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Trooper James L Isaac M.F.F. in WW2

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JasonB
Posts: 15
Joined: 29 Oct 2022, 10:10

Trooper James L Isaac M.F.F. in WW2

Post by JasonB »

I am trying to locate the military records for James L Isaac. He was born in January 1922 in Barnstaple, Devon to Arthur John Bird Isaac and Winifred Langdon. He died in 1999.

All I know is that in April/May 1944 he was a Trooper and the letters M.F.F. were in brackets after his name as noted in the North Devon Journal dated Thursday 4th May 1944 with regards to him being unable to attend his sisters' (Hermione Jane Elizabeth Isaac) marriage to Flying Officer Kenneth James Jarvis RAF VR.

Any help would be appreciated.
meekhcs
Posts: 473
Joined: 02 Jun 2020, 18:19
Location: Lincolnshire, but Hampshire born and bred!

Re: Trooper James L Isaac M.F.F. in WW2

Post by meekhcs »

In General
The records of anyone who served in the 2nd WW will still be held by the MOD, except for the few that have recently been transferred to The National Archives. An application will have to be made to the MOD, at a cost of £30 per person. Usually it also involves a lengthy wait. Full details are on the MOD website.

A list on TNA is available for the records they hold, and are for smaller collections eg APTC. Application for these records is made directly to TNA. I am in the middle of a process at the moment so don't know how much they charge, but you do not pay up front.

Any records pre 1921 are held by Ancestry/FMP unless they form part of the "burnt Series" in which case it is unlikely that you will find anything.

Someone with better knowledge than myself will know what MFF means. All I could find was Military Free Fall. Trooper equates to Private.
Sally
Thunder
Posts: 437
Joined: 14 Jun 2020, 01:43

Re: Trooper James L Isaac M.F.F. in WW2

Post by Thunder »

I think it is MEF (Middle East Forces) rather than MFF and probably means he would have served in Egypt or Libya for example. As regards pre-1921 records there are still a number, like my grandfather's record, which are still with MOD as they are part of 'inter-war records for men who served in the First World War and were still in the forces in the 1920s, I still await the release of his file (he was born in 1893). I would add that checking TNA's catalogue regularly to see if the file has been sent to TNA, alas MOD/TNA have decided to catalogue the names by surname and initial Christian names by their initials only, not helpful to researchers.
Jimbo50
Posts: 51
Joined: 15 Jun 2020, 19:26

Re: Trooper James L Isaac M.F.F. in WW2

Post by Jimbo50 »

In my mind, MFF and Trooper terms leaning towards cavalry, i.e Mechanized Fighting Force ? Or words to that effect. Just a guess though.
Found this National Archives : Medal card of Hurly, M F F Corps: Sikh Pioneers Rank: Lieutenant. Can't find MFF anywhere though, so Middle East it might be. Apologies Thunder, you posted while I was in mid search.
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