Dad in India WWII

[Hilary Cox]

Hello,
I am new to the forum and would appreciate any help or information anyone can offer on my fathers time in India in WW2. His name was Edgar John Boston, DOB 21/12/1923, always known as John & lived in Exeter.
I don't have any information about his service other than he was in the Royal Airforce. I found one Edgar John Boston on a Geneology site with the service number 1661374, but I have no idea if this is my Dad.
I have a few photos with inscriptions which say:-
Ootacamund May 1944,
Trichinopoly Madras State,
Wellington Oct 1944 sick leave
Kodta ( or Kotia)Kanal Christmas 1944
Madura 1945
Bihar State ranch 1946
Nilgim (or Nilgirs) Mountain Railway
and a few pictures of him standing by a Liberator aircraft.
Obviously I have Googled all of these names but none of the answers mean much because I don't know which part of the Airforce he was in.
Any help pointing me in the right direction as to find out how he spent his time in service would be really appreciated

[Lesley Robertson]

Since you have his full name and birth date (and could presumably supply a copy of his death certificate), you can apply for a copy of his service record (do not distract them with the possible service number you found). It will cost you 30 quid.

However (and there's always one), thanks to the lockdowns, etc, there is a serious backlog - possibly over a year.
See HERE for more info.

Do you know whether he was a pilot, engineer or something else (eg signals, admin)? While you are waiting, you could have a go at working out which parts of the RAF were in India at that time. Remember that the ground trades tended to move as individuals within their trades, rather than with the Squadrons.
Also, they did get time off and did some sight-seeing. I have a whole box of pictures of my Dad visiting sites in Africa (not usually in uniform). The lables are about as informative as yours!

[Hilary Cox]

Afternoon Lesley,
Thank you for getting back to me and including the link for the application form.
My father never talked about his war service and didn't encourage us to ask so I have no idea what he did but I'm sure he wasn't a pilot, definitely ground crew I think.
I'll do a bit more sleuthing and see if I can piece anything together from general searches of the areas in India, as you've suggested.
Many thanks
Hilary