The McIlree Family

For Army Research the following books are available:

Army Records: A Guide for family Historians
By William Spencer. Paperback.

Published by The National Archives, April 2007
ISBN 1905615108 - £12.99
Army Service Records of the First World War
By William Spencer. Paperback.

Published by The National Archives, August 2001
ISBN 1903365236 - £9.99
British Campaign Medals
By Peter Duckers. Paperback.

Published by Shire Books
£7.99
Family History in the Wars
By William Spencer. Paperback.

Published by The National Archives, February 2007
ISBN 1903365953 - £7.99
First World War. The Essential Guide to Sources in The National Archives
By Ian FW Beckett. Hardback.

Published by The National Archives, November 2002
ISBN 1903365414 - £19.99
Identifying your World War I Soldier from Badges and Photographs
By Iain Swinnerton and Roland Symons. Paperback.

Published by the Federation of Family Historians, 2006
ISBN 1860061281 - £7.50
Location of British Army Records 1914-1918
By Norman Holding and Iain Swinnerton. Paperback.

Published by the Federation of Family Historians, 4th edition
ISBN 1860061052 - £5.95
Making Use of the Census
By Susan Lumas. Paperback

Published by The National Archives, July 2002
ISBN 190336535X - £8.99
Medals: The Researcher’s Guide
By William Spencer. Hardback

Published by The National Archives, June 2006
ISBN 1903365635 - £19.99
More Sources of World War I Army Ancestry
By Norman Holding. Paperback

Published by the Federation of Family History Societies, 3rd edition
ISBN 1860060838 - £5.45
My Ancestor was in the Army
By Michael Watts and Christopher Watts.
Published by the Society of Genealogists 1992, reprinted 1995.

ISBN 0-946789-47-9 £5.50
Currently out of print. Re-print anticipated.
Tracing Your Army Ancestors
By Simon Fowler. Paperback

Published by Pen & Sword, September 2006
ISBN 1844154106 - £9.99
Tracing Your First World War Ancestors
By Simon Fowler. Paperback.

Published by Countryside Books, 2003.
ISBN 1853067911 - £7.95
Tracing Your Family History – Army
Published by the Imperial War Museum, 2006, 2nd edition. Paperback.

ISBN 1-90489724X £5.99
Tracing Your Second World War Ancestors
By Simon Fowler. Paperback.

Published by Countryside Books, February 2006
ISBN 1853069361 - £9.99
World War I Army Ancestry
By Norman Holding and Iain Swinnerton. Paperback

Published by the Federation of Family History Societies, 4th edition
ISBN 1860061796 - £6.95

For Navy Research the following books are available:

John Charnock: Biographia Navalis, published in London 1794-98. This early work only includes post-captains and higher ranks.

John Marshall: Royal Naval Biography, published in London 1823-35. Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers ...

William R O'Byrne: A Naval Biographical Dictionary, published in London in 1849 and again in 1861. This included all the RN officers discoverable by him, and his extensive working notes are archived at the British Library.

C G Pitcairn Jones: The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815 published by the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 1979. The NMM holds an annotated 12 volume set, with much unpublished data. There are earlier works with this title, published at various times since the 1950s, in collaboration with the Admiralty Library, in 1 or 3 volume sets with no author's name, but they are less comprehensive. The collection of manuscript archives at the NMM occupies over 4 miles of shelving!

RN Officers. Pre-1914 at PRO, First and Second World Wars at MoD, post-WW2 at HMS Centurion.

RN Ratings. Ratings who served in WW1 or before are at PRO, unless they continued in service beyond 1929. The latter, plus those who entered between 1924-1930 at MoD. Those who entered after these periods at HMS Centurion.

Royal Naval Reserves (RNR). World War 1 records at MoD. Earlier records at PRO, later ones at HMS Centurion.

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves (RNVR). WW1 records are being transferred from MoD to PRO. World War 2 records at MoD. Later records at HMS Centurion (RNVR amalgamated with the RNR in 1958).

Royal Naval Division (RND). First World War (1914-16) records at MoD.

Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS). First World War records at PRO. Records of women who entered between 1939-1955 at MoD. Later records at HMS Centurion.

Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS). First World War records at PRO, WW2 records at MoD, later records at HMS Centurion.

