Airborne Assault MuseumHistorical Enquiries – Frequently Asked Questions
The Airborne Assault Museum and ParaData receive a large number of historical enquiries each week. We understand how important it can be to families to discover more about a relative’s military service, and we are always pleased to help where our collections and records can provide information.
To help you get the most from your research, we have put together the following frequently asked questions.
Before contacting the Airborne Assault Archive
Have you obtained a copy of the Service Record?
If you are researching a former soldier or officer, we recommend obtaining their official Service Record as the first step in your research.
The Service Record can contain valuable information such as when and where an individual enlisted, units they served with, postings, promotions and courses attended.
The Airborne Assault Museum does not hold the complete Service Records of everyone who served in the Airborne Forces.
The Army Personnel Centre Historical Disclosures Section holds Army records dating back to the 1920s. They can provide information to the next of kin of deceased former soldiers and officers who served from 1920 onwards. Other enquirers may also request information where 25 years have passed since the individual’s death.
You can apply for a copy of a military Service Record through the GOV.UK website:
https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records
The website also provides information about the MOD Medal Office.
There is a charge for obtaining a Service Record, but we strongly recommend beginning your research here before submitting an enquiry to the Airborne Assault Archive.
What if I am researching someone who served with the Free Polish Forces?
The Airborne Assault Archive does not hold the complete service records of personnel who served with the Free Polish Forces.
For information about Polish Army and Royal Navy personnel, please contact:
Polish Records
Polish Correspondence Section
Room 28B
RAF Northolt
West End Road
Ruislip
Middlesex
HA4 6NG
Email: polishasstdisoff@northolt.raf.mod.uk
Information that will help with your research
Why is the Service Number important?
A Service Number is one of the most useful pieces of information when researching an individual.
Names can be surprisingly difficult to trace accurately. Our records may contain several individuals with the same surname, the same initials, or occasionally only a surname. Names may also have been recorded with different spellings. The Service Number provides a much more reliable way of identifying the correct individual. If you do not know the Service Number, we recommend contacting the Army Personnel Centre before submitting an enquiry to us.
What other museums and archives should I consider?
The Airborne Assault Archive is specifically concerned with the history of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces. If the person you are researching served in another regiment or corps before transferring to the Airborne Forces, useful information may be held by another regimental museum or archive.
For example, if they served with the Royal Artillery, Royal Army Medical Corps or Royal Engineers, you may wish to contact the relevant museum or archive.
Further information about Army Museums can be found at:
Army Museums Ogilby Trust https://www.armymuseums.org.uk
Other useful sources include:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission https://www.cwgc.org – an extensive database of those who died during the First and Second World Wars.
The National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk – including unit war
diaries and other historical records.
What does the Airborne Assault Archive hold?
The Archive does not hold the complete Service Record of every individual who served in the Airborne Forces.
However, we do hold a range of historical records and collections which may contain information about individuals and their service. Depending on the period and unit, these may include parachute course records and other unit or operational material.
Our ability to research an individual therefore depends on what records have survived and what information they contain.
Please do not assume that we will be able to provide a complete account of an individual’s service. Our researchers can only work with the surviving historical evidence available to us.
What information do you need for an enquiry?
The more information you can provide, the more effectively we can research your enquiry.
Where possible, please include:
1) Full name, including any middle names or initials
2) Service Number
3) Regiment, battalion, squadron or other unit
4) Approximate dates of service
5) Date and place of birth
6) Relevant dates and locations
7) Information about parachute or glider training
8) Details of operations or campaigns you believe they took part in
9) Any other information you already have from family records or previous research
If you are unsure about a particular detail, please still include it, but make clear that you are not certain. Even information that subsequently proves to be incorrect can sometimes help our researchers identify the source of a discrepancy.
Do family stories always match the official records? Not necessarily.
We appreciate that much of the information about a relative’s service may have been passed down through family members. These recollections can be extremely valuable and may provide details that do not appear in official records.
However, it is quite common for family recollections and surviving military records to differ. Over time, details such as dates, ranks, units, locations or particular events can become confused or remembered differently. Equally, official military records are not infallible and can themselves be incomplete or contain errors.
Our researchers therefore compare the information provided with the available historical evidence. We are not seeking to disprove family stories, but to establish what the surviving records can support.
Where the available evidence differs from the family recollection, we will explain this as clearly and sensitively as possible. Where the evidence is inconclusive, we will say so rather than presenting an uncertain conclusion as fact.
What type of enquiries can the Archive undertake?
The historical enquiry service is intended primarily for individuals undertaking research into a particular person, their military service, or their own family history.
To ensure that we can provide a fair and sustainable service to all enquirers, we do not undertake open-ended research enquiries. Enquiries should therefore relate to a specific individual and contain clear, focused questions for our researchers to investigate.
For example, rather than asking us to research everything we can find about an individual, please identify the particular aspects of their service that you would like us to investigate.
We may also be unable to undertake enquiries which require extensive research across multiple collections, prolonged investigation or the creation of a comprehensive biography. Where an enquiry falls outside the scope of our standard service, we will advise the enquirer accordingly.
Can the Archive undertake research for authors, publishers, television companies or other commercial organisations?
The standard historical enquiry service is intended for personal and family research and is not a commercial research service.
Enquiries from authors, publishers, production companies, broadcasters, journalists, researchers working on commercial projects, or other organisations should contact the Museum separately to discuss their requirements.
Commercial research, image requests, filming enquiries, publication requests and other professional services are subject to separate terms and charging arrangements.
Please contact the Airborne Assault Museum directly to discuss your requirements and obtain details of the applicable charges.
Charges and timescales
Is there a charge for historical enquiries?
Yes. All historical enquiries are chargeable.
For individual and family-history enquiries, we ask for a minimum donation of £50, which covers approximately one hour of research. Historical research can involve searching and comparing information across a number of different records and sources. The charge reflects the staff and volunteer time required to undertake this research and helps support the continued care, conservation and accessibility of the Archive.
The £50 minimum donation is payable whether or not we are able to find the information you are looking for. We cannot guarantee that an enquiry will produce a positive result, as this depends on the surviving records and the information they contain.
The £50 charge covers a defined period of research and does not constitute an open-ended research service. If an enquiry is likely to require substantially more time or falls outside the scope of the standard service, we will advise you before undertaking further research.
For this reason, please provide as much information as possible and ask clear, specific questions for our researchers to address. The donations received help support the conservation and management of the Archive and contribute towards the costs associated with our volunteer researchers.
How long will my enquiry take?
The time required varies according to the complexity of the enquiry, the records that need to be examined and the availability of our volunteer researchers.
We aim to respond to enquiries within one month, although more complex enquiries may occasionally take longer.
If we are unable to provide a definitive answer, we will explain what we have been able to establish and, where possible, suggest other sources that may help you continue your research.
How do I submit an enquiry?
You can submit an enquiry through the ParaData website:
Submit an enquiry to the Airborne Assault Archive https://www.paradata.org.uk/contact-us
Please provide as much information as possible and clearly set out the specific questions you would like our researchers to answer.