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British Mercantile
Records of the 19th & 20th Centuries
- A realistic guide to
what is available
to those looking into
merchant mariners’ careers
by Len Barnett |
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Introduction
As a professional genealogical researcher specialising in
mariners in British mercantile service during the last two centuries, I receive
enquiries of a great variety. Sometimes only armed with a person’s name,
happily I am able to provide a wealth of information from original documents.
At other times, even with more information to hand no records survive and I
have to tactfully explain that there is nowhere to go.
There is no doubt that genealogy has become a popular
pastime. There certainly seems to be evermore people using the facilities of
museums and archives to trace their ancestors. The media too has realised this.
A number of television documentaries and ‘how to’ programmes have recently been
aired on British screens. Often these tell amazing tales, with polished ease.
For those who have spent days trawling through tens of
thousands of entries, red-eyed and tired, in the vain hope of finding one single
piece of information, it is realised that research can be distinctly hard work! So,
the following is based on years of working on various classes of original records
and is meant as an aid to people who are interested in finding out about their
merchant mariner forebears. I cover the main state documentation of the office
of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, the Board of Trade and
Admiralty (where applicable); along with principal commercial records such as
Lloyd’s of London and Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.
It must be stressed that only records dealing with
‘mercantile’ activities are dealt with in this guide. Fishing, with the
exception of 19th century ‘whaling’ is not (yet) covered. While I
have an increasing knowledge of some
aspects of the records required by the fishing industry, I do not as yet have a
particularly deep knowledge of these records and therefore, have not yet
introduced this to my guide. Also, I have very limited experience of research
in the field of yachting and the little I have pertains to one particularly
unusual use of a vessel classed as a yacht (in Antarctic exploration).
How to use this
web-site
What follows initially is a brief chronological guide,
giving a description of what records are available during particular periods.
Some subjects are highly complex and for these there are links to separate
pages with more detailed information and suggestions as to further reading.
This is intended to allow people to go to the era that they are interested in
and assess what records, if any, are potentially of use to them. The links
allow for a slightly deeper understanding.
Following on are two other sections. One deals with
vessels: technical information, tracing their movements and accidents to them.
The second deals with mariners as people: wider aspects of how they lived since
the parliamentary legislation of the 1840s and 1850s; details on their deaths
at sea; and of bravery awards. These sections can be used in conjunction with
the other information available. Within the various sections are also links to
the other side of my web-site. These are made when there is relevant
information to be gained on subjects in the academic papers posted there.
People within the United Kingdom who are easily able to
travel around the London area may then want to conduct their own searches. As
these often take a considerable time and therefore can cost much in time, money
and effort, people from further away may want to invest in the expertise of a
professional researcher. This is especially pertinent for people from overseas,
where a trip to the U.K. may well cost a great deal of money.
Of course engaging a researcher is a matter of choice and
requires trust. Some of the main institutions mentioned have lists of
researchers. A number of researchers advertise that they are expert in a number
of fields, both military and civil. However, as some of these bodies of records
are immensely complicated personally I find it difficult to believe that these
people can be truly ‘expert’ in all these areas. On the mercantile side I
specialise in records dealing with men of the British merchant service between
1835 and 1972. Also, presently I am in the process of producing a relevant
guide to the Honourable East India Company. For those potentially
interested in my services, I can be contacted at len@barnettmaritime.co.uk. Please note that I earn
my living as a freelance researcher and therefore charge professional fees.
Please note
that some of the information within these pages does not agree with some
statements made in various other research guides: official and otherwise. In a number
of subjects I have found the ‘traditional’ understanding to be wanting. As a
result of this I have conducted my own detailed research into the legislation
underpinning the keeping of the state documentation which is now used for
genealogical research. This is incorporated into these web-pages.
For this
reason I have not referred to genealogical guides in the following pages. A few
organisations produce excellent research material,
such as Lloyd’s Register of Shipping. In another case, the otherwise very
informative guide for the Lloyd’s collection at the Guildhall Library has
become somewhat out of date: through organisational changes of outside
entities. (Presently this is being revised and should be ready for publication
this coming winter.) Unfortunately, the output of many of the remaining
organisations is patchy. Some information is good, the majority mediocre and in
a seemingly increasing number of cases publications are full of typographical
and/or factual errors.
Chronological Guide
Prior to 1835 there is no surviving large body of
information on British merchant mariners. There are, of course, various records
still in existence. These include port books, ‘Board of Trade’ shipping
returns, Customs books, High Court of Admiralty records, registers of
protection from being pressed, muster rolls, apprenticeship books and ledgers
of receivers of sixpences. However, often these are far from complete and for
genealogical purposes are for the most part less than useful. (There are, of
course, exceptions. An obvious class would be of major legal disputes involving
merchant shipowners cum masters.)
Between 1835 and 1857 a whole series of experiments were
made by the British state in keeping tabs on the entire British merchant
service. This was due to changing political realities, inasmuch as the press had become inexpedient
for manning warships of the Royal Navy when necessary. Under the control of the
General Register Office of Merchant Seamen and headed by a Lieutenant R.N.
initially this was answerable to the Admiralty (although later handed over to
the ‘Board of Trade’ in 1850). These exercises failed for a whole raft of
reasons and by the end of this period the raison d’être
had become non-existent with increasingly widespread continuous service for
ratings in the Royal Navy from 1853 onwards.
While it
cannot be said that every British merchant
sailor can be traced within this body of documentation (generally known as the
‘ticketing
system‘)
there are certainly hundreds of thousands of men who most definitely can be.