This information about personnel records is based on data provided by MoD, November 1998. Because some records are to be transferred from MoD to PRO, the detailed situation is subject to change.

For Royal Air Force Research the following books are available:


Royal Air Force History - General

F. Adkin, From the Ground Up: A History of RAF Ground Crew (Airlife, 1983)

Sir Michael Armitage, The Royal Air Force (Cassell, 1999)

K. Beauman, Partners in Blue: The Story of Women's Service with the Royal Air Force (Hutchinson, 1971)

C. Bowyer, History of the RAF, 1918-1977 (Hamlyn, 1977)

J. Chartres, Fly for their Lives (Airlife, 1988)

Sir Maurice Dean, The RAF and Two World Wars (Cassell, 1979)

B. Escott, Women in Air Force Blue (Patrick Stephens, 1989)

M. Gething, Sky Guardians: Britain's Air Defence, 1918-1993 (Arms and Armour, 1993)

E. Haslam, The History of Royal Air Force Cranwell (HMSO, 1982)

L. Hunt, Twenty-one Squadrons: The History of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force: 1925-1957 (Garnstone, 1972)

R. Jackson, The Royal Air Force in Action from Flanders to the Falklands (Blandford, 1985)

T. Mason, To Inherit the Skies: From Spitfire to Tornado (Brassey's, 1990)

K. Oliver, Through Adversity: The History of the Royal Air Force Regiment (Forces and Corporate, 1996)

H. Probert, High Commanders of the Royal Air Force (HMSO, 1991)

J. Rawlings, The History of the Royal Air Force (Temple, 1984)

J. Taylor, CFS: Birthplace of Air Power (Jane's, 1987)

Commands, Groups, Wings and Miscellaneous Units

(For Second World War Bomber Command titles see The Second World War)

C. Ashworth, RAF Bomber Command, 1936-1968 (Patrick Stephens, 1995)

C. Ashworth, RAF Coastal Command, 1936-1969 (Patrick Stephens, 1992)

C. Ashworth, RAF Fighter Command, 1936-1968 (Patrick Stephens, 1992)

C. Bowyer, Fighter Command, 1936-68 (JM Dent, 1980)

C. Bowyer, Pathfinders at War (Ian Allan, 1977)

M. Bowyer, 2 Group RAF: A Complete History, 1936-1945 (Faber, 1974)

C. Christie, Ocean Bridge: The History of RAF Ferry Command (Midland, 1995)

P. Jackson, Britain's Armed Forces Today No. 1: RAF Strike Command (Ian Allan, 1984)

P. Jackson, Britain's Armed Forces Today No. 4: Royal Air Force Germany (Ian Allan, 1986)

G. Musgrove, Pathfinder Force: A History of 8 Group (MacDonald and Jane's, 1976)

R. Sturtivant, J. Hamlin and J. Halley, RAF Fying Training and Support Units (Air Britain, 1997)

H. Wynn, Forged in War: A History of Royal Air Force Transport Command, 1943-1967
(The Stationary Office, 1996)

Stations

C. Bowyer, Action Stations 1: Wartime military airfields of East Anglia, 1939-1945 (Patrick Stephens, 1979)

B. Halpenny, Action Stations 2: Military airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands (Patrick Stephens, 1981)

D. Smith, Action Stations 3: Military airfields of Wales and the North-West (Patrick Stephens, 1981)

B. Halpenny, Action Stations 4: Military airfields of Yorkshire (Patrick Stephens, 1982)

C. Ashworth, Action Stations 5: Military airfields of the South-West (Patrick Stephens, 1982)

C. Bowyer, Action Stations 6: Military airfields of the Cotswolds and the Central Midlands (Patrick Stephens, 1983)

D. Smith, Action Stations 7: Military airfields of Scotland, the North-East and Northern Ireland (Patrick Stephens, 1983)

B. Halpenny, Action Stations 8: Military airfields of Greater London (Patrick Stephens, 1984)

C. Ashworth, Action Stations 9: Military airfields of the Central South and South-East (Patrick Stephens, 1985)

B. Quarrie, Action Stations 10: Supplement and index (Patrick Stephens, 1987)

T. Fairbairn: Action Stations Overseas (Patrick Stephens, 1991)