Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy (35 page)

    
  An index of crew lists deposited with local repositories and archives All three indexes can be found at the Guildhall Library, and The National Archives also has a copy of the first index.

As mentioned above, the Merchant Navy, like the Royal Navy, distinguished between officer personnel and ordinary seamen. As such there are different records depending on which rank your ancestor held.

A specific system of registering officers' service in the Merchant Navy was begun in 1845. Masters and mates of ships were recognized as the officer class of the Merchant Navy. If your ancestor served before this time there is no guarantee of finding any relevant documentation; the best route is to trace any vessels that he may have served on, as records for these vessels may mention your ancestor. From 1854 you may find information in any of the sources here.

If you can't find information on an ancestor who you suspect was a captain, master or mate, then it is worth looking in the records listed below for ordinary seamen, particularly in the period after 1913.

1
.
Alphabetical Register of Masters

From 1845 to 1854 the RGSS produced such a register by using the crew lists. They are now held in BT 115.

2
.
Other sources of offificers' service information

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BT 336 contains a register of changes of ships' masters between 1894 and 1948, arranged by ship number.

•
 
The National Maritime Museum keeps records of the applications for certificates until 1928. These would often include details of service up to the date of application. No applications survive after that date.

•
 
Further information can be found in
Lloyd's Captains' Registers
post 1913. Extra information for masters was extracted from the record of certificates issued to foreign-going masters and sent to Lloyd's. Lloyd's began collecting this information from 1869 in manuscript form and these registers can be used to supplement information found in records after 1913.

3
.
Certificates of competency and service, 1845–1969

A voluntary examination system was introduced by the Board of Trade in 1845 for men serving on foreign-serving ships. Records of those passing the exams are held in BT 143/1 (this piece also includes a name index) and BT 6/218–219.
Lloyd's Register of Shipping
's appendix contains an alphabetical list of those passing such exams during these years. The
London Gazette
(available online) also published the names of those men passing such exams.

The system was made compulsory in 1850 and officers were only entitled to certificates if they passed the exams (therefore showing themselves to be competent) or could prove a long period of service with the Navy. Many registers were compiled recording the issuing of certificates that are now held at The National Archives. These registers should include name, date and place of birth, the date the certificate was issued and rank of the individual. Details of which ships the individual served on are also included until 1888. The certificates themselves are in series BT 122 to BT 126 (BT 128 has colonial certificates). An index for them can be found in BT 127.

From the late nineteenth century onwards there were separate series:

•
 
Engineer certificates
are held in BT 139–142 (colonial registers in BT 140) from 1862 onwards. The indexes can be found in BT 141.

•
 
Certificates for skippers and mates of fishing vessels
are in BT 129 and BT 130 from 1882 onwards, with the index in BT 138.

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Certificates for cooks
were introduced in 1908 and indexes to them are in BT 319 for 1913 to 1956. The National Maritime Museum holds the actual registers for 1915 to 1958.

From 1910 the series' indexes were combined to form one single index to all the different types of certificates issued. It is now held in BT 352.

Records began to be kept for serving seamen of the Merchant Navy from 1835 onwards. However, this is not a continuous sequence as there were times when no records were kept even after that date. As mentioned, the process of registration was begun in 1835 in order to have a reserve force for the Royal Navy in times of conflict. In total there are five registers of seamen that are open to members of the public. They start in 1835 and the last series ends in 1972 although there are gaps in those dates. Additionally, there is a sixth series from 1973 but it is currently held by the RSS in Cardiff and only available to either the individual or, in cases of decease, the next of kin. The RSS can be contacted at the following address:

Registry of Shipping and Seamen

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Anchor Court

Keen Road

Cardiff

CF24 5JW

The first three series were kept from 1835 to 1857, compiled from crew lists as required by the Merchant Shipping Act of 1835.

1
.
First Register of Seamen, 1835–36

This series can be found in The National Archives series BT 120. The records are organized alphabetically and provide age and birth details, which ship the individual was serving on and his status.

2
.
Second Register of Seamen, 1835–44

These records can be found in BT 112. The series is further divided into two parts. Part 1 is from 1835 to February 1840, the sub-series being arranged alphabetically by the first two letters of the seaman's surname (there is an index to this part in BT 119/1). Part 2 is from December 1841 to 1844 and is arranged entirely alphabetically. There appears to be a gap from March 1840 to November 1841.

