Originally Posted by
Top West 50
I was issued with 4232xxx in 1963. A few years later they added a "J" at the end. Anyone know why?
As I understood it it was the so called "check digit device" . Basically , again as I recall, an algorithm was passed over the numbers which generated a letter. This was then matched against the one provided to check that the service number had been entered correctly. I had one on entry in 1968. Allegedly the first three digits of your number indicated your Service entry status. I believe the suffix was later discontinued.