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  • As a Private in the RAF.......

    who would not have flown planes during the first world war, due to a problem with his eyes, what exactly would my grandfather / a Private, have done?

    I did not know what his rank was until I got one of his son's death certs, which records him as an ex private in the year 1921.
    Jen
    Avatar: One of my paintings.

    Researching: Brandon.London/M/cr. Tyson.France/Mcr.


  • #2
    There must have been loads of ground crew jobs eg cooks, mechanics, clerks, orderlies in hospital/clinic (assuming RAF had there own dedicated facilities).
    I assume you have looked for his records on ancestry?
    Margaret

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    • #3
      My husbands father spent over 30 years in the RAF. I am not sure what rank he was hubby not home from work yet but he was ground crew and mechanic.
      Vanessa Tallon passed away September 2011

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      • #4
        Jen

        The RAF wasn't founded until 1918 so he wouldn't have flown an RAF plane during WW1 anyway.

        My daughter was in the RAF for 18 years and certainly never flew a plane, lol! However, I'm a bit puzzled as the medical requirements for the RAF have always been extremely high and an eyesight problem would probably have meant he couldn't join the RAF at all. Although not necessarily a pilot, all RAF personnel are (in theory) combatant and would therefore need A1 medical pass.

        OC

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        • #5
          He was presumably in the Royal Flying Corps during WW1
          See http://www.airwar1.org.uk/ for a brief history.
          Judith passed away in October 2018

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          • #6
            RFC became RAF in 1918. If not on Ancestry, then there is a series of service records at Kew, arranged by service number, although some records are still with the RAF.

            My Dad was in the RAF in WW2, OC. Whilst his eyesight wasn't good enough for the role he wanted, he still got in!
            The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
            Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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            • #7
              annswabey

              Yes, I think they drop down to B2 in wartime, maybe even lower than that, but I assumed here that we were talking about career airmen as the date given was 1921..if it said RAF on the cert, then he was in it between 1918 and 1921, surely? I'm hairsplitting, I know........

              OC

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
                annswabey

                Yes, I think they drop down to B2 in wartime, maybe even lower than that, but I assumed here that we were talking about career airmen as the date given was 1921..if it said RAF on the cert, then he was in it between 1918 and 1921, surely? I'm hairsplitting, I know........

                OC
                Jen said he was recorded as ex RAF in 1921 and the RAF was actually formed in April 1918 before the end of WW1, so his service was probably wartime rather than as a career airman.
                Judith passed away in October 2018

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                • #9
                  Not sure what his real eye problem was but his left eye, going off his pictures.....had a glide.

                  Given all your comments, I am now wondering if he was doing his 2 yr national service in the RAF?

                  In 1918 he would have been about 35 yrs old with a young family. He had a son in 1920 who died in 1921 at 12 months old. It was on this cert, that he was recorded as ex RAF Private.

                  I am assuming that due to his eye problem and being a young married man with a family, perhaps they refused to take him during the war, but then had to do his national service afterwards........not sure when national service started.
                  Jen
                  Avatar: One of my paintings.

                  Researching: Brandon.London/M/cr. Tyson.France/Mcr.

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                  • #10
                    He was probably called up - he wasn't too old, having a young family made no difference and as the war went on, any eyesight problem, if not too severe, would probably not rule him out!

                    OC - just checked my Dad's discharge book from RAF and he was A1, so poor eyesight doesn't seem to have affected it!
                    The National Archives, Kew – Research Service Offered
                    Contact me via PM on Family Tree Forum or via my personal website - www.militaryandfamilyresearch.co.uk

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                    • #11
                      Thank you Ann, that makes sense. Now I recall, I think my brother may have something along the same line....discharge paper. I'm sure he mentioned it once. I will have to contact him and see if he can root it out.

                      Many thanks for all the replies and the help.
                      Jen
                      Avatar: One of my paintings.

                      Researching: Brandon.London/M/cr. Tyson.France/Mcr.

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                      • #12
                        Incidentally - I don't think that "Private" was ever a rank in the RAF - though it would have been in the RFC. The lowest rank is AC (AirCraftsman).

                        Christine
                        Researching: BENNETT (Leics/Birmingham-ish) - incl. Leonard BENNETT in Detroit & Florida ; WARR/WOR, STRATFORD & GARDNER/GARNAR (Oxon); CHRISTMAS, RUSSELL, PAFOOT/PAFFORD (Hants); BIGWOOD, HAYLER/HAILOR (Sussex); LANCASTER (Beds, Berks, Wilts) - plus - COCKS (Spitalfields, Liverpool, Plymouth); RUSE/ROWSE, TREMEER, WADLIN(G)/WADLETON (Devonport, E Cornwall); GOULD (S Devon); CHAPMAN, HALL/HOLE, HORN (N Devon); BARRON, SCANTLEBURY (Mevagissey)...

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                        • #13
                          So what you're saying Christine, is that if he had have been in the RFC (to be a Private), he may have served during some part of the war. Still doesn't explain why he was ex Private RAF UNLESS he was called up/or doing his national service after the war.
                          This is getting confusing now. I must get my hands on the papers my brother has.
                          Jen
                          Avatar: One of my paintings.

                          Researching: Brandon.London/M/cr. Tyson.France/Mcr.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Jen~Ealogy View Post
                            So what you're saying Christine, is that if he had have been in the RFC (to be a Private), he may have served during some part of the war. Still doesn't explain why he was ex Private RAF UNLESS he was called up/or doing his national service after the war.
                            This is getting confusing now. I must get my hands on the papers my brother has.
                            National Service didn't exist at that time (it ran from 1939 to 1960) I think the most likely scenario is that he was a private in the RFC during the war and was then discharged around the time the RFC became RAF. By the time his son's death was registered in 1921 the term RAF would have been in common parlance, and so that is how he was described.
                            Judith passed away in October 2018

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                            • #15
                              For WW1 - CWGC lists 29 casualties from the Royal Flying Corps who were classified with the rank of Private - and 607 from the Royal Air Force - so it would seem that whether or not the rank was "officially" correct - it was certainly in common use at the time. Their units just from a quick look were both in Britain and overseas and covered for example - balloons,wireless, recruiting, School of Military Aeronautics, Aeroplane Repair Parks, Seaplanes as well as many different squadrons - so his role could have been almost anything

                              Cheers
                              Sue
                              Last edited by SueNSW; 19-01-11, 00:57.

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                              • #16
                                It is my understanding that in the early days of the RFC, members were recruited from Army and Navy units and initially retained their original ranks and even the uniforms of their former units.

                                In recent times, at least, medical categorisation in the RAF comprised of three elements, so someone classified as A1 G1 Z1 would be fit for all Air duties, all Ground duties in any Zone

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