Looking for information on finding a confirmation or not of family members pow story.

Searching for any advice on how to find out if a family story past down is true or not. It is related that my grandfather's brother was sent to a Japanese pow camp. One story says that he was captured and as they were led through the gates of the prison they fled straight through the back gates which had been left open. Another relates to him having been a prisoner for a considerable length of time.
I have been researching for several years and only recently came across a record, see below. I am not able to make anything from this.
Other info I have:
George Augustus Gibbon Hopkins
1914 Pembrokeshire Wales to 1959
Married Joan Davies 1943.
Would appreciate any suggestions on finding out more about him.

UK, Royal Air Force Nominal Index of Airmen and Airwomen, 1918-1975

Info

Memorials

Comments

Browse

Full Name

Hopkins, George Augustus Gibbon

Information

They enlisted as a civilian into the Royal Air Force. They joined as an Aircrafthand after October 1925.

More

Appointed as a Class F Reservist

Information

Service Number

530125

Service

Royal Air Force

Primary Unit

Royal Air Force

Archive Reference

AIR 78 79 2

Conflict

Other Service

Period

Served for

United Kingdom

Unit

Royal Air Force

 

You could try here-

COFEPOW | Children & Families of Far East Prisoners of War

Have you a copy of his service records? A good place to start to confirm if, when and where he served..

Scott

 

Thank you for that link. Have been on numerous ancestry sites over yrs but cannot find his service records apart from the one listed in my thread. Whether they were destroyed perhaps or damaged? I know he served in RAF as I have photos showing him in uniform with others as well as in a RAF hockey team.

 

Tallest at back

 

Hello KD.

You will not find this relatives service records on a subscription site or otherwise via the internet. You would need to apply for them (link below would get you started on the right path)

Get a copy of military records of service

Kind regards, always, and good luck,

Jim.

P.S. Some First World War records that survived are available to download. Records originally from The National Archives, now available via Fold3. George's father's (your great uncle?) WW1 records attached as pdf below, should you not already have them (George Augustus is listed on page 2 of the records in the "Particulars as to children" section).

 

RAF service records reside in two places - The National Archives for service up to 1920s and MoD

From the service number you have given it suggests pre war service - but I caution on using this number as gospel until verified.

To apply online to MoD you need his full name, his date of birth (month and year) and an electronic copy of death certificate if he did not die in service.

A photo or pdf of certificate is acceptable.

Follow the steps on this page Start Now
Get a copy of military records of service

I would give the service number but say "assumed" and when prompted for addition information add
"request informal review of Mustering Section with view for publication"

Will cost £30 if they find a record.

Ross

 

Thank you very much. Herbert Augustus was my G Grandfather. My grandfather was George Augustus Gibbon Hopkins's brother . I have Herbert's records thank you.

 

Thank you so much for your help.

 

RAF service records are also held at Cranwell which would appear to not require the procedure to ascertain the service record via the MOD

Name and service number is sufficient to raise the service record.

Write to :

RAF Disclosures Section
Room 221b
Trenchard Hall
RAF Cranwell
Sleaford
Lincolnshire
NG34 8HB

As said a fee of £30 is involved unless the researcher qualifies for the Next of Kin category where raising the a serviceman's record is free.

 

Also, would someone be able to help me with understanding what this means related to record I have for George:
Joined as Aircraft hand after October 1925
Appointed as class F Reservist
Thank you

 

I cannot find any record for George A G Hopkins being a POW of the Japanese. If the marriage date of 1943 in #1 is correct it precludes him being captured when the majority were captured in 1941/42 - Hong Kong, Malaya, Fall of Singapore and Java. It's possible that he was captured later on in Burma. Does anyone have his medals? They may give a clue as to where he was serving.

Tim

 

Thank you for response.I have not been able to find any records of him in POW camp either, and as you spotted he was married in 1943.

Thank you for suggestion of Burma. Unfortunately we do not have his medals and I have also found no records of him in a pow camp. His brother who was a lot younger than him and passed away in 2006 was told this story, it would be great to be able to get to the bottom of this, one way or the other for the rest of the family.

 

Joined as Aircraft hand after October 1925
Appointed as class F Reservist

Partly the pay per view site trying to expand the perception of their document holding.

They have taken free to view file from TNA and tried to add value.

Hopkin, John Henry - Hopkins, Thomas Ronald. | The National Archives
Sign up and you can download this for free

The file is a collection of index cards only giving name, service number and on a few cards a stamp of F in a circle.

The service number is in a batch allocated to Civilian entry - This batch ran from 1925 to 1939 so saying after 1925 is correct but does not give the actual year of enlistment. All non service transfer entries start as ACH so again Aircraft hand is correct in that every enlistment into that batch 1925 to 1938 started off as ACH.

His name is very specific and there is only one card that matches so the confidence that it is his card and service number is high.

The card is stamped F and this was as a result of a records trawl during 1938 Munich Crisis that saw the records department go through the cards of serving and recently released service men who needed very little retraining if call up/embody took place. These men could go direct to a unit rather than need retraining on modern equipment.

So F class meant that if he left service he would be one of the first recalled on outbreak of war.

Ross

 

Thanks for explaining, very interesting. Yes, he had a great name, which is why I thought I might get some results, but as yet not much to go on. Thank you for your response.

 

The normal additional hooks for public domain information on a name are not valid in his case,

Not commissioned,
not aircrew and involved in an incident
groundcrew and not involved in a recordable event eg pow

The only place to get clear and correct information is to obtain his service record and the only place where this can be obtained is RAF Disclosures via MoD. Online application is best route for this rather than using the paper SARs two part forms.

Despite the hype on Ancestry etc - they do not have access to the bulk of RAF service records and can only surmise/link to limited public domain information - which is only one file in his case.

Sooner you apply for his service record the sooner you will get the answers you have spent so long looking for.

Ross

 

Thank you, will do so, asap.

 

Don't discount that he may have served in a POW camp in the UK (one holding Axis servicemen).

Service records will reveal, good luck in receiving a prompt response to your application.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Hi Ross
Do you know why some raf service records from 1943 are untraceable?
I have applied for my grandads raf and army records, unfortunately, I'm not having any luck in tracing his raf records and still waiting on his army records.
I just wondered if you have any advice on what else I can do or where else I can search to try to find his raf service record? I've just sent an email to the medals office to see if they can help but I don't have his raf service number I only have his army service number.
This was the response I got from Cranwell

 

The reply from Cranwell says they cannot find a record for George Robert Mead but you had me looking for RAF details of Hopkins. - sorry but you confused me by piggyback onto a thread I had commented on.

AIR 78 has no G R Mead listed as serving in RAF making Cranwell reply to you correct for RAF service - they have very helpfully found Mead as an Army record and informed you of this.

Ross

 

Sharon - the photo on your avatar shows a man in a typical army OR hair shirt. Your tree on Ancestry identifies as George Robert Mead.

This would support the Cranwell find of an Army record.

What other relatives names do you suspect may have had service in the Military.

Ross