RAF Casualty Packs 1939-45 Public Access & MOD Appeal for volunteers

Discussion in 'The War In The Air' started by RAFCommands, Oct 6, 2013.

  1. RAFCommands

    RAFCommands Senior Member

    For a payment of £30 you can apply for transcript of a Casualty File from the RAFAHB before it is released to The National Archives.

    Note that this is not the same as service record from RAF Disclosures.

    I have used this in the past and although the information is variable, for the few I have requested that have subsequently been released to TNA the sent info has been broadly similar in content.

    https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

    Scroll down to the bottom of the page for details and the relevant form
     
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  2. Mr Jinks

    Mr Jinks Bit of a Cad

    Next set to be transferred will be mid 2015.


    Kyle
     
  3. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    Thanks both - I'm after about 15 sets and while I'm impatient to see them I can wait as they relate to logbooks I have which aren't gong anywhere.

    Fingers crossed the next release is a big one then I can drop Lee a copy order.

    Cheers

    Alistair
     
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  4. David Layne

    David Layne Well-Known Member

    Is an airman who survived being shot down considered a casualty? One would presume so when they ask if your are next of kin or applying with "next of kin's permission.
     
  5. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    I don’t know but suspect there are a couple of issues in play. Firstly staffing problems to review such a large archive, taking into account the on-going transition from the 30 year rule to the 20 year rule and compounded by cost cutting. And then there's the thorny problem of the Data Protection Act.

    I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it takes until mid-2017 before the first of the 1943 files are released.
     
  6. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    David, yes these files are compiled to determine the fate of the crew of a missing aircraft, so includes evidence that a crew member has survived and made a Prisoner of War.
     
  7. David Layne

    David Layne Well-Known Member

    Thank you. On reading the "rules" more clearly I realized that and will be mailing my letter of application today.

     
  8. JPP

    JPP Junior Member

    I check the NA website regularly and it seems to me that there have been no accruals of Casualty Packs for over twelve months. I am waiting patiently for packs from 1942 and 1943. If any of you chaps know when one can expect further accruals I wold be most grateful.
     
  9. nicks

    nicks Very Senior Member

    Maybe of interest to those with some spare time and living in the right area.

    More here...
     
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  10. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    Fingers crossed they get volunteers and the release of these gets going again, after the initial release its been very quiet.

    Alistair
     
  11. Matt Poole

    Matt Poole Member

    It is quite a rush to realize that my kin, in a time far in the future, will be able to read my mother's own handwriting in the casualty file correspondence for her first husband's 29 Feb '44 downing over Burma.

    Yeah, there's a wee bit of sarcasm there.
     
  12. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    About 100 new casualty packs were released on 1st March, starting from AIR 81/1489 onward.

    Lee
     
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  13. LucVervoort

    LucVervoort Junior Member

    Hi !
    Noticed that some can only be seen or photographed after a Freedom of Information investigation
    eg
    AIR 81/1741 Pilot Officer J R Wilson: killed; Harvard P5801, 14 Service Flying Training School; aircraft accident, Alves, 18 December 1939
    Exemption 1: personal information where the applicant is a 3rd party
    Exemption 2: Information provided in confidence
    Record opening date: 01 January 2039

    More details are given about this FOI request :

    This record is closed and cannot be viewed or reproduced as a digital or printed copy. You can submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to The National Archives to review the reasons why it is closed and to request that it is opened. As part of the review we will consult the responsible government department.

    If the record can be opened, it will be made available for public access and for copies to be made. It is possible that only parts of the record can be opened. Once your FOI request has been received it will be processed and you will receive a response within 20 working days. Please note that in certain circumstances the review process will take slightly longer.



    Luc
     
  14. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    This week saw the release of nearly 2,500 more RAF casualty packs to TNA, taking the AIR 81 series into 1941.
     
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  15. Hello,

    I read your post about the RAF Casualty Packs with interest, because I would like to get a copy of a Casualty File for an RAF member who was killed over France, 5th July 1944.

    Going by your comments, it seems to me it could be several years before files for this date get transferred to the National Archives.

    Am I correct in this assumption?

    Regards,

    Tony
     
  16. Hello,

    Are you able to advise if RAF Casualty Files contain "Exhumation - Burial Return" documents, giving a map grid-reference to where a "field grave" was located, prior to the remains being exhumed and "concentrated' in a War Cemetery.

    I have been in touch with the CWGC but unfortunately they advise they do not have a copy of the Exhumation or Burial Return documents for the individual I interested in, so I wondered if copies of such documents were kept on RAF Casualty files ?

    Reason I am after a map grid-reference of the original "field grave" is that I am hoping I can identify the actual crash site, and believe his body would have been buried close to such.

    I pretty sure I have narrowed the site of the 5th July 1944 crash down to an area of approx. 10 square kilometres, but most of this today is still rough & heavily forested woodland, in a sparsely inhabited rural area of France, near a very small village called La Chapelle-pres-Sees.

    The aircraft involves was a de Havilland DH98 Mk VI Mosquito, and as research indicates that little wreckage of such aircraft survived impact, a map grid-reference seems essential to finding the site.

    Any other advice/suggestions would be welcomed.

    Regards,

    Tony
     
  17. PsyWar.Org

    PsyWar.Org Archive monkey

    Tony, it looks like a fair assumption. The releases are rather slow due to the volume of files which will likely magnify as they continue into 1942 onwards.

    Perhaps an FOI request to the Air Historical Branch might be the way to go, if AHB still has the later files. But if they have already been passed to TNA's authority then an FOI would need to be submitted to TNA instead. In the latter case it might be refused as the files are already being processed for public release, despite it taking years to complete that process.

    Lee
     
    Last edited: Jul 1, 2018
  18. RAFCommands

    RAFCommands Senior Member

    No need for a FOI - just fill in the application form to the RAFAHB.

    see my post at the top of this page - #21

    Ross
     
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  19. Lee & Ross,

    Many thanks for your advice.

    Ross, in your experience, have the RAF Casualty files (where applicable) contained copies of the "Exhumation & Burial Return" reports.....I am specifically after the 6-figure map grid reference of where the field grave of an individual was found.

    Tony
     
  20. RAFCommands

    RAFCommands Senior Member

    ".I am specifically after the 6-figure map grid reference of where the field grave of an individual was found."

    To say that specific information is in an unseen Casualty file not yet released would need an upgrade to my crystal ball that has not been imagined, let alone engineered yet.

    "I have used this in the past and although the information is variable, for the few I have requested that have subsequently been released to TNA the sent info has been broadly similar in content."

    To move you forward from your current knowledge state needs £30 and the completed application form sent in.

    Ross
     

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