Trying to research a parachute qualified WW2 Royal Marine Officer.

[Aussie digger]

Hi all,

 

Does anyone know if there are any means of accessing WW2 Royal Marine officer records. I am trying to find info on Acting Temporary Captain Herbert Aitken.

04.09.45 he was mentioned in dispatches for service to the 21st Army Group and towards the end of the war he was serving as intelligence officer to the 5th RM AA brigade.

I believe he served in North Africa, Italy and France/Germany and was parachute qualified so would love to find out what his service entailed. 
 

thanks for any help!

Jason

[Gunner87]

7 hours ago, Aussie digger said:

Hi all,

 

Does anyone know if there are any means of accessing WW2 Royal Marine officer records. I am trying to find info on Acting Temporary Captain Herbert Aitken.

04.09.45 he was mentioned in dispatches for service to the 21st Army Group and towards the end of the war he was serving as intelligence officer to the 5th RM AA brigade.

I believe he served in North Africa, Italy and France/Germany and was parachute qualified so would love to find out what his service entailed. 
 

thanks for any help!

Jason

 

HI Jason.

 

Being an officer and serving in WW2 Herberts record is most likely still held by the Ministry of Defence and would need to be applied for. This costs and takes a long time to disclose the records. I did search against Ancestry and it appeared to have a hit but as I no longer subscribe I could not see any details. These records would not hold any information that is of great use to you, just his seniority etc. Forces War Records, which is now part of Ancestry, may hold some details of Herberts service but this, like Ancestry, is a subscription service. 

 

Have you seen the document which lists Herbert as the Intelligence Officer in the 5th Royal Marine Anti Aircraft Brigade?

 

https://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/124/2020/04/5-Royal-Marines-Anti-Aircraft-Brigade-1944-45.pdf

 

Also this with records the 5th RM AA Bde in NW Europe?

 

https://www.royalmarineshistory.com/post/5th-r-m-a-a-anti-aircraft-brigade-nw-europe

 

Lastly, the National Archives hold the War Diaries for the 5th RM AA Bde which would almost certainly record and list Herbert as he was a commissioned officer though they are not available for download so copies would have to be requested. This, again, would cost and take time.

 

Headquarters

 

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954600 March 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954601 April 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954602 May 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954603 June 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954604 July 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954601 August 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954606 September 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954607 October 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954608 November 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954609 December 1944

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954610 January 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954611 February 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954612 March 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954613 April 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954614 May 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954615 June 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954616 July 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954617 August 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954618 September 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954619 October 1945

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954620 November 1945

 

Signal Section

 

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2954625 01st April 1944 to 30th September 1944

 

Gunner

 

 

[Aussie digger]

Hi Gunner,

 

Thank you so much for your help! 
Those first two links are ones I had found but I had not got to the war diaries. 
do you know of any researchers that can be hired to pull records? I have tried looking online but being in the US and it keeps bringing up US results. 
 

Jason

[Gunner87]

2 hours ago, Aussie digger said:

Hi Gunner,

 

Thank you so much for your help! 
Those first two links are ones I had found but I had not got to the war diaries. 
do you know of any researchers that can be hired to pull records? I have tried looking online but being in the US and it keeps bringing up US results. 
 

Jason

 

Hi Jason. 

 

This link will take you to the National Archive list of independent researchers who you can then hire 

 

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/paying-for-research/independent-researchers/

 

Hope that is of some use.

[Aussie digger]

Thank you! That is actually a big help!