Genealogy Chat

I think it depend a bit on the department as to how much evidence they ask for.

I had to provide a copy of my dad's death cert and marriage cert and my birth certificate. My mum signed as next of kin form and authorised me to have access.

It begs the question, how would they know who the next of kin was? They might have a record of his spouse or parents, but they won't have a clue about his children or nephews and nieces.

I suppose you have to be honest and legal though.

I got my dad's naval records even though my mum was still alive, by telling them she had Alzheimers Disease (true), and needed no further proof.

Thanks Inspectorgreenpen.Been a while since i've been in contact with my Aunty but i am sure she will be just as interested in his records,i originally wanted to order for my family more than myself. There's a story in my family that when Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942 my granddad became a POW but there's no prove of this because in 1943 we know he was deployed to India. We need the records to prove this,he was originally a Aircraftman in Singapore but because of becoming a POW he was considered to be not mentally healthy enough to go up in a plane so he became a ground crew in India.

I went through this earlier this year .

The order of priority is as follows:-

Widow / Widower
Son / Daughter
Grandchild
Father / Mother
Brother / Sister
Nephew / Niece

So, in your case, if any of your grandad's children are still alive, one of them would need to sign the form as next of kin. As Kath says, it doesn't have to be the eldest. They would also need to sign a letter authorising you to have access to the information.

You may need to provide a copy of your grandad's death cert, his wife's death cert and your aunt / uncles birth certificate.

Incidentally the £30 charge is waived if the Spouse is the next of kin, even if she / he gives permission for someone else to have access.

Thanks Kath.

We got my late father-in-law's army records even though my husband has an older brother (who technically would be next of kin I suppose). We just had to prove my husband's relationship with his birth certificate and father-in-law's death certificate.

We had no problem getting the records.

Kath. x

Out of curiosity when there's no children left of the deceased serviceman,who doe's the next of kin go to,is it just the eldest grandchild that can only be the next of kin?

Thanks freewheel. I found out by looking at the MOD website that because my granddad died over 25 years ago that i can get quite a lot of info without consent. I will write to my aunty and ask for written permission,might as well pay the £30 for the whole records rather than just part of it.

The oldest child is the NOK - if your father was the middle child, he would not have been NOK unless the elder sibling had died.

You need written consent from the surviving OLDEST child

I have his marriage and death certificate,not the originals but from the pro.gov website.

Kay thanks for answering,you are basically saying all 3 of my granddads children are next of kin and any 3 of them can apply for the service records but i would need written permission from either 1 of them. And if i understand correctly i cannot be a next of kin even though my father passed away.

His widow and children are his NOKin,,you can not apply for the records wthout their sole written permission,,,,,,,also a copy of his death certificate is required and could also include a copy of his marriage certificate...

Hi All

When applying for service records of my granddads RAF career in WW2,on the prove of Kinship i am not the next of kin but my Aunty is,my dad is the middle child of 3 and he passed away years ago.

What i am trying to ask is doe's next to kin go from deceased to spouse then eldest child or is any of his children next of kin? can i apply for his service records without written permission from my Aunty? Can a grandchild of a deceased serviceman apply for records if he has Aunts and Uncles are still alive?

Mark