Genealogy Chat

Could someone please enlighten me? I knew my natural father had been in the RAF during the war and I wrote to the Ministry of Defence back in 1986 and they sent his details. His rank was AIRCRAFTMAN '1ST' CLASS. What exactly does that mean? I knew he could fly his own plane because he told me he'd actually owned one once but that was some time before I met him. Sadly, I can't ask HIM as he's now to frail and doesn't remember meeting me!

Mary, I believe this would have been the equivalent of a Private in the Army. Elisabeth

Mary Having been an Airman in the 1960s I can tell you the 'code' for the 'lower' ranks: AC2 - Aircraftsmen 2nd class AC1 - Aircraftsman 1st class LAC - Leading Aircraftsman SAC - Senior Aircraftsman JT - Junior Technician Cpl - Corporal and so on - so your dad would have been an AC1 - the rank carried no badge at all - LAC had a 2 bladed horizontal propellor, SAC a 3 bladed one and JT a 4 bladed one (formerly had a single inverted chevron). Graham

My Dad was an LAC. He was in Malta during the seige in 1942, and was awarded the British Empire Medal. I was about one and a half at the time. Jim

Jim, Good old Dad. Bet he was very proud to wear it. Elisabeth

Just thought I would point out that the ranks of Junior Technician and Senior Aircraftman did not exist before the late 1950's. The rank of AC1 therefore had a slightly higher rating and was not so easy to obtain. It entailed passing an examination in your trade and the pass rate could be pretty low - it meant they had to pay you a few pence more. I failed mine on one point, because - although I could do the practical work -it was decided that I did not explain it properly in the written work. That marked me one point lower than the pass mark, in fact none of us passed and the others were all men and were marked lower than me. Still rankles 53 years later.