CHAPTER 12
Military Ancestors: The Royal Air Force
Very much the junior branch of the armed forces, the Royal Air Force has only been in existence since 1918. This chapter provides information about how to trace the service histories of its individuals, including the various branches of the Army and Navy from which the RAF was formed, as well as general research into the operational activities of the RAF in both war and peace, and where to look for further details of planes, RAF bases and general aviation history.
A Brief History of the RAF
The Royal Air Force was officially created on 1 April 1918, but this was not Britain’s first military air force. On 13 May 1912 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed by royal warrant in response to Germany’s rapidly increasing air fleet. The development of aeronautical technology had only begun a decade earlier in America, and initially its potential as a resource for the British army was not recognized by the government. Britain was more concerned about German naval competition, until in 1911 it was realized that the Royal Engineers’ newly formed Air Battalion, which had grown out of the Balloon Section formed in 1890, could not match the number of aircraft and experienced pilots possessed by other European countries.
‘The RAF played a decisive role in securing Britain’s safety during both world wars.’
The Royal Flying Corps was set up under the command of the War Office and was made up of four main components – the Naval Wing, the Military Wing, the Central Flying School (CFS) based on Salisbury Plain, and the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough. The principal function of the RFC was to provide unarmed reconnaissance support to the army and navy rather than as a defence and attacking force in its own right. The Military Wing was responsible for building an aerial reconnaissance force designed to support army ground operations. The Naval Wing, however, took a more proactive approach to the use of aircraft in warfare and began to explore the possibilities of using planes during long-range attacks. The Navy had used seaplanes since 1911 to help protect naval ships against submarine attack, and the growing threat of German airship development (and sightings of unidentified aircraft off the British coast) led to the RFC’s Naval Wing being separated from the rest of the Corps in July 1914 to form the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) under the command of the Admiralty.
When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Britain’s air force was still an under-equipped, fragile resource relying on primitive aeroplanes and observation balloons. There was an initial reluctance to employ aircraft in the war, as the cavalry were considered more reliable for reconnaissance missions, but once the fighting in France became mainly trench-based the advantages of using aircraft over cavalry were clear. The planes could cover a wider area for observation and the information they provided the army proved to be highly accurate. A year after the outbreak of war the Germans developed fighter aircraft built with specially designed machine guns, and Zeppelin airships began bombing London in 1915, which forced the British to make technological advances in their aircraft’s capabilities and led to a largely airborne war by 1917.
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Various branches of the RAF were created at different times, which can complicate record finding. The Fleet Air Arm was formed in 1924 and was absorbed into the control of the Admiralty in 1937. All service records for the Fleet Air Arm remain with the Navy, but enquiries can be sent to:
RN Disclosure Cell
Room 48
West Battery
Whale Island
Portsmouth
PO2 8DX
The RNAS was principally responsible for home defence while the RFC was based on the Western Front in France, but as the war progressed it became apparent that the functions of the RFC and RNAS overlapped. In 1917 General Jan Smuts recommended in a special report that the RFC and RNAS be amalgamated under an Air Ministry that was independent of both the War Office and the Admiralty. The Royal Air Force was established as a result of this report, and amongst much controversy it came into being just eight months before the end of the First World War at a time when the German offensive was at its height. Despite its difficult beginnings, the RAF played a significant supporting role helping the Allies to win the war. By the time the Second World War started, aircraft had changed the face of warfare and the RAF was vital in securing victory.
Most men in the Air Force were not pilots. The majority worked on the ground as engineers and mechanics, and women were employed as cooks, telephonists, drivers, intelligence agents and administrators as well as mechanics. Air Force records do not give much genealogical information, simply stating the name, usually a date and place of birth and details of next of kin, which help you to identify your ancestor’s records. However, the records enable you to build up a picture of your ancestor’s life, to understand their experiences and to place their career within the wider context of the history of the RAF.
‘Most men in the Air Force were not pilots. The majority worked on the ground as engineers and mechanics.’
Officers’ Service Records
RFC Officers’ Records
Service papers for officers who joined the RFC between 1914 and March 1918 were forwarded to the RAF and are held with RAF officers’ papers for 1918 to 1919 in The National Archives series AIR 76. These are kept on microfilm and are arranged alphabetically. Consult the index to AIR 76 to establish which reel contains the surname you are looking for.
