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Remembered Today:

RAF record card - help deciphering please


LisaMac

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Hi I have finally found an RAF record card for my husbands grandfather. I am having difficulty deciphering the 'movements and promotions' both words and numbers. Also with the second page. Any ideas what (Lm) is? I am unable to find any information regarding his army service and assume there are probably no surviving records. Carney is changed frequently with Kearney but no luck. I originally thought he had been at Curragh Camp in Co. Kildare but he had a son born in London July 1916 just before he joined.

 

I am also wondering if there is anyway I can find out who he was a batman for? He was actually born in 1883 in Dublin not 1880. Interestingly he was a photographer and was at Farnborough which I think is where Defence School of Photography began at this time.

 

Any help very gratefully received, 

244974242_JosephCarneyWW1.jpg.b78594e44badbbbf23d865256897b7f1.jpg

1803147231_JCWW1g.jpg.bc4f2bbd989c532f7e133698902705de.jpg

 

 

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Interesting. How did you locate the card? 
 

All the best,

 

Gary

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I ordered birth certs for his 2nd and 3rd child and one 3rd child listed as private RAF born at Farnborough and then pretty much just trawled every site I could find with listings for his name and RAF. Until I got the birth cert I had no idea whether he had served at all or had remained in Ireland. Pretty much tracked his life until I had a WW1 gap!! Then tracked the children.

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Looks to me like: 

 

Movements

at S of P (School of Photography - South Farnborough)  transferred to RD (Reserve Depot - at South Farnborough. Prior to 15.1.18 it was known as Recruits Depot ) on 14.9.18

From RD to 6 TDS (6 Training Depot Station - at Boscombe Down) 3.10.18

From 6 TDS to Crystal Palace 3.1.19 

 

I'm not sure when he was demobbed - I would have thought it would be after his arrival at Crystal Palace but he does not seem to have been placed on the Reserve until 4.3.19 so maybe he was on the Crystal Palace staff?  He was deemed discharged on 30.4.20.  Others may have a better idea as to the significance of these dates.

 

Promotions

Transferred to RFC as 3rd Class Air Mechanic 18.1.18

Transferred to RAF [on formation of RAF] as Private 2nd Class 1.4.18

 

I can't read the word in the column after "Batman" I'm afraid.

 

The "LM" stumps me but if you found his record via Findmypast, you may be able to look at the RAF muster roll (I don't have a sub) which may set out the various trades,

 

I see there are medal index cards for various Army Joseph Carneys - the difficulty is working out which one yours is.... and if he did not go abroard he wouldn't feature.

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Thanks so much! School of photography I should have guessed that!! I haven't found a medal index card that matches him. I think he probably did not go abroad. I was wondering about the crystal palace dates. Many thanks again, really helpful. 

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I thought from your opening post that you had worked out the School of Photography bit yourself!  Given that he was a photographer in civil life, I wonder whether his comparatively long stint at the School of Photography was more to do with training other people, or being on the technical staff, than being trained.  Perhaps a darkroom technician or something like that - he may well have had a lot of pre-war darkroom experience.  The bit in brackets by his trade may tell us more precisely what he did but I simply can't think what it might stand for.  I wouldn't think it was anything to do with servicing/maintaining cameras because that's a completely different career requiring different skills.

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Interesting that he appears to have been in the army from 3.8.16 to transfer to RFC in January 1918.

No apparent records of him found so far

 

George

Edited by George Rayner
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Photographer (Lm) is actually Photographer (Lnr) = Photographer ( Learner)

 

Steve

Edited by hmsk212
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Thanks everyone. I realised last night that LM must be LNR!  I did think that he possibly was involved in training or maybe was one of the observer photographers.  I was wondering what he was doing between 3.8.16 to Jan 1918. I know he was living in Holborn/Clerkenwell area in July 1916. Unfortunately I've not found any other possibilities online. It would appear he became a batman around the time he went to 6TDS and I'm assuming at Crystal Palace potentially. I'm not sure there would be any further records at Kew.

Any ideas on 33Wg161?? 

Edited by LisaMac
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I think the 'batman' entry is "Rmstd" = Remustered as a batman. Change of RAF Trade Classification from Technical to Non-Technical.

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LisaMac-have you seen his marriage certificate? Or Irish Census of 1911 on which he is listed as 'Photographic artist'

 

George

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Yes thanks George I have his birth, 2 marriages, 8 children, 1901 and 1911 census plus one arrest for an unlicensed dog! His 3 sons were all in RAF. He remained a photographer all his life.

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