Donating My Dads Logbooks Johnny "Timber" Wood

[inmate]

Having spent a few days in the basement going through my dad's log books (all 11 of them) I realized that with no immediate family to pass them on too they probably would be thrown away at some point in time.
The first 5 Logbooks cover his RAF flying from 1938 to 1950 which I can send to the RAF Association and that includes his Wartime Log during his extended hotel stay in 1944 at hotel "Stalagluft 1".
His civil flying that covered the period 1950 through the mid 70's was conducted mostly "Crop Dusting" in Africa (South, East and North) so I would imagine if there were any interest it may well come from that part of the world. He did base for many years out of Kenya and the surrounding area (Airwork, Airspray etc.) and flew a lot of the African contracts from the UK.
So, if anybody has any good ideas on a legitimate source that might make some use from his logbooks then please post or you can PM me
Regards
Mike Wood

[Pypard]

Mike, I'd really recommend sending the RAF log books and PoW info to the RAF Museum: they have a very professional department which archives items and also makes them available to researchers. It means that they won't disappear into some sort of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' type of storage, never to be seen again.

[inmate]

Mike, I'd really recommend sending the RAF log books and PoW info to the RAF Museum: they have a very professional department which archives items and also makes them available to researchers. It means that they won't disappear into some sort of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' type of storage, never to be seen again.
Thanks, Pypard.
I appreciate the impute and will take your advice for his RAF time, I knew that somewhere in the RAF system a department existed which would put them to good use. A lot of his "Africa time has been documented in a couple of books of aviation in Africa during the 50's and 60's so I'm hoping that the rest of the logbooks might be put to some use.
Like Dad I have just retired from flying although I took the helicopter route and even though I enjoyed the worldwide nomad pilot life mine seems very boring and tame to his.
Thanks again mate.

[TCU]

Would recommend dropping a similar thread on the SA aviation forum avcom.co.za.....might stir some interest down here or even locate folks who knew your father. Looks like he had an impressive and exciting aviation career

[grobbling about]

Mike, I agree that the RAF Museum, would serve as an excellent long-term repository for your Dad’s logbooks. If he served in Bomber Command, I would also suggest that, prior to sending them to Hendon, you consider contacting the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln. The University of Lincoln manages the IBCC’s digital archive and a team (including Grob Jr)digitises any BC records, logbooks, letters, photos etc with the aim of allowing public access to an extensive online archive. However, Use of the material is closely controlled with owners retaining copyright. The IBCC tends not to hold onto these important relics and would normally return them to the owners, so you could take that route as well as presenting the originals to the RAF Museum.

[NutLoose]

I would beware though.

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/default/archive-collection/aircrew-logbooks/

We are often asked whether we hold a specific person’s log book. When aircrew were reported missing their effects were collected together and held in a central depository. Whilst in most cases their property was later handed over to next of kin, unclaimed logbooks were retained by the Air Ministry. By 1959, these unclaimed logbooks covered some 6500 feet of shelving. It was decided that representative samples would be preserved in the Public Record Office and the remainder destroyed at the end of 1960. This decision was announced in the Press and a number of people claimed logbooks. But the vast majority were destroyed, ironically just a few years before the RAF Museum was founded.

however

Many of the logbooks in our collection are originals, but we are also grateful to those who have allowed us to microfilm or photocopy logbooks in their possession. We welcome all offers to donate or lend logbooks, and are particularly keen to add material which relates to operations in the Middle and Far East, Special Duties and flying in the post-1945 period.

[Pypard]

I would beware though.
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/default/archive-collection/aircrew-logbooks/
however

This isn't very helpful to the OP's request: these incidents occurred prior to the existence of the RAF Museum and have no bearing on the present-day situation.

But another thing I forgot to mention: the RAF Museum also has a comprehensive cataloguing system, which means that artefacts are catalogued by all known variables such as name (obviously), but also aircraft types flown; units assigned to and airfields flown from. This means that anyone researching 'x' Squadron or a particular airfield, will be led to the OP's father's log books. I have used this facility a number of times and I can say from experience that it is VERY rare to find this with any other repository. So again, the OP's father's log books will not only be held in a secure location but also genuinely available rather than being donated and of no real further use as a resource or form of remembrance.

In contrast, I have dealt with many museums who either don't know what they have (worrying) or are unable to provide this type of specific search.

I have no personal links with the RAF Museum, other than being able to input from my experience researching in their archives over many years.

[Compass Call]

Who would you contact at the RAF Museum to arrange delivery of log books, medals etc.?
I would like to ensure my families Log books, medals, photos etc are well looked after as I have no kin who are interested in them.
My father was a Typhoon pilot and his brother was his rigger on the same Squadron.