The first gap in the series appeared in 1845 when the registration system was replaced by a ticketing system for seamen who were leaving the country. This system lasted until 1853 and each individual had to have a register ticket upon departure. As these tickets were then
retained by individual seamen most have not survived. However, there is an alphabetical index to seamen in BT 114. The index provides their place of birth, and the ticket numbers refer to the ticket registers in series BT 113. This latter series provides additional details of each seaman including physical description and career details.

3
.
Third Register of Seamen, 1853–57

In 1853 the ticket system was replaced by a new series of registers which ran till 1857. These records can be found in BT 116, men being listed alphabetically, and birth and career details are given for each seaman.

Between 1857 and 1913 there was no system of registering individual seamen as the authorities believed the crew lists were sufficient information. During this period it is only possible to research a merchant seaman if the name of a ship is also known in order to access the crew lists.

The original cards of the Fourth Register of Seamen are stored at Southampton. As many of these cards contain photographs it may be worthwhile viewing these originals:

Southampton City Archive

Southampton City Council

South Block Basement

Civic Centre

Southampton SO14 7LY

Tel +44 (0)23 8083 2251

www.southampton.gov.uk/s-leisure/artsheritage/history/archives/

4
.
Fourth Register of Seamen, 1913–41

This series, also referred to as the Central Indexed Register, contains records of seamen going up to 1941 and includes approximately 1.25 million cards. Unfortunately, the cards for 1913 to 1918 were destroyed. The originals of the surviving cards are currently stored at Southampton Archives Office. However, The National Archives has microfilm copies of the cards in a variety of series, some organized numerically and others alphabetically:

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BT 351
This series is an index to all seamen awarded the Mercantile Marine Award for participating during the First World War. As such, they can provide some information about seamen during 1914–18, the period where no other cards survive.

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BT 350
This series contains the cards originally found in RSS card series CR 10. It is an index begun in 1918 to the cards from 1918 to 1921 and may contain photographs of the seamen.

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BT 349
The series stores the card series originally known as CR 1. The records are arranged alphabetically by surname, provide birth details, a career summary and the discharge number. Photographs may also be included. It is essential to note down the discharge number as the other relevant National Archive series are organized by this number.

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BT 348
Further career details are given in this series, originally known as the CR 2 collection. The cards are organized by discharge number.

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BT 364
This is a combined index of the CR 1, CR 2 and CR 10 cards and is also arranged by discharge number. Most cards are for seamen who served after 1941 and, therefore, it is possible to find the discharge number by using the series for the Fifth Register of Seamen, BT 382 (see overleaf).

5
.
Fifth Register of Seamen, 1941–72

The last publicly available Register of Seamen was begun in 1941 in response to the Essential Work (Merchant Navy) Order. The Government wished to ensure that there would always be adequate personnel to staff vessels and hence created a Reserve Pool of seamen. A system of continuous paid employment was introduced to fulfil this requirement and merchant seamen could now have permanent employment. A new registration system was also introduced along with the Order, and all men who had been serving during the past five years had to register with the authorities. The Fifth Register has two main sources that form its records:

1. Seamen's pouches

When seamen were registering they were required to provide their CR 1 and CR 2 cards from previous service. They were placed in an envelope and any subsequent paperwork resulting from service would be placed in this envelope when they were discharged. These collections came to be known as ‘seamen's pouches'. Unfortunately, not every pouch survives; it is estimated that there is a 50:50 chance of finding a pouch for a seaman during this period. The surviving pouches can be found in the following series:

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BT 372
This series contains the majority of pouches including records up to 1973. The series has been fully catalogued by name and can be searched by surname online in The National Archives catalogue.

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BT 390
This includes pouches for merchant seamen who worked on Royal Navy ships during the Second World War (up to 1946). It is currently being catalogued by individual name, thus making it possible to search the series online on The National Archives website, although at the time of publication this process is not complete.

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BT 391
This is another series specific to merchant seamen involved in the Second World War, in this case regarding individuals who worked in ‘special operations' between June 1944 and May 1945. It has been fully catalogued by surname and can be searched online on The National Archives website.

2. Docket books

Docket books (CRS 10 forms) can be found in The National Archives series BT 382 and give service details of merchant seamen along with birth details and discharge numbers. They are arranged alphabetically by surname, subdivided into eight different parts. The first two parts contain the largest number of records, relating to European and British dependent seamen for 1941 to 1946 and 1946 to 1972 respectively. The majority of records are held within these parts although they may not necessarily be in the right date range. Parts three to six are specific to Asiatic (mainly Indian and Chinese) merchant seamen. Part seven contains records for men who served on ships requisitioned during the Second World War. The last part has records for pension purposes.