Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918
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About the Royal Air Force Muster Roll
Search records of every serviceman enlisted with the Royal Air Force when it was created on 1 April 1918. This collection contains records for more than 181,000 men.
The men in this muster roll are listed by service number. The records will usually tell you the following about your RAF ancestors:
- Job in the RAF (trade classification). See a list of trade classification abbreviations explained
- Rank
- Date and terms of enlistment
- Rate of pay
All the men included in these records originally joined either the Royal Flying Corps or the Royal Naval Air Service. These two organisations were merged to form the RAF in the spring of 1918.
Abbreviations in the records
The following abbreviations can be found in the 'terms of enlistment' column:
- DW = duration of war
- OE = open engagement
Begin with the basics
The name of the person you are searching for may not be recorded in the way you expect. Henry John Davies, for example, may have been recorded as Henry Davies, Henry J Davies, H Davies, or even H J Davies. We suggest that you initially search using the person’s last name only. If you receive too many results, you can then add a first name to narrow them down.
First name and last name variations
If you don’t find the result you want first time, it is worth trying every possible variation in the first and last name fields.
Your ancestor might have used a different first name in everyday life from the one that appears on official records. For example, your great-uncle Jack’s birth name might have been John. Last names can often be spelled in many different ways, for example, Smith, Smyth or Smythe.
We’ve added an ‘Include variants’ tickbox next to both fields to allow for common differences in spelling or incorrect spelling. If you can’t find someone recorded under the name you expect, try ticking the ‘Include variants’ boxes to include variations of the name in your results.