Ministry of Defence Medals and Records Offices, part of Defence Business Services, are attending family history show events where you can question the experts…
The shows are attended by family historians, societies and genealogical organisations. The MOD stand, supported by Restore plc, will be staffed by a DBS team, with colleagues from the Air Historical Branch.
They will offer:
Live post 1921 service record search facility
The MOD continues to hold all service records where the individual had a discharge date of post 1921, these total around 10 million records, with about 500,000 having seen service in World War 1. Subject to access to the database that supports the MOD’s main archive, an assisted search facility will be offered that will in many cases enable confirmation of whether the MOD holds a record for an individual.
This information can then be used to apply for the record using the forms on Gov.uk. To assist the search, some or all the following information is required: surname, initials, date of birth and service number.
World War 2 RAF casualty packs search facility
RAF casualty packs from World War 2 are being transferred from the MOD to The National Archives. Using the MOD’s archive and cataloguing database, an assisted search facility will enable identification of the pack that may relate to an individual.
This information can then be used to either access the pack at The National Archives, or, for those yet to be transferred, apply for details from the pack using the forms on Gov.uk. To assist the search, the following information is required: the name of the individual(s), date of incident and type of aircraft.
Interpretation of service records
If you already have a service record but are unsure what it says or how to interpret it, then DBS experts will be on hand to assist you.
Service Record application research
MOD have commenced a project to digitise the application process. Come and see the latest version and have a go! The DBS team look forward to seeing you.
The dates and locations of the family history shows can be found here.
