Series
Royal Air Force: Other ranks service records
Catalogue reference: AIR 85
What's it about?
AIR 85
This series consists of service records for other ranks of the Royal Air Force (RAF) who served during the Second World and after, and who were discharged before the end of 1963. The record primarily consists of the F543 form, which originally...
Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- AIR 85
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Title (The name of the record)
- Royal Air Force: Other ranks service records
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Date (When the record was created)
- 1939-1963
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Description (What the record is about)
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This series consists of service records for other ranks of the Royal Air Force (RAF) who served during the Second World and after, and who were discharged before the end of 1963.
The record primarily consists of the F543 form, which originally acted as the wrapper for the service file. This form usually contains a range of personal details and service information about an individual including their name, date of birth, place of birth, next of kin and other personal information, units in which they served, conduct, qualifications gained, and discharge details.
Note: Occasionally, a service record has not survived in this series if an individual was commissioned as an officer from the ranks. In such cases, these records will be transferred at a later date.
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Note (Additional information about the record)
- Some entries could not be verified against the documents due to logistical issues. The term [Unspecified] in this series refers to both information that is not present in the record and to information that could not be verified.
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Arrangement (Information about the filing sequence or logical order of the record)
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Some pieces appear to have been organised according to service number, however for large parts of this series there is no discernible order to the pieces.
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Related material (A cross-reference to other related records)
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For a name index to airmen's and airwomen's service records, including service records in this series, see AIR 78
Records of service for RAF officers discharged before 1920 are in AIR 76
RAF Airmens service records prior to the Second World War can be found in AIR 79
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Creator(s) (The creator of the record)
- War Office, 1857-1964
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Physical description (The amount and form of the record)
- file(s)
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Access conditions (Information on conditions that restrict or affect access to the record)
- Open unless otherwise stated
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Immediate source of acquisition (When and where the record was acquired from)
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From 2024 Ministry of Defence
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Accruals (Indicates whether the archive expects to receive further records in future)
- This series is accruing.
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Administrative / biographical background (Historical or biographical information about the creator of the record and the context of its creation)
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This collection of records primarily includes individuals who served in the various units of the Royal Air Force, during and after the Second World War.
It includes both men and women who enlisted for service, as well as those born or residing both in and outside the United Kingdom at their time of enlistment.
The series contains those who were discharged before the end of National Service in 1963. The records were also used for pension purposes after 1945.
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C19517681/
Catalogue hierarchy
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
Within the department: AIR
Records created or inherited by the Air Ministry, the Royal Air Force, and related...
You are currently looking at the series: AIR 85
Royal Air Force: Other ranks service records