Genealogy Chat

I have already written the letter to RAF for dads service records (see other thread). I have looked at FAQ and it says you must get consent of next of kin (me) and provide a death cert. Well, I can provide the cert and the £20 but how do you prove you are the next of kin? They dont actually ask for anything particular on there - do people have to send a birth certificate or will they take my word? They do not give a contact phone number or email addy.

Hi The MOD enquiry line is: 01452 712612 ext 7900. I was told a form would be sent out and all that was required would be a signature from the next of kin (and the death certificate obviously. Good luck Snowdrops

You send a COPY of your birth cert. You also need a written letter from any living relative who is more closely connected than you. (Your Mum ) If she is deceased then you need copy of her death cert as well. Elaine ;-) Sorry Heather, Altered my reply AFTER reading entire Q.

Hi Heather, with my due respect to your other answers, I beg to differ. I reqd my fathers army docs and with the £25, I asked in Glasgow, and less than 8 weeks, it had arrived chez moi in France. The big difference was my dads surname was different to mine, I explained why, no prob. Go for it, Derek

Are people getting the army and RAF document requirements mixed up? There are different criteria for each one and each need to be applied to from different places. The army from Glasgow and the RAF from Gloucester. Snowdrops

Did you get info from the Veterans Agency ? You can download the form and e-mail them with any questions. www(.)veteransagency(.)mod(.)uk/service_recs/service_recs.htm Also you can try the RAF Associations if you know what Squadron or Ground Crew www(.)associations(.)rafinfo(.)org(.)uk/ Keith

For father-in-law's army records we didn't have to prove anything. For dad's RAF record, mum had to send his death cert and their marriage cert, but I don't think she actually had to PROVE it was his widow writing the letter! The accepted that the letter writer was Mrs X, which somehow seemed to rather defeat the object, but that was how it was (about 18 months ago!) Merry

Many thanks peeps. Ive looked on the veterans site and the mod site and they give different info! So I guess best thing to do is write to Gloucester and ask for the forms to complete. I have dad and mums death certificates and my own birth certificate so if they ask, I have them. I have dads discharge book so I know his squadron, service number etc - he was a gunner in the RAF WW2 so he should be easy to trace. I had a good cry after I posted this earlier - it doesnt seem real I am writing about him in the past tense. Thanks for everyones input.

I`ve been trying to get my great uncle`s record from the Royal Naval Reserve with no luck -he had no children and wife is dead , who would be next of kin -my father possibly -his nephew? I`ve written to Gosport , Glasgow University , Mitchell Library , Veterans Agency -no luck. Rosalyn