Historical records information

Question 1

1. Merchant  Navy Seaman’s Sea Service Records

Accepted Answer

Sea Service Records

This office is not able to supply information concerning the sea service details of individual Merchant Seamen from 1973 to the present date. After 1973 the Registrar General was not required by legislation to keep these records.

Fifth Register of Merchant Seaman’s Service from 1941 to 1972

These records are held at the National Archive in classification BT 382, The Fifth Register of Seaman’s Service 1941 to 1972.

Records of individual Merchant Seamen’s sea service details are held in alphabetical surname order.

These details include the following information:

name of seaman
date and place of birth
discharge (Seaman’s) book number
rank, Certificate of Competency (Grade with number)
Civil Rationing details
details of the ships on which he served

These include:

name of ship and official number, date of engagement (joining ship)
date of discharge (leaving ship), whether ship was a foreign going of home trade vessel
in some cases National Insurance contributions
details shown in these records are similar to those contained in an individual seaman’s discharge book

Fourth Register of Merchant Seaman’s Service from 1913 to 1940

These records are available at the National Archive and are held on Microfiche in the following classifications:

BT 348: Register of Seamen, Central Index, Numerical Series (CR 2)
BT 349: Register of Seamen, Central Index, Alphabetical Series (CR 1)
BT 350: Register of Seamen, Special Index, Alphabetical Series (CR 10)

These three classes were combined in one classification namely BT 364 Register of Seaman, Combined Numerical Index (CR1, CR 2 & CR 10) and were made up by extracting combinations of cards from the other three classes.

The original records for the above named classifications are now held at the following address:

Southampton Archives
Southampton City Council
South Block, Civic Centre
Southampton
S014 7LY

This office is open Tuesdays to Fridays 9.30am to 4.30pm, with one late evening opening each month.

There is no charge for a personal visit.

Alternatively enquiries for information from the records may be made by post, email or fax but there will be a charge for this.

Merchant Seaman’s Pouches from 1913 to 1940

These records are held at the National Archive in their classification BT 372 Central Register of Seaman’s Records (“Pouches”).

These are held in numerical order of the individual seaman’s discharge book (Seaman’s) number.

These pouches were a central repository for seaman’s documents; they consist of the many documents that a sailor would have had to submit to the Registry of Shipping over the whole of his career and copies of those documents issued to him.

The records range would consist of Applications for Discharge Books (including photographs of the seaman), Sea Service records and records of certificates issued etc.

The Pouches can sometimes include record cards extracted from the Forth Register of Seaman’s Service. * 1857 - 1918 for gaps between these records see section later on in leaflet concerning certificates of competency and service.

Third Register of Merchant Seaman’s Service from 1854 to 1856

This register of Merchant Seamen service was opened in 1854.

It is arranged in alphabetical order and contained the following details of seaman:

age
place of birth
details of voyage, including name of ship and port of departure

In 1856 it was considered that the obligation to maintain a register of seaman was satisfied by the crew list and the register was closed.

The records of this are held at the National Archive in classification BT 116: Register of Seamen: Series 111.

Second Register of Merchant Seaman’s Service from 1845 to 1854

The Merchant Shipping Act 1844 stipulated that every British seaman should have a register ticket.

The details given when applying for a ticket were:

name, date and place of birth
date and capacity of first going to sea
capacity since: any Royal Navy ship served in, and capacity; present employment at sea, home address.

These records are held at the National Archive under the following classifications:

BT 113: Registers of Seaman’s Tickets (1845 to 1853), in Certificate number order
BT 114: Alphabetical Index to registers of Seaman’s Tickets
BT 115: Alphabetical Register of Masters Tickets

First Register of Merchant Seaman’s Service from 1835 to 1844

The registration of seamen was introduced by the Merchant Shipping Act 1835.

