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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: Norfolk Nan on Sunday 29 June 25 13:40 BST (UK)
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A grandfather was conscripted into the RAF but didn't fly nor left the UK. Someone mentioned barrage balloons but that is the limit of my information. Where do I begin to find out more? I've searched the military records on Ancestry without luck. With so little to go on is it possible to track his records down?
Thank you.
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Start here:
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/royal-air-force-personnel/
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Thank you ;D
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There have been two recent threads touching on barrage balloons:
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=891340.0
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=889254.0
There is a published history of the district HQ for Hull, which is now on the Wayback machine at
https://web.archive.org/web/20160422072514/http://www.17balloons.co.uk/
It gives useful background information about operations and appendices D & E give some info. for the whole country.
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Thank you, that's very interesting. According to a relative grandad's flat feet were a problem so does that suggest he might have been in the Auxiliary side? I've no military knowledge at all ??? If so, will that mean his records will be held elsewhere? As far as I can tell he was posted near Stratford upon Avon for a while but I've no details.
Thank you for the links MollyC
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You may be able to get his service number from AIR78
https://www.rafcommands.com/air78/
See https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-records-of-service/apply-for-the-records-of-a-deceased-serviceperson re applying for his records
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Thanks, ShaunJ ;D