If an RFC officer died or was discharged prior to the formation of the RAF in 1918 then his service record is likely to still be kept with War Office papers in WO 339, an alphabetical index to which is held on microfilm in WO 374 (see Chapter 9 for further information on these series). There are biographies for some officers of the RFC and RAF from the First World War period kept in AIR 1 that can be searched by keyword in The National Archives online catalogue.
RNAS Officers’ Records
Officers who joined the RNAS between 1914 and March 1918 had their records kept with the Admiralty, and can be found in the Registers of Officers’ Service for the Royal Naval Air Service in ADM 273. The records in ADM 273 need to be ordered as original documents and are organized numerically by service number, but each volume has an alphabetical index and there is a combined alphabetical card index for ADM 273 among the Finding Aids at The National Archives for you to establish whether your ancestor has a service record among these documents.
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Prior to March 1919 it is possible to trace the careers of officers of the RFC and RNAS in the Army Lists and Navy Lists.
RAF Officers’ Records
All officers who joined the RAF from April 1918 and who were discharged before 1920 should have service papers held in AIR 76 as described above.
Air Force Lists were published from March 1919 onwards. The information they contain and frequency of publication vary over the years, but generally they list the names of officers, their rank and squadron, and the entry for each station and squadron lists the aircraft and the date they were posted to a unit, so you may use these to trace an officer’s career over time. Each book has an index so that an officer’s name can be found easily.
Air Force Lists from 1919 until the present day are on open access on shelves at The National Archives and Society of Genealogists, or you can check with your local library and archive to see if they have copies. Confidential Air Force Lists for September 1939 to December 1954 can be ordered as original documents at The National Archives from AIR 10/3814–3840, AIR 10/5237, AIR 10/5256, AIR 10/5413-AIR 10/5422, AIR 10/5581 and AIR 10/5582.
Payments made to officers who were invalided out of service between 1917 and 1920 are kept with the Ministry of Pensions records in PMG 42, and records of pensions paid to the next of kin of officers who died between 1916 and 1920 are in PMG 44. Special grants and allowances paid to officers and dependants between 1916 and 1920 are in PMG 43.
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As a general rule, service records for personnel who continued serving or joined after 1920 are still held by the RAF, but copies of these can usually be obtained by the service person or by their next of kin. Enquiries should be sent to
ACOS Manning 23
Room 1, Building 22
RAF High Wycombe
Bucks HP14 4UE
quoting the full name, date of birth, service number if known and any other known details. The RAF will respond within a month to advise you whether any records have been located and they charge £30 for releasing personnel records to next of kin. Copies of the records are free to the service person if they are still alive or to their widow or widower. Proof of death may be asked of next of kin applying for records, and if you would like to contact the RAF by telephone to find out any further details then call 01494 497410 (ext. 7622).
Airmen’s Service Records
RFC Airmen’s Records
The biographies of the first men to join the RFC between 1912 and August 1914 (service numbers 1 to 1,400) along with many photographs can be found in A Contemptible Little Flying Corps by Webb and McInnes.
If an airman of the RFC died or was discharged before April 1918, then his service papers should be held with those of other ranks of the army in WO 363 and WO 364. These records are kept on microfilm at The National Archives and arranged alphabetically by surname. Those documents held in WO 364, created from pension claims, can now be accessed online from the subscription-based website www.ancestry.co.uk, although most local libraries have a subscription to the site that visitors can use for free. See Chapter 9 for more information about locating documents in WO 363 and WO 364.
RNAS Airmen’s Records
If an airman served in the RNAS prior to April 1918 then his record of service up until 31 March 1918 will be found in the Registers of Seamen’s Services held in ADM 188, which can be searched from the Documents Online search engine found on The National Archives website. A search can be conducted for name and official number. Each entry in the register should give a name, date of birth, the name of the ship or shore establishment where the individual served and a short account of their service and appointments. The RAF kept service records for men who served after 31 March 1918.
Other RAF Records
Accident Reports
Information about accidents that occurred during operations is usually found in the Squadron’s Operational Record Books in AIR 27 (see below). Some correspondence relating to crashes and casualties is kept in AIR 1 and there are reports for crashes that took place between April 1916 and November 1918 held in AIR 1/843/204/5/369 to AIR 1/860/204/5/427, 914–916, and 960–969.