These records are held at the National Archive under the following classifications:

BT 120: Register of Seamen Series 1 (1835 to 1836), arranged alphabetically
BT 112: Register of Seamen: Series 11 (1835 to 1844)
BT 119 Alphabetical Index to Seamen. This index provides the registration number of the seaman

Special operations/D-Day records from 1944 to 1945

These records are held at the National Archives in their classification BT 391 Merchant Seamen Special Operations Records.

It details the sea service records of Merchant Seamen engaged in the liberation of Europe (6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945).

They give the seaman’s name, age, rank, rating/grade etc with details of the ships on which they served. The records are held in alphabetical order by seaman’s name.

These records are sometimes known as COMNO records, an abbreviation of Combined Office Merchant Navy Operations. The Fifth Register BT 381 (mentioned above) contains the annotation “See Comno Pouches”; this leads to these pouches that contain the D-Day/Comno service deliberately omitted from the seaman’s service, for security reasons.

Merchant Seaman who served on Royal Navy ships in WW2 from 1939 to 1946

These Merchant Seamen served on Royal Navy ships by special agreement with the Admiralty. The agreements were known as T124X (Merchant Ships) and T124T (Tugs) agreements.

This refers to the agreement form T124X completed by the seaman. Information is contained in pouches and includes personal details such as name, age, rank etc with details of the vessels on which the individual served.

The pouches are presented in alphabetical order by the seaman’s last name.

These records are held at the National Archives in their classification: BT 390 Merchant Seamen who served on Royal Navy ships under the T124X and T124T Agreements: Records 1939 to 1946.

Question 2

2. Log Books and Crew Agreements

Accepted Answer

Logbooks are the records of a period of time in the life of a vessel. These usually are in existence for a one-year to eighteen-month period.

The logbook is divided up into two sections, the tabular section and the narrative section. The tabular section contains the information concerning “Notice of Freeboard” this is a record of all the ports the vessel docked at, and other information. Notices of Freeboard are used for tax purposes. Births and deaths are also recorded in the tabular section along with other more routine information.

Notices of Freeboard

This office is able to provide copies of the notice of freeboard pages from ship’s official log books from the present date working back chronologically for a period of seven years only. This is for United Kingdom registered ships only.

This information is taken from the ships official logbooks and crew agreements on which the seaman sailed. There is a charge per logbook to extract this information, the details are then photocopied and sent to the applicant.

The narrative section of the logbook contains written entries concerning various events that occur on each voyage: disciplinary matters, illness amongst the crew and accidents.

Fees for photocopies of logbooks

There is a charge to extract a logbook from our records and also additional photocopying charges. Please note blank pages with no information are not photocopied.

Crew Agreements

This document is a legal agreement between the crew of a vessel and the owners. It lists all the crew by name, includes their signatures and the last ship on which they sailed.

The Registry of Shipping and Seamen only holds Log Books and Crew Agreements on a rolling basis from the present date going backwards for 7 years only after which the official log books and crew agreements are disposed of.

Log Books and Crew Agreements from 1977 to 1995

A 10% sample of all log books for the above period 1977 to 1995 are held at the Public Record Office, in classification BT 99: Agreements and Crew Lists, Series 11.

Log Books and Crew Agreements 1951 to 1976

A 10% sample of all logbooks from the above period are held at the National Archive, in classification BT 99 Agreements and Crew Lists, Series 11. 80% of the records are now held at the Maritime History Archive, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, A1C 5S7.

The remaining 10% of these logbooks and crew agreements are kept at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF. This last address keeps the years ending in “5”, i.e. 1955, 1965, 1975.

Log Books and Crew Agreements 1947 to 1950

The National Archive holds all surviving logbooks and crew agreements for 1947 to 1950. These include both Merchant and Fishing vessels in their classification BT 99 Agreements and Crew Lists, Series 11.

Ships Logbooks and Crew Agreements 1939 to 1946

These records are held at the National Archive in their classification BT 381 WW 2 Logbooks and Crew Agreements. These are held in order of the ship’s official number; it is therefore advisable to find out the official number of the ship in that you are interested before researching these records. A Guide to Researching Logbooks and Crew Agreements for the Period of World War II is also available from this office.

