I'm trying to trace back from KIA through active squadron and HCU to previous RAF postings - not sure where to start, can anyone give me any pointers?
Subject is Alexander MacDonald Young, KIA information is 13th June 1943, Halifax JD145. I already have quite a bit of information regarding this like timings, crew, crash area, target and attacking pilot.
The crew was active in 78 Squadron from Linton from May 1943 until the crash.
Prior to that they were with 1658 HCU - presumably for training up to the Halifax.
How can I begin to trace where they were before that?
There is no easy way and in most cases no way at all.
If you have contact with the next of kin then they can ask for a copy of the individuals service record from Innsworth (or give written consent to you). I believe it's about £30 at present and that may get you a 2 page document.
Noting that none of the crew were Aussies, New Zealanders or Canadians you are now on an uphill struggle. Those Governments make access to records much easier.
Most of the crew will have come from an Operational Training Unit - but which one? The Flight Engineer will have come from a School of Technical Training (quite often St. Athan). That trade missed out the OTU. One of the gunners may also have gone direct to the HCU.
Before OTU the Pilot is likely to have been through the (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit and the Navigator/Air Bomber through an (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit. Gunners trained at Bombing and Gunnery Schools. Some of this training may have been done overseas.
None of this will however be of any help to you. There are assumptions you can make (but it is not wise to do so) such as if you know which OTU one of them was at, then it is likely that others in the crew were also there as well. Before that they will probably not even have met before.
If you have access to any of Bill Chorleys Bomber Command Losses books - notably those for HCU and OTU losses, a trawl through may bring up a previous incident involving the crew and thus the Unit.
If the aircraft had previously engaged in combat with enemy aircraft then a Combat Report will have been filed (held at National Archives). This usually identifies the Gunnery School and OTU of the gunners (or air bomber if the front gun was used)
Sorry I can't be more helpful - the Service record is the only sure way
Thanks for your reply. I don't have any contact with his direct relatives and have already applied to the RAF records, to be told that I need consent as you say to release his records.
He was the F/E so I guess he would have come from engineering training. Of course it could be that some or all of the crew worked on other planes before this?
He was in the RAFVR if that made any difference, I know that since 1936 civilians were trained in the VR at weekends so he was probably called up at some point during the war. I was just wondering that 1943 could have been a bit late to just be going through HCU or could it be that they only started calling up VR when bomber command losses dictated it?
Also Alexander was 38 when he was killed, which was quite old I thought - the rest of the crew were in their early 20's.
The majority of airmen who flew were RAFVR. That is they hadn't joined the Royal Air Force as career airmen but were 'hostilities only.' As you say he could have been a second tour but the more likely reason is the fact that he came from the Bahamas.
I'm trying to research over 2,500 airmen simultaneously so fully understand your frustrations. Even with that number to go at inforamtion only comes in very slowly. Good luck
i assume you have looked for this airman's log book, and if you have and not found it, look harder. i tried for 3 years through close extensive family searches to find my uncle's. i finally found it in an aunt's basement whom i never met, in an old box sealed in 1965. if you are willing to be a total nuisance to your entire extended family, you should find it.