There are also Accident Record Cards, Casualty Files and Aircraft Record Cards held by the RAF for non-operational accidents. If you would like the RAF to conduct a search of these cards for you, then write to them at:
Air Historical Branch (RAF)
Building 824
RAF Northolt
West End Road
Ruislip
Middlesex HA4 6NG
The RAF Museum at Hendon has copies of the Aircraft Record Cards and you can request a search of those by writing to
The Department of Research and Information Services
Grahame Park Way
Hendon
London NW9 5LL
Records of Prisoners of War
If you have an RFC, RNAS or RAF ancestor who was held as a Prisoner of War (PoW) during the First World War then it is easy to find evidence of this if he was an officer simply by checking the List of British Officers Taken Prisoner in the Various Theatres of War between August 1914 and November 1918 by Cox and Co., a copy of which is held in the Library at The National Archives in Kew. This gives information about the regiment, theatre of war, name and rank of the officer, the date he was captured, when and where he was held, and the date he was released or his date and place of death if he died while a prisoner. If the officer survived you should find a report about the circumstances of his capture in his service record.
There is not a similar published list for airmen who were captured as PoWs, but it is worth looking at Researching British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War: World War One by Alan Bowgen, held behind the Research Enquiries Desk at The National Archives to see which records might be able to help you. Series AIR 1 holds some records about RAF, RFC and RNAS Prisoners of War, and there are additional registers in ADM 12 for RNAS servicemen who were captured during the First World War. Service records of ordinary RFC, RNAS and RAF personnel or their Medal Index Card should contain some notes about their capture.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva holds a list of some known Prisoners of War for both the First and Second World Wars and will respond to written queries at an hourly rate if enough information is supplied in writing. The address is:
International Council of the Red Cross
Archives Division
19 Avenue de la Paix
CH-1202, Geneva
Switzerland
archives.gva@icrc.org
The names of RAF Prisoners of War captured by the Germans during the Second World War may be found in an alphabetical list compiled towards the end of 1944 held in AIR 20/2336. There are related files in AIR 40, including escape and evasion reports kept in AIR 40/1545–1552, and AIR 14/353–361 contains reports of escaped RAF Prisoners of War and nominal lists of reported RAF prisoners. There is a nominal list of British and Commonwealth PoWs held during the Second World War in WO 392/1–26 with specific sections dedicated to the Air Forces held in WO 392/8, WO 392/18 and WO392/21. (For more detailed information about finding records for Second World War PoWs have a look at The National Archives’ Military Information Research Guide 20 on the online Research Guide alphabetical index under ‘Prisoners of War, British, 1939–1953’.)
Courts Martial Records
If you believe your RAF ancestor was tried by a court martial then have a look in the RAF Courts Martial Registers in AIR 21, where the name, rank, the nature of the offence, the place of the trial and the sentence given to each prisoner between 1918 and 1965 are recorded. The RAF Courts Martial Proceedings records for district, general and field courts martial trials both for officers and airmen from 1941 to 1994 are held in AIR 18, but there is a closure period of 30 years on the later documents.
RAF Airmen’s Records
A muster list was taken of all the airmen who joined the RAF on its first day on 1 April 1918, and the original document is kept in AIR 1/819/204/4/1316 with supplements in AIR 10/232–237. Service records of the first 329,000 men who served in the RAF and men who joined the RFC but continued service with the RAF after 1 April 1918 are held as original documents in AIR 79. They are arranged numerically by service number but there is an alphabetical index held on microfilm in AIR 78. If your ancestor had a service number higher than 329,000 or if his service number was between 1 and 329,000 but he continued to serve during the Second World War, then his records will still be with the RAF. Ex-service personnel can request a copy of their service history to be sent to them by writing to ACOS (Manning) at the address given above (page 211), detailing their name, date of birth and service number if known. If the service person has died, their next of kin can request a copy at a fee of £30 by sending a letter to the same address giving the service person’s name, date of birth, service number and any known information about their career with evidence of their death certificate.
Births, Marriages and Deaths in Service
Records of births and marriages for RFC personnel and their families should be found among indexes to GRO Army Births 1881–1965, GRO Army Marriages 1881–1955 and GRO Army Marriages within British Lines 1914–25, while the Army Chaplains’ returns for 1796 to 1955 will contain records for the RAF from 1920.