The National Archive also holds index cards which record all the official logbooks and crew agreements from WW 2 that are held in classification BT 381. This Index is held in alphabetical order of ships name and can be used to obtain the official number of the ship. These can be found in BT 385 Index Cards for Ships Official Logbooks and Crew Agreements. The cards contain some information on the ships and the dates the log books where opened and then later concluded.

Allied Crew List from 1939 to 1945

The following documents concerning allied vessels are held at the Public Record Office, in alphabetical order of ship’s name: Return of British members of the crew of a foreign Ship that has been requisitioned or chartered by, or on behalf of H M Government and Account of Changes in the crew of a foreign-going ship.

Agreement and List of the Crew of a Foreign-Going Ship. Some Official Logbooks of these vessels are also held. The records also include those records of British crew of allied vessels who were lost at sea. Please note that only in rare cases were logbooks of any kind attached to these crew lists. An additional record was also kept of the British seamen who served on Dutch and Norwegian ships. These are held in alphabetical ship order. These records are held in their classification BT 387: Allied Crew Lists from WW 2.

Ships Log Books and Crew Lists from 1861 to 1938

10% of logbooks and crew agreements for the above period are held at the National Archive in classification BT 99 Agreements and Crew Lists, Series 11. 80% of the records are held at the Maritime History Archive, Canada.

The remaining logbooks are held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. They hold the years where the last digit ends in “5”, from 1861 onwards: i.e. 1865, 1875, and 1885 etc.

Log books and crew agreements not included in the above for the years 1861 to 1913 have been retained by some local records office. If you wish to obtain a list of where these records are held please write in to the Registry of Shipping and this will be supplied. Ships Log Books and Crew Lists 1835 to 1860.

From 1835 onwards the masters of foreign going British ships over 80 tons were required to carry on board a written agreement with every seaman employed. These agreements contained the following: wage rate, the capacity he served in, and the nature of the voyage.

These records are held at the National Archive under the following classification: BT 98. Agreement and Crew Lists: Series 1. Records prior to 1854 are arranged by the port of registry numbers, later records are arranged in official number order. From 1852 onwards the official logbook of the vessel was kept with the agreement and crew list.

Ships Log Books and Crew Lists from 1747 to 1851

From 1747 onwards masters or owners of merchant ships were obliged to keep muster rolls of each voyage. These contained: names of the seamen employed on the ship, their home address, when they joined ship and the last ship on which they sailed. This system continued to be compiled until 1851. These records are held at the National Archive in BT 98: Agreements and Crew Lists: Series 1.

Special Ships 1861 onwards

A selection was made of logbooks and crew agreements from famous ships, for example the SS Titanic and Great Britain. These records are held at the National Archive in category BT 100 Agreements and Crew Lists Series 111. A 10% sample of similar records for fishing vessels of less than 80 tons can be found at the National Archive in category BT 144 Agreements and Crew Lists Series 1V for the period 1884 to 1919. Later records of fishing vessel are included in BT 99 (as above). World War 1 Log Books and Crew Agreements Log books and crew agreements for 1914 to 1918 are held at the National Archive in classification BT 165 Agreements and Crew Lists.

Log Books containing entries of Births and Deaths at Sea

Log books containing information concerning births and deaths at sea were segregated. These log books for the years 1902 to 1938 are held at the Public Record Office in classification BT 165 Ship’s Official Log Books.

Copyright

If you are planning to include a reproduction of a logbook or crew agreement or any part of these documents in a publication, you have to obtain written permission from this office to do so. You should acknowledge the Registry of Shipping and Seamen and include our full address. This should appear on the same page as the reproduced document.

Question 3

3. Deaths at sea: Merchant Seaman and Passengers

Accepted Answer

The registers of deaths at sea are public documents and are open to inspection by the public.