[inmate]

Your post adds to my request "Compass" so we will both benefit from any replies. What made me smile was that Dad flew Typhoon's before he holidayed at Stalug 1 257 Burma Sqd. It's still a small world.

[inmate]

Thanks TCU, I added the request to the site so we will see what comes forth.

[Compass Call]

My father was on 175 Sqdn. It was a 'Heinz 57' of nationalities. His war diary makes interesting reading.

[Pypard]

In the first instance I'd contact via email:

[email protected]

The actual department is DoRIS but I can never recall exactly what it stands for! (Director of Research and Information Services?)

[inmate]

My father was on 175 Sqdn. It was a 'Heinz 57' of nationalities. His war diary makes interesting reading.
My mistake Compass, his time on Typhoons may have been his detachment to 313 Sqdn (Czech), 257 was Hurricanes.

[Compass Call]

Pypard
Thank you, I'll give it a try.

[inmate]

Here's a bit of nostalgia with a twist: The photo of the flight crews for 257 squadron was taken from Dads logbook (B&W) yet I have seen a coloured version in the RAF web page ????? so I'm not sure of the origin.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1802/257_squadron__71ae60f5e7e3d20284fb2bf058436d46e45113a8.jpg
RAF 257 "Burma" Sqdn.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1802/shotdown_high_ercall_268c059ec3e92c232cb3d8b843f9b5af369b2b5 a.jpg
Hurricane of 257 Sqdn shot down at High Ercall
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1980x2000/dec_1943_1_ec838e6ce0ab6ab415c388afdfe92397278c4120.jpg
Logbook Typical Page 1
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1840x2000/dec_1943_2_4509f1e84047784bddec849bb97d621e222d1e5e.jpg
Logbook typical Page 2

[inmate]

To All.
Thanks so much for your impute. I contacted the RAF Museum site, and you can donate logbooks and other memorabilia. They have an excellent information page on donations including copyright info, so Dads logbooks, Wartime Log and licences have a final resting place so to speak.
Thanks again all.

[Pypard]

To All.
Thanks so much for your impute. I contacted the RAF Museum site, and you can donate logbooks and other memorabilia. They have an excellent information page on donations including copyright info, so Dads logbooks, Wartime Log and licences have a final resting place so to speak.
Thanks again all.

Glad to hear that all went well: many thanks to you for posting the very interesting log book pages :)

[OUAQUKGF Ops]

Interesting to see Charles Brown's photograph of the 257 Squadron Pilots. I think Flt Lt Ball was Geoff Ball who was subsequently shot down on 19th August 1943 and evaded capture for a couple of weeks. I came to know him when he was flying Vikings with Autair in the 1960s. I remember seeing him at that time with his family, friends and Vintage Motor at an Old Warden Flying Display tucking into a vast picnic washed down with plenty of booze. Happy Days !

[inmate]

Interesting to see Charles Brown's photograph of the 257 Squadron Pilots. I think Flt Lt Ball was Geoff Ball who was subsequently shot down on 19th August 1943 and evaded capture for a couple of weeks. I came to know him when he was flying Vikings with Autair in the 1960s. I remember seeing him at that time with his family, friends and Vintage Motor at an Old Warden Flying Display tucking into a vast picnic washed down with plenty of booze. Happy Days !
I think that was the same Flt Lt Ball who in the attached was on 182 Sqdn at the time.
I had an email a few years ago from a Frenchman who was very familiar, and an aviation buff of the RAF having met some of the squadron pilots in a reunion in France. And had extensive research on a few crash sites including my dad's. If anyone is interested, I'll try a dig up his email.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1449/flt_lt_ball_19th_aug_2nd_tactical_air_force_vol_1_page_28_74 315da5b972a909835f17aa6f36538a3b771149.jpg

[inmate]

Thanks for all the impute, I decided that I would keep all dads' logbooks together and donate to the RAF museum.

[Pypard]

Nicely done! Glad to know they'll be safe and available to a wider audience :)

[PAXboy]

My father donated his wartime log books and medals to Hendon prior to his death. They gave him high quality PDF scan files on CD. So we have them for reference and family archive. My nephew became an ATPL and his wife arranged for the PDF files to be printed and bound as facsimiles.

[jimjim1]

high quality PDF scan files on CD. So we have them for reference and family archive.

You might need to check out the likely lifetime of the CDs. I recently found a CD I made just over 20 years ago and I had trouble reading it and didn't get all of it. The exact technology will matter CDR, CDRW, ... ...

Sorry but I can't help with long term storage advice. More than one copy sounds good and at least one of them on a cloud somewhere also sounds attractive depending on how much you have to store and the costs. I am sure there will be many articles about it.

Google - long term digital storage solutions

I skimmed these and they seem not-ridiculous
https://askleo.com/best-long-term-storage-media/
https://www.howtogeek.com/356473/how-to-archive-your-data-for-virtually-forever/