In an earlier post I stated that at the Vancouver Island Military Museum we were looking for the service records of Osborne Orr, DFC, 152219.
From the UK National Archives, we have Orr?? Attestation Papers (October 1917) and his service record, which begins with his arrival in England in April 1918. We want to find the rest of his Canadian record
The fact that his Attestation Papers made it from Toronto to the UK National Archives was at first encouraging.
Our belief that there is more available than the Attestation Papers is based on: Alan Sullivan. Aviation in Canada, 1917 – 1918. Rous and Mann. Toronto, 1919.
Sullivan clearly had at hand a wealth of information about the IRFC/RAFC. He also stated on page 152, “A complete history of each cadet from the time he first made application until the time he proceeded overseas, through every stage of training and every movement, has been kept in minute detail.”
This is what we are looking for.
The UK National Archives state that they have nothing more on Orr, other than his Attestation Papers and the service record which begins with his arrival in England.
We have the names of many men who enlisted in the IRFC/RFCC/RAFC in Canada and underwent training in Canada, but were never sent to England. The UK National Archives has nothing about them.
We have made enquiries with a large number of archives in Canada. They have nothing on the service records of RFC Canada. Indeed, it is he general belief here that they should be in the hands of the UK National Archives.
Having exhausted known archives, we have posted on several forums, such as this, hoping to find the missing records.
Sadly, the “complete history of each cadet” may be lost. We keep looking.
A note on terminology.
The Imperial Royal Flying Corps (IRFC) was a term commonly used for the RFC?? Canadian operations until the formation of the RAF. Thereafter, the term Royal Air Force Canada appears as the common term. Then, it seems that the commonly accepted term for the old IRFC became Royal Flying Corps Canada. This can be seen in Alan Sullivan. Aviation in Canada, 1917 ??1918. Rous and Mann. Toronto, 1919. This is the foundation work for anyone studying the IRFC and the RAFC. It has been digitized by the University of California and is available online, free, at https://archive.org/stream/aviationi…age/8/mode/2up
The Canadian War Museum has a brief history of IRFC and RAFC, including a recruiting poster for the IRFC, at https://www.warmuseum.ca/learn/dispa…-1917-18/#tabs
The official history of the RCAF by S. F. Wise, although published in 1980, has not been surpassed. Wise relies heavily on Sullivan for statistics and does a thorough job of outlining the IRFC and RAFC. Wise refers commonly to the Royal Flying Corps Canada, but states on page 78 at the beginning of chapter 4, ??he RFC Canada (or the ??mperial Royal Flying Corps??as its stationery and advertisements proclaimed it) ??€?LEFT|br />This book was digitized by the Canadian government and is also available, free, at https://www.canada.ca/en/department-…irmen-ww1.html
The term IRFC was commonly used in recruiting posters, one example of many can be found at https://canadaatwarblog.wordpress.co…rst-world-war/
Other publications based largely on these reliable sources have used IRFC and RFCC interchangeably. For example, C.W. Hunt. Dancing in the Sky ??The Royal Flying Corps in Canada. Dundurn Press. Toronto, 2009.