The various registers concerning deaths at sea contain the following information regarding Merchant Seamen and Passengers:

name of person
rank/occupation
age/date of birth
address
date of death
place of death (This is often given in latitude and longitude)
cause of death
name, official number and port of registry of the ship

Registers of Births and Deaths at Sea from 1965 to present day

These records are held at the Registry of Shipping and Seamen. A search may be made in these registers and a fee is payable.

Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea Death Registers from 1891 to 1964

These records are held at the National Archive under category BT 334: Registers and indexes of Births, Deaths and Marriages at Sea. These records contain the death registers of those passengers and crew who died on the SS Titanic and SS Lusitania.

Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths at Sea from 1851 to 1890

From 1854 registers were compiled from ships official logbooks of births, marriages and deaths of passengers at sea. All these are recorded from 1854 to 1883, births and deaths only from 1883 to 1887 and deaths only from 1888 onwards. These records are held at the National Archive in category BT 158 Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths of Passenger at Sea.

Masters were also required from 1874 to report births and deaths of UK subjects and foreign subjects to the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. These records are held at the National Archive in category BT 160: Registers of Births of British Nationals at Sea and BT 159: Registers of deaths at sea of British Nationals.

From 1851 onwards Masters of UK ships were required to surrender to the Board of Trade the wages and effects of any seaman who died during a voyage. These records included the following information concerning the seaman: name, date and place of joining the ship, date and cause of death, name, official number (after 1854) and port of ship: name of master, date and place of payment of wages, the amount of wages and date of receipt by Board of Trade.

These records are held at the National Archive in category BT 153: Registers of Wages and Effects of Deceased Seamen (1852 to 1881). To access these records you have to consult the following categories BT 154: Indexes to Seamen’s Names and Indexes to Ship’s Names (1853 to 1889); these provide the relevant numbers of the pages in the register.

Monthly lists of dead Seaman from 1886 to 1889

Monthly lists of dead seamen were compiled giving name, age, rating, nationality and birthplace, home address and cause of death. Lists for 1886 to 1889 are at the National Archive in category BT 156: Monthly lists of Deaths of Seamen. There are also nine manuscript registers of half yearly lists of deaths 1882 to 1888 classified by cause in category BT 157 Registers of Seaman’s Death Classified by Cause.

Deaths at Sea - Returns of Death

When a death at sea occurs on an UK vessel the master is required to complete a Return of Death.

This return includes the following information:

name
official number and port of registry of ship
date and place of death
name
age
rank/occupation
address and cause of death of deceased

The reverse of the form includes an extract of the ship’s logbook that gives an account of the events that led to the death at sea. Please note however, that the log book extract is not always included. The return of death forms the basis of the death registration (See above).

The earliest surviving returns of death, date from1914 to 1919 are now held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. No returns exist between 1920 to 1938, Returns from 1939 to 1946 and 1964 are also held at the National Maritime Museum.

Returns from 1965 to the present day are held at the Registry of Shipping. Please note that there are also some gaps in these records.

Inquiries into Deaths at Sea, Papers and Reports

Inquiry reports concerning deaths at sea, conducted under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts are held at the National Archive in classification: BT 341 Inquiries into Deaths at Sea, Papers and Reports.

These documents contain statements, log book entries, medical reports and other relevant information regarding the particular death at sea. These cover the years 1939 to 1946 and the year 1964. The Returns of Death, which originally accompanied these papers, are now held at the National Maritime Museum (see above).

These records are organised in year order and in alphabetical order of ship name. They correspond to the Registers of death held in BT 334.

Casualties and Deaths Lists (C and D)

When a vessel was lost at sea, the ship’s official logbook would have been lost with the vessel. In these circumstances the owners of the vessel would submit a copy of the crew list to the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. These lists would be used for the registration of the deaths of the crew members.

Casualties and deaths lists (C and D) for the years 1920 to 1938 are held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Casualties and deaths on fishing vessel’s (List D) for the years 1920 to 1938 have also been transferred to that office. These records are organised by the official number of the ship. The official numbers of ships can be obtained from the extensive collection of Lloyds Registers held at the National Maritime Museum. Many lists C and D are included in the 1939 to 1950 logbooks and crew agreements held at the Registry of Shipping.

Graves of Seamen/Memorials

The Registry of Shipping and Seamen holds no records of the last resting-place of seamen. Those who were lost or buried at sea and have no known grave are commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, and are also included in the Tower Hill Memorial Registers for both World Wars.

For information concerning the Tower Hill Memorial, you may wish to contact the following address:

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
2 Marlow Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 7DX

Merchant seamen who are buried in various graves and war cemeteries around the world are included on index cards that have been transferred to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These cards also record those seamen included on the Halifax Memorial. There is also a small collection of cards held at the National Maritime Museum that date approx. 1939 to 1950 these include details of the deceased seaman and gives information regarding where the seaman is buried.

Rolls of Honour: Wars of 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945

These records are held at the National Archive in their classification BT 339. These include the Rolls of Honour of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets, Ships list and Seaman list, the Albert Medal register, Nominal lists and Runnymede Memorial.

Daily Casualty Registers War of 1939 to 1945

These records comprise of 7 volumes of the daily casualties to Merchant Shipping from 8 June 1940 to 15 September 1945. These are held at the National Archive in their classification BT 347.

Question 4

4. Registers of certificates of competency and service

Accepted Answer

Masters and mates

From 1845 masters and mates of foreign going vessels took voluntary examinations of competency. These exams became compulsory in 1850, and from 1854 masters and mates of home trade vessels were also required to take these examinations.

The certificates were entered into registers arranged in numerical order and provide: name of seaman: place and date of birth, register ticket, if any, rank examined for, or served in, and date of issue of certificate.

Some additional information concerning the seamen may also be included in this record i.e. deaths, injuries, previous ships etc.

Seamen judged by the examiners to have sufficient experience as a master or mate, and also men retiring from the Royal Navy were eligible, without formal examination, for certificates of service.

Those without sufficient service or wishing to progress in the ranks were granted certificates of competency on passing examinations.

These registers are arranged in 7 classes, which are held at the National Archive, Kew.
1. A. Certificates of Competency: Masters and Mates Foreign Trade. BT 122 (1845 to 1906). Held in numerical order by certificate number.
2. B. Certificates of Service: Masters and Mates: Foreign Trade. BT 124. (1850 to 1888). Held in numerical order by certificate number.
3. C. Certificates of Competency: Masters and Mates: Home Trade: BT 125. (1854 to 1921). Held in numerical order by certificate number.
4. D. Registers of certificates of Competency: Masters and Mates of Steamships: Foreign Trade. BT 123. (1881 to 1921). Held in numerical order by certificate number.
5. E. Registers of Certificates of Service: Masters and Mates: Home Trade BT 126. (1855 to 1888). Held in numerical order by certificate number.
6. F. Alphabetical Register of Masters. BT 115. (1845 to 1854).
7. G. Certificates of Competency, Master and Mates. Colonial BT 128 (1870 to 1921).

The means of reference to these series are the indexes to the registers BT 127: ‘Index to the Registers’ that give the date and place of birth and the certificate number, and: BT 352 Index to Certificate of Competency dates from 1910 to 1930. These cards are held in alphabetical order of seaman’s name and list the certificates issued to the individual seaman with relevant number of the Certificate.

Application Forms for Certificates

All surviving Board of Trade Office copies of the above named certificates are held at the National Maritime Museum. They date from 1845 to 1927 and are arranged numerically by certificate number. The accompanying application forms record the personal details of the candidate together with a list of vessels on which service was rendered together with relevant dates of that service.

Registers of Passes and Renewals of Master’ and Mates’ Certificates 1917 to 1968

These are held at the National Archive in classification BT 317. These registers include details of individual seamen passing certificate of competency examinations and also the replacement of lost certificates. These records are held in numerical order by certificate number.