The deaths of service personnel during the two World Wars are well recorded. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has compiled a Debt of Honour Register from its First and Second World War cemetery and memorial records. The 1.7 million names contained on this can be searched for free on www.cwgc.org. Entries on this database can give as much information as the name, age, nationality, regiment, rank, date and place of death and burial or memorial as well as the names of next of kin and their address.
If you cannot find an entry on the Debt of Honour database for an RAF ancestor who died during the Second World War then it is worth searching the indexes to GRO War Deaths, RAF All Ranks 1939–48. Indexes to the deaths of RFC personnel during the First World War may be found among the GRO War Deaths, Army Officers 1914–21 and GRO War Deaths, Army Other Ranks 1914–21, while those of RNAS service personnel may be found among the GRO War Deaths, Navy All Ranks 1914–21. The RAF Museum at Hendon also has a casualty card index for RFC and RNAS personnel during the First World War.
Deaths on service of RAF personnel since the wars may be found in the indexes to Air Deaths and Air Deaths – Missing Persons between 1947 and 1965, held by the GRO for all deaths occurring on aeroplanes registered in the United Kingdom.
All of the birth, marriage and death indexes for service personnel and their families recorded by the General Register Office are held at The National Archives in Kew. If you find a likely entry in the indexes for your ancestor you will need to order a duplicate copy of the certificate from the GRO at www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates.
The National Archives of Scotland have recently catalogued the wills of 61 RAF airmen and officers from 1939 to 1950 and some RFC airmen from the First World War, which can be searched via the NAS online catalogue: http://www.nas.gov.uk/guides/soldiersWills.asp.
CASE STUDY
Julian Clary
Julian Clary didn’t know much about his paternal grandfather, Jack Clary, as he died in 1951, several years before Julian was born. Julian’s father, Peter, had vague memories of Jack, though mainly associated with visiting him whilst he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in the 1930s. This was a line of research that Julian followed up, discovering that Jack voluntarily admitted himself to Napsbury hospital in Hertfordshire between 1926 and 1938. Although there appeared to be no superficial connection with his stay in hospital, it emerged that Jack has spent time during the First World War as chief mechanic for the Bristol fighters of 48 Squadron.
Having obtained this information from within the family, Julian was able to follow up with some detailed research at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and The National Archives, Kew. At Duxford, he was able to find out more about working conditions, as well as the distinguished history of the squadron which was formed as part of the former Royal Flying Corps in Netheravon on 15 April 1916, and moved to France in March 1917 as the first Bristol Fighter Squadron.
Julian learned that his grandfather’s daily routine in France would have been tough, back-breaking work, living under constant threat from enemy air attacks and with the daily pressure of ensuring the aircraft were serviced and mechanically sound, ready for action at any time. In short, the pilots’ lives depended on the skill of Jack and his team.
Furthermore, by examining the service records for the RAF at The National Archives in record series AIR 79, and official records of the squadron in record series AIR 1, Julian was able to work out the precise history of Jack’s involvement with the 48 Squadron; his movements around France; and indeed associated combat reports that the airmen filed on return to base. By reading these contemporary accounts from official sources, it was possible to step ninety years back in time and gain a real sense of what it must have been like to work on these early planes on the front line – and what it was like to face such danger on a daily basis.
The Women’s Royal Air Force and Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
There are no surviving records of service for officers of the WRAF or WAAF, but records of service for airwomen for the First World War period can be found in alphabetical order in AIR 80, kept on microfilm at The National Archives. (There is an index in AIR 78.) Women who did not have domestic responsibilities were sometimes sent to help out in France and Germany between 1919 and 1920 and were known as ‘mobiles’ because they could live on camp and be posted anywhere, while ‘immobile’ airwomen would have lived at home and worked part time. An airwoman’s record of service will indicate whether or not she was mobile, along with her age, address, marital status, names of any dependants, and information about any promotions.
The WRAF was formed at the same time as the RAF in 1918. It was disbanded in 1920, but re-formed at the start of the Second World War under the name the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). It reverted to the title Women’s Royal Air Force in 1949, and became a fully integrated part of the RAF in 1994. Records of service for women who served in the Second World War need to be requested from the RAF by writing to ACOS (Manning) at the address on page 211.
To learn more about the WAAF and WRAF read a copy of Women in Air Force Blue: The Story of Women in the Royal Air Force from 1918 to the Present Day by Beryl E. Escott. Some women also worked for the RAF as nurses from January 1919, in the Royal Air Force Nursing Service, which became Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service in 1923. All records of service for these women are still with the RAF.
Medals and Awards
Campaign medals are awarded to members of the armed services for their part in a particular war or battle. There is no First World War campaign medal roll for the RAF in the AIR series. Most men who were in the RAF after 1 April 1918 would have come from the RFC, RNAS or another part of the armed forces, so their Medal Index Card stating which medals they were entitled to will be found in the relevant series for their earlier service. If your ancestor only saw service with the RAF during the war then they are unlikely to have a Medal Index Card, but any entitlement should be detailed on an individual’s record of service.
Medal rolls for those awarded to men of the RFC prior to the outbreak of the First World War are held in WO 100. First World War campaign medal rolls for the RFC are also kept (with those of the army) in WO 329. They are arranged by battalion but there are also alphabetical Campaign Medal Index Cards kept in WO 372 that can be searched by name and rank via The National Archives website, at Documents Online. The indexes themselves give very little information about the person the medal was awarded to, but abbreviations in the index will indicate that they served in the RFC, their service number, rank, the first theatre of war they served in and the type of medal they were awarded. This can then be used to establish which campaign the medal was awarded for.
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Five different types of campaign medal were awarded during the First World War, but a maximum of three could be bestowed on one individual.
• The 1914 Star was authorized in 1917 and only awarded to those who came under fire while on service in France and Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914.
• The 1914/15 Star was authorized in 1918 and awarded to those who had not received the 1914 Star but served in France and Belgium between 23 November 1914 and 31 December 1915, or in any other theatre of war between 5 August 1914 and 31 December 1915.
• The British War Medal was granted for service abroad, including in India, between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918, or for service in Russia between 1919 and 1920.
• The Victory Medal was for both military and civilian personnel who served in a theatre of war.
• The Territorial Force War Medal was for members of the Territorial Forces who joined before 30 September 1914 and served in a theatre of war abroad between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918.
First World War medal rolls for the RNAS are held in microform in ADM 171. These are arranged alphabetically, but are split up according to rank. The medal roll for officers is found in ADM 171/89–91, while that for ratings is in series ADM 171/94–119. Again, the entry gives you the name, service number, rank and abbreviations indicating which medal was awarded, but also states where the medal was sent.
The National Archives only holds medal rolls for one campaign fought since the First World War, known as the African General Service Medal, which was given to around 200 RAF servicemen who were involved in operations in Somaliland at the beginning of 1920. This medal roll is kept in series AIR 2/2267–2270. Any other campaign medal rolls issued to the RAF since then are kept with the Ministry of Defence, but information about them can be requested by writing to:
CS Sec 1d
Room F93, Building 256
HQ RAF PTC
RAF Innsworth
Gloucester GL3 1EZ
Gallantry medals were created specifically for RAF service personnel in 1918, namely the Air Force Cross, the Air Force Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Flying Medal. Prior to this RFC and RNAS servicemen would have received army and navy honours.
Medals awarded for gallantry and meritorious service were announced in the London Gazette and some are accompanied by a citation of the reason for the award. Digital copies of the gazette are now available from www.gazettes-online.co.uk. Recommendations for some gallantry awards issued to the RFC and RAF for the First World War are held in AIR 1. Recommendations for gallantry medals issued to RNAS servicemen prior to 1918 are in ADM 1, ADM 116 and ADM 137. Recommendations for the Second World War and post-1946 are in AIR 2, and AIR 30 also contains records of gallantry medal recommendations for RAF personnel.
Operational Record Books (ORBs)
ORBs are made up of Summary of Events forms and Detail of Work Carried Out forms, otherwise known as Forms 540 and 541, along with appendices containing operational orders, relevant reports and telegraphed messages. They are worth tracking down if you would like to discover a little bit more about your ancestor’s experiences during their time with the Air Force, particularly for the Second World War period when service records are difficult to access.
A search for an Operational Record Book requires definite knowledge of which Squadron your ancestor was with and for what dates, as ORBs do not tend to state many names and give no biographical details about those men they do mention. However, they will fill you in on the movement of that Squadron each day and their location and activities. This can be of especial use if you have been told an anecdote about an incident that happened while your ancestor was on duty and you would like to find out more about the facts.
