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After retiring from the RAF on 31 October 1974, Martin worked for aircraft manufacturer Hawker Siddeley as an advisor. [3] Sir Harold Martin died at his home in London on 3 November 1988, [ 8 ] and is buried at Gunnersbury Cemetery.
- RAF, RFC Or RNAs?
- Service Records
- Operations Record Books and Combat Reports
- Raf Personnel Missing in Combat
- Medal Records 1914-1922
- Lists of Raf Servicemen
- Records Specific to Officers
- Courts Martial 1918-1986
- Prisoner of War Records
- Records in Other Archives
The Royal Air Force was formed on 1 April 1918 when the RFC and the RNAS were amalgamated. Officers and men of both services who continued service after this date transferred into the newly formed RAF and were joined by new entrants. From this date onwards the RFC and RNAS ceased to exist. Someone who served in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) or Royal...
3.1 Airmen (not officers) 1912-1939
Search for a Royal Air Force airmans’ service records (AIR 79) on findmypast (charges apply). These are records of airmen with service numbers from 1 to 562875. Some files may contain information from the Second World War but service records for the Second World War are still with the RAF (see section 3.2). The records in AIR 79 usually contain the following information: 1. date and place of birth 2. physical description 3. religious denomination 4. next of kin 5. spouse and children 6. date...
3.2 Airmen (not officers) after 1939
Records of RAF airmen who served after 1939, and of men whose service numbers were above 562875 are still with the RAF. Look on the GOV.UKwebsite to find out how to obtain service records. It can be useful to know his service number. If you do not know his number, browse through the name indexes in AIR 78to find it.
3.3 Officers 1918-1922
Search the Royal Air Force officers’ service records 1918-1919 (charges apply) online for officers who served in the Royal Air Force during the First World War (AIR 76). By the end of 1919, 26,000 of the 27,000 serving RAF officers had been discharged, and it is largely their service details which are held in this series.
In the absence of a service record, or perhaps to supplement one, Operations Record Books (ORBs) can prove very revealing. These daily records of the life of a squadron, and of other units within the RAF structure, can provide insights into what an airman or officer did during their time at war. Sometimes individuals are mentioned by name, though o...
Search for missing RAF personnel in AIR 81. Search these records by: 1. surname of missing airman 2. place/location of the incident in which air crew went missing 3. date of the incident 4. type of aircraft from which air crew went missing (for example, Blenheim) These files may contain missing person and casualty action sheets, death certificates,...
6.1 Campaign medals
If an individual in the RAF qualified for medal(s) after 1 April 1918, the only place you will find details about his medal entitlement will be on his service record.
6.2 Gallantry medals
For information on gallantry medals awarded to RAF personnel, read our British military gallantry medalsguide.
7.1 Muster list from 1918
Consult the only complete muster roll of the RAF, compiled on its formation on 1 April 1918, on Findmypast.co.uk. The original documents are in AIR 1/819/204/4/1316 and also AIR 10/232-237.
7.2 Rolls of Honour: First World War
Browse the first series of Air Historical Branch (AHB) records in series AIR 1for nominal rolls of individual units for the First World War. Indexes and keys to AIR 1 are available with the printed version of our catalogue at The National Archives at Kew. The second series of AHB records, in AIR 5, contains little on individuals. Look at AIR 2/219, the Roll of Honour for men from the USA and Dominions who served with the British Air Forces in the First World War.
7.3 Rolls of Honour: Second World War
Look at AIR 14/2091, the Roll of Honour for No. 5 Group in Bomber Command. This is the only known Second World War nominal roll for the RAF in The National Archives.
RAF officer ranks include: 1. Flying Officer 2. Flight Lieutenant 3. Squadron Leader 4. Wing Commander 5. Group Captain Records of officers are usually held in separate sets of files to those of ordinary airmen. Some records were created only for officers, including records of commissions. The following record types may prove useful when tracing th...
Browse AIR 21for courts martial records from 1918 to 1965. These give: 1. name of prisoner 2. rank of prisoner 3. place of trial 4. nature of charge and sentence Click on AIR 18and use the search box to search by surname to find the proceedings of district, general and field courts martial of officers and men from 1941 to 1986. Look in series AIR 2...
Air Ministry (AIR)records do not generally contain detailed information on prisoners of war. You can, however, consult: 1. a list of all aircrew known to have been held prisoner by Germany in AIR 20/2336 2. escape reports and related files in AIR 40 3. prisoner of war and internees’ files in FO 916 See also our guides to British prisoners of war c1...
For more information about the RAF, you may wish to: 1. visit the RAF Museumwebsite 2. visit the RAF websiteto read about the histories of RAF squadrons 3. consult the Air Force Lists (see section 8.1) at the British Library, the Society of Genealogists and some local archives
Acting Flight Lieutenant Harold Brownlow MARTIN, D.F.C. (68795), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No.617 Squadron. On the night of 16th May, 1943, a force of Lancaster bombers was detailed to attack the Moehne, Eder and Sorpe dams in Germany.
The squadron’s commanding officer was killed during the raid and Martin took over the lead; five of the eight attacking Lancasters were lost. He was awarded a Bar to his DFC and, as acting squadron leader, was placed in temporary command of the now heavily depleted squadron.
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Aug 27, 2013 · A daring World War II night time raid on three dams in the early hours of 17 May 1943 immortalised the RAF's 617 Squadron as the "Dambusters". This is the the first time that photographs of...
Sir Harold Martin died at his home in London on 3 November 1988, [8] and is buried at Gunnersbury Cemetery. [1] O'Donnell, Conal: WW2 People's War , British Broadcasting Corporation .
After retiring from the RAF on 31 October 1974, Martin worked for aircraft manufacturer Hawker Siddeley as an advisor. Sir Harold Martin died at his home in London on 3 November 1988, [8] and is buried at Gunnersbury Cemetery.
