Military Chat

Could anyone tell me how to find my father's WW2 service number?

Unless you can ask him or have some family documments, you probably can't.

If he died in the War, then you may be able to identify him on the CWGC site
http://www.cwgc.org/
That lists the service numbers

WW2 records are still with the MOD. They can be ordered at a cost of £30 unless either he or his widow can sign the form.

Here is the link
https://www.gov.uk/get-copy-military-service-records

Just fill in as many details as you can

Thank you for the information both my father and mother have passed away so I will try the link

Apparently you can be waiting for anything up to 9 months before you receive a copy!

Here's how to get most WW2 RAF service numbers (assuming your dad was in the RAF and had a unique name in the RAF)


We're interested in:
AIR 78 - Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence: Department of the Air Member for Personnel: Index to Airmen and Airwomen
which contains a nearly complete set of index cards which give only the airman or airwoman's name and service # and range from:

Reference: AIR 78/1
Description: Name Range: Aagesen, Elizabeth - Agent, Walter

thru

Reference: AIR 78/177
Description: Name Range: Yates, R - Zyto, Herszon


Unfortunately, a simple search picks up too many stray references - nearly 3000 of them, so go to
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
and do an advanced search for air78 within reference air78
There are 179 hits which we can display at 60 hits per page using a button in footer.

So if we were looking for, say, Francis Xavier Highwaymanshorse, we would click on

Name Range: Hicks, J - Hillyerd, Ernest
This record is available to view with our image viewer. Show images
Reference: AIR 78/76

and then click on the above "Show images" link
It takes me several minutes to load 250MB - but my PC's not quite state of the art; in fact, I think one of the valves is wonky.

Then I hunt and peck thru the alphabeticized images.
All the index card gives is the name and service #.

I could do a simple search for air78/76 and get here - but how would I know it's /76 I'm after?

Hi Hazel

You don't need the service number to obtain his records.

I received service records and the only information I had was his name, place/DOB and that he had served in the RAF

They rang me to ask if I knew his NOK which I presumed was his mother but when the person on the phone gave me the NOK listed on the record, it was his sister.

The record arrived 6 weeks later, guess I was lucky