Registers of Changes of Masters 1893 to 1948

These records are held at the National Archive in their classification BT 336. The registers contain lists of those masters who were in command of vessels registered in the United Kingdom. The registers are arranged in numerical order by the official number of the individual ship. Each entry contains the name of the vessel: the port where the master joined the vessel with relevant date and also the name and seaman’s number of the master.

Engineers

Examinations of competence were extended to engineers in 1862. The registers of certificates are held at the National Archive in the following classifications: BT 139: Certificates of Competency: Engineers. (1863 to 1921) and BT 142: Certificates of Service: Engineers. (1862 to 1921). The means of reference to these records are the indexes to registers in BT 141: Certificates of Competency: Engineers. This index is arranged alphabetically by surname, and gives date and place of birth and the certificate number BT 143 Registers of Certificates of Competency and Service, Miscellaneous. (1845 to 1849).

Fishing Boats

The Merchant Shipping (Fishing Boats) Act 1883 extended the examination system to the skippers and mates of fishing vessels. The registers of certificates are held at the National Archive in the following classifications BT 129. Certificates of Competency: Skippers and Mates of Fishing Boats. (1880 to 1921) and BT 130: Certificates of Service: Skippers and Mates of Fishing Boats. (1883 to 1907) . The means of reference to these records are BT 138. Indexes to Registers of Competency and Service: Skippers and Mates of Fishing Boats. These records are held in alphabetical order according to the seaman’s surname.

Question 5

5. Merchant Seaman Prisoner of War Records 1939 to 1952

Accepted Answer

These records are held at the National Archive in classification BT 373. These are organised by the name of ship from which the seamen were captured. The information is held in pouches in alphabetical order. These records contain the names of those men captured from merchant ships and where they were held in captivity. These records also include additional information supplied by the Red Cross and also information regarding the deaths of POW’s.

Question 6

6. Precedent Books, Establishment Papers etc

Accepted Answer

This section, which can be regarded as a miscellaneous section, contains a number of different types of records and include: policy files, precedent books and black books. These are books that deal with disciplinary conduct. These records are held at the National Archive in classification BT 167. Marine Safety Agency (Now the Maritime and Coastguard Agency): Business Plans. These date from 1994 to 1998. These are held at the National Archive in classification MT 173.

Question 7

7. Apprentices

Accepted Answer

These records are held at the National Archive in the following classifications: Index of Apprentices BT 150 (1824 to 1953), BT 151 Apprentices Indentures (1845 to 1962) and BT 152. Apprentices Indentures for Fishing (1895 to 1935) In accordance with the Merchant Seamen’s act 1823 Masters of British merchant ships were required to carry a given number of indentured apprentices. In London they were registered with the Registrar General of Seamen, in other ports customs officers were required to submit quarterly list to the Registrar General. These papers consist of indexes of all apprentices whose indentures were registered (BT 150), together with specimens taken at five-yearly intervals of the copy indentures (BT 151 and 152).

Question 8

8. Royal Naval Reserve (RNR): Rating Records of Service 1908 to 1955

Accepted Answer

These are held at The National Archive in their classification BT 377. This series contains microfiche copies of service record cards of Royal Naval Reserve rating, mainly covering men who served during the First World War. The filmed cards are arranged in service number order. Indexes to service numbers are included in the class. The Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). This was a force of officer and ratings undertaking naval training in their spare time, but not professionally employed at sea like the RNR. During both world wars the RNVR was the principal means by which officers entered the Royal Navy for the period of the war only. In 1958 the RNVR was amalgamated with the RNR. Details of records related to the RNVR can be found in Public Record Office Handbook No 22 Naval Records for Genealogists. Records of the Merchant Navy Reserve Pool WW2 are held at the National Maritime Museum.

