Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

WW2 WAAF Plotters

Genealogy, Local, General
Lootman
The full Lemon
Posts: 18681
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:58 pm
Has thanked: 628 times
Been thanked: 6563 times

WW2 WAAF Plotters

#390085

Postby Lootman » February 25th, 2021, 9:06 pm

I have recently become interested in the work of the air defence plotters during WW2. You may have seen photos of them in WW2 films and documentaries. My mother was one although she never talked about it much, perhaps because she was not allowed to, according to this:

'Must be under twenty-one years of age, with quick reactions, good at figures – and female'.

These were the prerequisites for members of the WAAF seeking to work as plotters or Filter Officers in the Filter Room. I had the privilege of serving with this special group This secret section of the RAF’s defence programme in World War Two has never been given the recognition it deserves. Nevertheless, it was one of the greatest aids to protection of Britain and to our air operations of the whole war. The reason few people today have heard about this is the extreme secrecy which the personnel maintained about their work and its importance. Only in recent years have the restrictions been lifted and wartime members of this close group been freed from the silence imposed upon them.

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/o ... d-stories/

Their story is fascinating. They were effectively on the front line because the Germans were well aware of their importance, so the Luftwaffe targeted them. As a result the filter rooms were in fortified bunkers, distributed around the country.

Apparently there were hundreds of applicants for each position. My mother was accepted and relocated to RAF Turnhouse, near Edinburgh, on the site of what is now Edinburgh Airport. She was fortunate in that she got a scholarship to grammar school, which was hard for a poor working class girl to do at the time. That led to the offer of a job as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, and then into the WAAF.

Anyway the question is whether any Lemons have mothers (aunts, grandmothers) who were plotters? Given the 21 age limit, the youngest WAAF plotter would now be about 95, so there cannot be many left.

AsleepInYorkshire
Lemon Half
Posts: 7383
Joined: February 7th, 2017, 9:36 pm
Has thanked: 10514 times
Been thanked: 4659 times

Re: WW2 WAAF Plotters

#390104

Postby AsleepInYorkshire » February 25th, 2021, 9:58 pm


Lootman
The full Lemon
Posts: 18681
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:58 pm
Has thanked: 628 times
Been thanked: 6563 times

Re: WW2 WAAF Plotters

#390354

Postby Lootman » February 26th, 2021, 6:25 pm


Yes, thank you, I am compiling an inventory of sources.

For a number of years there was a WAAF association which sent out newsletters with articles, and they held an annual reunion in various locations, which my mother attended. Sadly the organisation was wound down a few years ago because there were not a sufficient number of surviving members to justify its continuation. That is why these resources are so important now, so their story will endure.

PinkDalek
Lemon Half
Posts: 6139
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 1:12 pm
Has thanked: 1589 times
Been thanked: 1801 times

Re: WW2 WAAF Plotters

#390380

Postby PinkDalek » February 26th, 2021, 7:57 pm

If I may, this would be a great topic for the History board (take a look what else is there) but I’ll leave it to you as to whether or not you are okay with it being moved.

Can’t help on plotters but my Father was in the RAFVR & I recently got hold of his service record. Let me know if you are interested in getting one - assuming they exist for the WAAF - and I can see what I did to order it. Nothing complicated from memory.

Lootman
The full Lemon
Posts: 18681
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:58 pm
Has thanked: 628 times
Been thanked: 6563 times

Re: WW2 WAAF Plotters

#390616

Postby Lootman » February 27th, 2021, 1:51 pm

PinkDalek wrote:If I may, this would be a great topic for the History board (take a look what else is there) but I’ll leave it to you as to whether or not you are okay with it being moved.

Can’t help on plotters but my Father was in the RAFVR & I recently got hold of his service record. Let me know if you are interested in getting one - assuming they exist for the WAAF - and I can see what I did to order it. Nothing complicated from memory.

I will ask the mods to move this to History.

Yes, that is interesting, thank you. I did find this reference to obtaining WW2 service records:

if you are the immediate next of kin or you've got consent from the immediate next of kin you can apply directly to the MOD for the service records. Full details how to do this can be found at https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records where you can download and complete the relevant application form: Form 1: Request for Service Personnel Details: Next of Kin form Form 2: Request for Service Personnel Details: General Enquirer's form (If you're not a relative) Form 3: Service Specific form Please read these forms carefully as the MOD will provide instruction and may require you to complete other forms to accompany the selected form listed above. Further information on what you will likely receive can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-rec ... -personnel

https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/bl ... s-of-women

Might ask for my father as well. He was a carpenter and was recruited to patch up returning RAF planes that had wood construction, e.g. Mosquito, Hurricane.

redsturgeon
Lemon Half
Posts: 8911
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 9:06 am
Has thanked: 1309 times
Been thanked: 3667 times

Re: WW2 WAAF Plotters

#390619

Postby redsturgeon » February 27th, 2021, 2:02 pm

Moderator Message:
Moved to History Board. Shadow left on DAK.

PinkDalek
Lemon Half
Posts: 6139
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 1:12 pm
Has thanked: 1589 times
Been thanked: 1801 times

Re: WW2 WAAF Plotters

#390630

Postby PinkDalek » February 27th, 2021, 2:22 pm

Lootman wrote:Yes, that is interesting, thank you. I did find this reference to obtaining WW2 service records:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/request-records-of-deceased-service-personnel


I'm pretty certain that's the place I started.

It only took a month to arrive and that a couple of days before the first lockdown. The photocopied paperwork came back on four A3 pages, with handwritten notes all over the place. Needs some deciphering, given the handwriting and all the abbreviations used but they do provide a list of some of those. Amazing to see though, although I already knew quite a few of his postings from other paperwork/diaries/letters I already had and had been researching.

I already held my father's RAF "Brief Statement of Service and Certificate of Discharge" from his own papers. In his case it was an R.A.F. Form 1394. I don't know if that can also be obtained if you don't already have it. It does cater, inter alia, for the W.A.A.F.

To the top right is a tear off corner that, it if were missing, would indicate the "airman/airwoman is discharged with a "bad" character, or with disgrace" etc.

Edit: I'd completely forgotten I started a slightly related thread last February viewtopic.php?f=84&t=21811#p284576


Return to “History”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests