Soldier runs down the King

[Mike K]

Some of those NAA service file records are amazing. The court martials are all there for all to read. Highly personal letters from family members , some may still be alive.

I read one file that I recall. A chap qualified as a RAAF pilot , he was then posted to Mildura to do training on operational types of aircraft but his instructor at Mildura wrote very negative reports on this chaps flying abilities. The base CO then recommended he hand in his wings which he eventually did , but years later in the 1970s, he wrote to Canberra requesting that his pilots rating was to be recognized and he wanted compensation and a medal.

The sad ones to read are the casualties , the aircrew deaths in the UK, there were many. The correspondence between the UK and the families with the actual telegrams notifying the deaths and the graves commission details relating to grave site locations in occupied Europe and the sending on of the dead airman's possessions. Hand written letters from the parents wanting to know more information.

[Lang]

Mike

They are very good at record research in the Australian Defence Department. Tens of thousands of personel have their records digitised the same as our mate Harold Sheperd above. The boom in the Family History hobby has helped more of these records come to light.

What a lot of more recent ex-service people don't know is that they can get their own full records, not just the basic service and medical like that above for relatives.

When I got out I wanted full information for a pension etc and asked for my full records. I got about 200 pages of everything ranging from my signature on the bit of paper first day in the Army to course reports, officer confidential reports (you never see the comments after the first one your C.O. writes and it is very interesting to see what higher officers, particularly the Corps Director, has to say about you!). In my case I got another folder of about 150 pages of every flying test, aircraft conversion and qualification exam.

The medical records extended to the full treatment sheets with doctor's comments and daily hospital charts.

It is all out there for free, you just have to ask.

Lang