Military Chat

I'm trying to find information on the WAAF nominal roll during the Battle of Britain. My grandmother, Hilda Emily Darvill, served there during that period. Any advice or assistance gratefully received

Welcome to the Boards Neil.

Not entirely what you mean by Nominal Roll. Her service record, if that is what you mean, would still be with the MOD

This is the link for obtaining UK service records:
http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/service_records.html

On the assumption that both she and your grandfather are deceased, it will cost £30 to have a copy sent to you. It would probably take many months before they arrive.

There are quite a number of internet search results for 'WAAF at RAF Biggin Hill'

The Nominal Roll is the active list of all personnel posted to a unit at any given time. My biggest problem right now is trying to obtain their service numbers then I can apply for the service records.

The forms say to complete them with >as much detail as possible<.

Surely her name at the time, dob, place of birth and service details as you know them would suffice?

Internet search results seem to refer to the Australian services, not British rolls.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=87381.0

Write to the address on the following link, which was found via the WAAF Association page.

http://www.raf.mod.uk/links/contacts.cfm

WAAF Association
http://www.waafassociation.org.uk/waafa_aims.html

Neil are you Australian because of your use of nominal roll? I do know it is used in the Australian forces.

I was a member of the WRAF much later than the war and my husband served for 25 years in the RAF and neither have heard the term relating to UK forces.

Just to clarify are you referring to the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and your grandmother British - if so follow previous advice. :-)

I was in the British Army for thirteen years and it was a term we used.

Not in the RAF though when we were in Neil.

As part of my job I had to find out quarterly how many people were on a camp. I had to do it by sections then total them up. Don't ask, it's service. lol I would phone and ask what their manning levels were and that included a detachment of RCT at 1 camp. I couldn't just go to general office and ask because of entitlements to treatment, well that's what I was told. :-S

Kevin Asplin uses the term on his site:

http://www.britishmedals.us/kevin/nominal.html

e.g. of the Imperial Yeomanry in the 2nd Anglo-Boer War

it may have fallen into disuse

I would think the main block in this case is that nominal rolls, if there are such, would not be released for some time yet for privacy/defence reasons

since you know her dates of birth and death, and other personal details, I would think too that they would suffice for ordering her record