Question 9

9. Passenger Lists (1878 to 1960)

Accepted Answer

Passenger lists for the period before 1890 have not survived in England, with the exception of a few relating to vessels in the United Kingdom between 1878 and 1888. These, and the surviving lists for the period between 1890 and 1960, are held at the The National Archive. The classifications you would require at that address are as follow:

BT 26 Inwards Passenger Lists 1878 to 1960

The information given in these lists include the age, occupation, address in the United Kingdom and the date of entering the country for passengers entering the United Kingdom by sea from ports outside Europe and the Mediterranean. They are arranged under the names of the ports of arrival. The registers containing this information are held in classification BT 32. Registers of Passenger Lists 1906 to 1951. Prior to 1920 they are under the different ports, the names of ships and the month of arrival and departure. After 1920 the date of arrival or departure is recorded. Before 1908 the registers relate only to the ports of Southampton, Bristol and Weymouth.

BT 27 Outward Passenger Lists 1890 to 1960

These give the names of all passengers leaving the UK where the ship’s eventual destination was a port outside Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Names of passengers who disembarked at European ports from these ships will be included in these lists. They are arranged monthly by port of departure. For registers see BT 32 (as above). There have been several resources published specifically aimed at helping family historians locate passenger lists outside the UK.

Copies of these are now held at the following address:

The Guildhall Library
Aldermanbury
London
EC2P 2EJ

These include Filby, P.W.: Passengers and immigration lists index (and annual supplements), that cover North America. It can be found in the Reference Collection at R 325/2 and lists individuals by surname and shows where the passenger lists can be found; The Morton Allan Directory of European Steamship arrivals 1890 to 1930 at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Boston & Baltimore, Closed Access LB 286, is also useful. British Immigration to Victoria - assisted immigrants 1839 to 1891 (microfiches 3), Index of New South Wales Convict Indents (microfiches 29) Immigration Index to assisted immigrants arriving Sydney 1844 to 1896, Closed Access 387/5, and Hughes, 1A: 9 assorted list to Port Phillip, c 1839 to 1851, Closed Access 387/5, cover Australia.

Guildhall Library holds a number of shipping indexes that were compiled for the popular immigration ports in Australia and New Zealand. These include: Shipping arrivals and departures, Victorian ports, 1798 to 1855 (2 vols.), Shipping arrivals and departures, Sydney, 1788 - 1844 (3 vols.), Shipping arrivals and departures, Tasmania, 1803 to 1843, (2 vols.) and Shipping to New Zealand 1839 to 1889 (known as the Comber Index), all Closed Access 387/2. Some other books held by the Library also provided potentially useful information, such as Dictionary of Western Australians 1829 to 1914. Closed Access 325/941 and British settlers in Natal 1824 to 1857. Closed access 325/684.

Question 10

10. Medals

Accepted Answer

The National Archive holds records of World War 1 Medals in classification BT 351: Index of First World War Mercantile Marine Medals. These simply list the name of the seaman and the medals that they were issued to them. There are held in alphabetical order of the Seaman’s name. Please note that World War I medals are no longer issued by RSS. A record of medals issued to Merchant Seamen for service in World War 2 is also held at the National Archive in classification BT 395. Database of World War 11 Medals issued to Merchant Seamen. These records mostly date from 1939 to 1950, however due to fact Merchant Navy medals are still issued in respect of service in WW 2 and other conflicts the record extents to the present date. The records are held in alphabetical order of seaman’s name include the name of the seaman and the record the medals that were issued to him. Ships Movement Cards for Merchant Navy Ships during World War II. Classification number BT: 389: World War II Shipping Movement Cards 1939 to 1945. This classification is alphabetical by ship name and provides information of ports of call and in cases where a vessel was lost, the latitude and longitude.

Question 11

11. Photographic Records

Accepted Answer

RSS holds no photographic records of ships or seamen.

