepting me onto this forum. This is my first posting to the group so I would appreciate any advice that can be given to my query below.
I am investigating my uncle’s time in 38 Group during WW2. Unfortunately he passed away in 2017 so I am unable to ask him any questions although like many involved in the war, when family tried to ask he was generally very reticent to provide many details other than a few general stories. However, I would like to try to bottom out what he actually did during the war years. One of the repeated stories was that he flew in Mosquitoes/Pathfinders but my initial searches have not uncovered anything about those from the particular airfields he was based at, especially as the bases were mainly using Stirlings.
I have his full service records and have been able to determine a few things from them. He enlisted in 1941, was trained as a navigator/bomber and was sent to No. 5 Air Observer school in Winnipeg, Canada (July to Aug 1944) and then sent back to the UK and placed initially in the 42 OTU and then the 1665 HCU. He was based at several airfields (Ashbourne, Saltby, Matching, Great Dunmow, Shepherds Grove) from Sep 1944 to Feb 1946 with that unit or 38 Group HQ but there is no mention as to any squadron he might have flown with which I thought to be unusual. There is also no log book that has been found amongst his possessions, whether he would have had one or not I don’t know. His rank was Flight Officer during that period of time and subsequently promoted to Flight Lieutenant in June 1946 so I would have thought his name would have been recorded on flights if he made them. However, I am also aware that SOE ops were flown from these bases and that some people have indicated that records may not be available if he flew on any of these (I stand to be corrected if that is an incorrect conclusion).
I know there are Operation Report Books available for the various squadrons based at the named airfields and also for the 1665 HCU. I don’t want to order copies online as yet as that could turn out to be quite expensive and a waste if he is not actually named in them, so my plan was to go to Kew to try to view some of these books.
Are these books/records and Kew the best places to initially start looking for further information or can anyone suggest anything else that I might consider? I am not looking for anyone to do the research on my behalf as for me that is half the fun of researching family history but just to give me a few pointers in the right direction.
Thanks in advance for any advice on this matter that can be given from experienced researchers on this forum.
I am investigating my uncle’s time in 38 Group during WW2. Unfortunately he passed away in 2017 so I am unable to ask him any questions although like many involved in the war, when family tried to ask he was generally very reticent to provide many details other than a few general stories. However, I would like to try to bottom out what he actually did during the war years. One of the repeated stories was that he flew in Mosquitoes/Pathfinders but my initial searches have not uncovered anything about those from the particular airfields he was based at, especially as the bases were mainly using Stirlings.
I have his full service records and have been able to determine a few things from them. He enlisted in 1941, was trained as a navigator/bomber and was sent to No. 5 Air Observer school in Winnipeg, Canada (July to Aug 1944) and then sent back to the UK and placed initially in the 42 OTU and then the 1665 HCU. He was based at several airfields (Ashbourne, Saltby, Matching, Great Dunmow, Shepherds Grove) from Sep 1944 to Feb 1946 with that unit or 38 Group HQ but there is no mention as to any squadron he might have flown with which I thought to be unusual. There is also no log book that has been found amongst his possessions, whether he would have had one or not I don’t know. His rank was Flight Officer during that period of time and subsequently promoted to Flight Lieutenant in June 1946 so I would have thought his name would have been recorded on flights if he made them. However, I am also aware that SOE ops were flown from these bases and that some people have indicated that records may not be available if he flew on any of these (I stand to be corrected if that is an incorrect conclusion).
I know there are Operation Report Books available for the various squadrons based at the named airfields and also for the 1665 HCU. I don’t want to order copies online as yet as that could turn out to be quite expensive and a waste if he is not actually named in them, so my plan was to go to Kew to try to view some of these books.
Are these books/records and Kew the best places to initially start looking for further information or can anyone suggest anything else that I might consider? I am not looking for anyone to do the research on my behalf as for me that is half the fun of researching family history but just to give me a few pointers in the right direction.
Thanks in advance for any advice on this matter that can be given from experienced researchers on this forum.