From 1914, the air forces were divided into Squadrons and each Squadron had subdivisions known as Flights. In 1936 the RAF was divided into four main Commands – Bomber, Training, Fighter and Coastal Commands, which were subdivided into Groups, or collectives of Squadrons, and the Groups were divided further into Wings.
Squadron ORBs for the period 1911 to 1977 can be found in AIR 27. They have both daily and monthly summaries and list details about the aircraft, crew, weapons and any casualties.
Squadron Combat Reports held in AIR 50 cover the Second World War period and these can be used to supplement information found in the relevant Squadron’s ORBs.
There are some miscellaneous units’ ORBs covering 1912 to 1973 in AIR 29. The ORBs of smaller units were kept with those of the larger units to which they were attached.
ORBs for Stations to which your ancestor may have been posted are kept in AIR 28 for the period 1913 to 1966.
Groups ORBs for 1914 to 1970 can be found in AIR 25.
ORBs for the Wings from 1920 until 1964 are in AIR 26.
Commands’ ORBs for 1920 to 1973 are in AIR 24.
There are also some logbooks for airships kept in AIR 3 for the First World War period and Aircrews’ Flying Log Books for 1915 until 1983 are held in AIR 4. The South African Air Force ORBs from 1937 to 1947 are kept in AIR 54. Squadron Diaries of the Fleet Air Arm for 1939–57 contain similar information to RAF Operational Record Books.
There is a detailed guide to finding operational records for the RAF at The National Archives, which can be located online by going to the Research Guides page on their website and scrolling down the alphabetical index to ‘Royal Air Force: Operational Records’.
Operational Record Books for the most important event for the RAF during the Second World War, the Battle of Britain, have been transcribed into Daily Reports and can be searched for on www.raf.mod.uk/search. There are unit histories of all the Squadrons that took part, a list of the Stations they were based at and information about the periods they were resident there. If you had an ancestor who was involved in the Battle of Britain then this website is certainly worth a visit.
Finding Out More
For a detailed history of the RFC, RNAS and RAF take a look at the History pages on the www.raf.mod.uk website, where there is an abundance of photographic archive material as well.
The RAF museum in Hendon, North London, has its own library and an archive mainly made up of documents donated by private individuals, ranging from personal diaries, letters and memoirs to service papers, log books and operational records. The museum’s exhibits and collections include medals, uniforms, photographs, film footage and audio recordings, as well as aircraft, engines, weapons and vehicles. Visit www.rafmuseum.org to find out more and have a look at the RAF Online Exhibitions, or search the archive’s records via the National Register of Archives at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra. The RAF also has a museum at Cosford in Shropshire that does not have an archive but does exhibit many aircraft and other large artefacts relating to the history of the Royal Air Force.
If you had ancestors who fought in the RAF or its predecessors during a conflict, then you may be interested in visiting the Imperial War Museum at Duxford in Cambridgeshire. Visit http://duxford.iwm.org.uk to find out more about the museum’s upcoming events or browse the Imperial War Museum website’s ‘War in the Air’ collection at www.iwmcollections.org.uk/inair, which includes photographs and audio recordings and descriptions of film footage, documents and artefacts held at the museum.
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Some suggestions for further reading:
• Air Force Records for Family Historians by W. Spencer (Public Record Office Publications, 2000)
• RAF Records in the PRO by S. Fowler, P. Elliott, R. Conyers Nesbit and C. Goulter (Public Record Office Publications, 1994)
• The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force and Commonwealth, 1918–1988 by J. J. Halley (Air Britain (Historians), revised edition, 1988)
The Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) was established in 1929 so that RAF personnel could maintain contact with one another after the First World War, and it has a list of useful links on its website at www.rafa.org.uk. You can post a message in the Airmail magazine run by RAFA to try to find any living ex-service personnel who may have recollections of working with your relative by writing to:
Royal Air Forces Association
Central Headquarters
43 Grove Park Road
London W4 3RU
If you would like to contact an association dedicated to a specific squadron or station that your ancestor worked with then have a look at the Royal Air Forces Register of Associations (RAFRA) website at www.associations.rafinfo.org.uk. These associations may be able to help you learn more about your ancestor and their time with the RAF.