You may wish to contact the following address that may be able to assist you with your enquires regarding this matter:

The Curator of Photographs
Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road
London
SE1 6HZ

Telephone: +44 (0) 207416 5320

Email: mail.iwm.org.uk

Website: www.iwm.org.uk

Question 12

12.  Coastguard records

Accepted Answer

Prior to the formation of the Coastguard in 1822 there were a number of different preventive services whose function was the collection of various duties, intelligence gathering and prevention of evasion of payment by smugglers, those employed in these services were generally were known as Riding Officers. For the history of the seventeenth and eighteenth century precursors of the Coastguard the records of both the Admiralty and the Treasury are the major sources and are held at the National Archives in their classification’s ADM 1 Admiralty and Secretariat Papers, the indexes to these papers are in classification ADM 12. The separate Treasury papers and are held in classification T1. These various services were eventually combined in 1822.

The Coastguard first functioned as a reserve force for the Royal Navy after the Crimean War in 1856, after which control of the service was transferred to the Admiralty where it acquired a variety of different responsibilities, including the defence of the coasts of the realm, the ready manning of the Royal Navy in the event of war or emergency, protection of the revenue, assisting vessels in distress, taking charge of wreaks, searching for mines etc.

During the twentieth century the Coastguard service has been administered by a number of departments, these are as follows: Board of Trade 1923 to 1939, Ministry of Shipping 1939- to 1940, Admiralty 1940 to 1945, Ministry of (War) Transport, Department of Trade: 1964 to 1983, Department of Transport 1983 to date. This has led to the documents relating to the service being widely scattered among public records with no single index of names of person or places.

Published records of Coastguard Service can include information such as name, age, place of birth, sate of appointment, these are held in published reports which were made to Parliament, these are included in Microfiche records held at the National Archives. An example of these records is Microfiche reference 1825.27,154 Coastal blockade men killed in conflicts with Kent and Sussex smugglers 1821-1825. A number of papers printed for Parliament during the nineteenth century contain information about members of the coastguards. These usually take the form of returns, i.e.: A Return of Officers and Men appointed to the Preventive Boat Service between November 1816 and March 1819 (House of Commons Sessional Papers 1819).

There are also many unpublished registers of Admiralty nominations of officers and ratings in the Coastguard, these date from 1819 to 1923 and are held at the National Archives in their classification series which is prefixed ADM 175/74, the index to these being found in ADM 175/97. Admiralty appointments for revenue cruisers of lieutenants, masters and boatswains between 1816 to 1857 and held respectively in ADM 6/56 and ADM 2/1127. Customs records holds items relating to the coastguard, including minute books CUST 29/40,41,42 1833- 1849, pensions records PMG 23 1857 to 1935 and ADM 23 1855- 1935. During the First World War many men of the coastguard qualified for medals details of which can be found in ADM 17. ADM 6/199 is an appointment book of Coastguard boatmen 1850 to 1931, after WW 1 the Coastguard establishment was greatly reduced and series of discharges from 1919 can be found in ADM 175/91-96. The pension records of Coastguard between 1866 to 1926 are recorded in the additional pension books ADM 23.

Some plans of coastguard stations, officers’ houses, cottages, gun batteries, watch rooms and other structures are held in the classification WORK 30 Maps and Plans: Public Buildings in England. Other interesting records including instructions, memoranda and correspondence concerning the various policies of the Coastguard are held in classifications CUST 29/40.41,42.

Postal addresses of records offices mentioned in this leaflet

The Archivist Maritime History Archive

The Archivist Maritime History Archive
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s
Newfoundland
A1C 5S7

Telephone: (+01) 709 737 8428

Fax: (+01) 709 737 3123

Email: mha@mun.ca

Website: http://www.mun.ca/mha/

The Guildhall Library

The Guildhall Library
Aldermanbury
London
EC2P 2EJ

Telephone: (+44) 020 7332 1868/1870

Email: Guildhall.library@cityoflonodn.gov.uk

The Southampton Archives Services

The Southampton Archives Services
Southampton City Council
South Block Civic Centre
Southampton
S014 7LY

Telephone: (+44) 023 8083 2251

Fax: (+44) 023 8083 2156

Email: city.archives@southampton.gov.uk

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