However, these records are not at all easy to use and for a number of reasons.
Even with considerable experience, sometimes I am surprised in the way
documents are recorded, or filed, as individual ports or even civil-servants
entered information as they saw fit. Nevertheless, even with all the
limitations this era can be regarded as a real ‘window into the past’ and
historically very interesting. For modern genealogists, the most important
aspect of this is the ability to locate individual ships’ crew
lists and agreements,
as these may give invaluable information on forebears. All surviving
examples of these documents during this period appear to be in London. Ships’
official logs
may also be filed with the above documents,
but only in a small minority of cases and not until 1852.
After 1857 but
before 1919, without individuals’ discharge certificates (that had already been
introduced in real terms in 1835) it becomes all but impossible to trace most
merchant mariners. The most notable exceptions to this are mostly deep-ocean
seamen officers and a proportion of engineering officers. To a lesser degree coastal
masters were also included (not being completely brought into the system until
1931); and skippers & mates of fishing boats (from 1884). But, others such
as apprentices (already from 1823) and cooks (from 1908) potentially can also
be identified. (At the turn of the 20th century there was also
pressure from outwith the Board of Trade to have a system of qualification for
seamen, but this was not introduced.)
However, for
merchant mariners that were in India during the great Sepoy Mutiny of 1857-58, there
may be another source worthwhile looking into at the British Library. As well
as sailors in local naval service, merchant mariners were known to have joined
the Naval Brigades of the Bengal Marine.
‘Certification’
of mercantile seamen officers had already begun in
1845, with a voluntary system of examination for masters and mates of
deep-ocean vessels. However, from 1850 onwards there were moves to make
certification mandatory, both in deep-ocean and coastal vessels. Regulation of
the latter trade remained far lighter however. (Again in the early years of the
20th century moves to have certification within the coastal trade
tightened up were fended off by the Board of Trade.) Certification of engineers began in 1862, but it
is important to note that this remained far from universal. For genealogists
the salient feature in these schemes are the individuals’ certificate numbers
issued. Armed with these, other useful records can be viewed: especially for
seamen officers. As apparently with books of continuous discharge and service,
during the Second World War individuals’ certificates of competency were kept
ashore in ‘safe custody at Mercantile Marine Offices for whilst the holders
were at sea’. This practice was rescinded post war (see TNA: PRO BT 9/4210).
As for
apprentices, in 1823 legislation required vessels of more than 80 tons burthen
to carry indentured apprentices. (Later legislation cancelled this
requirement.) It should be pointed out that only a tiny percentage of the relevant paperwork
has survived in state hands (although some seems to have been acquired by
private individuals as collections and I know of some indentures with descendants). Even when
identified in the ledgers, details are sparse and often only confirm what is
already known.
In respect to
cooks, courtesy of the Merchant Shipping Act 1906 two years later a programme
of registration was instituted in order to attempt to maintain better standards
at sea, which were traditionally absolutely foul. Unfortunately, very little information is
recorded in the surviving documents. The T.N.A., P.R.O., Kew holds the
alphabetical listings giving basic details - year and place of birth and
certificate number. The surviving numerical registers at the N.M.M., Greenwich
duplicate this, but may also mention the
recipients’ death, or loss of certificate. At Kew there is also another source
relating to the 1950s. This is a Board of Trade precedent book (TNA: PRO BT
167/132) and again gives little information, other than reporting that masters
had signed on unqualified cooks.
Also, in 1936
a new seaman rate was introduced with examinations for Efficient Deck Hand. In
its earliest form this would appear to have been something of a hybrid between ordinary
and able rate for foreign-going vessels and applicants had to be at least
nineteen years old. Apart from one memo as part of the Board of Trade Marine
Department’s correspondence and one single application form for examination
within miscellaneous documents relating to the Central Register of
Seamen,
it would appear that nothing survives from this scheme. Nevertheless, from info
supplied by a few past mariners (including Captain Christopher Woods) by the
1960s an E.D.H. certificate was a requirement for a lifeboatman’s certificate.
In turn the latter was needed for qualification as able seaman.
There are also
other exceptions to the rule of being unable to trace mariners from the mid 19th
to mid 20th centuries, other than noted above. Some commercial
companies’ records are held variously in archives throughout the United
Kingdom, such as at Glasgow University and the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The
best way to investigate this, I have found, is through the National Register of
Archives. Due to a reorganisation they are now sited at the Public Records
Office, Kew. For those unable to visit, the N.R.A.’s website is well designed
and can be found at http://www.hmc.gov.uk.
At the
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich a not inconsiderable percentage of
personnel records for three companies of the ‘P & O Group’, have not only
survived, but are available for study. Principally these are of the Peninsular
and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Limited, but there are also a lesser amount
from the British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. and the Orient
Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. Additionally, they have some other corporate
documentation, such as of the Shaw Savill Albion Line in their archives, but
the scope genealogically can be limited. Elsewhere, there are other corporate
collections. These can be investigated through the National Register of
Archives.
Remaining with
the subject of possible leads to mariners from the mid 19th to mid
20th centuries, some relevant documentation
of the Royal Naval Reserve from this period is now in the public domain.
This can be useful as service records not only show details of R.N.R. service,
but depending on the time period and rank held may also show individuals’ commercial activities.
There was also another reserve that merchant mariners may also be traced through. This was the Mercantile
Marine Reserve
that came into being mid First World War, originally for one specific purpose,
but that would seem to have enlarged its scope at least administratively by the
end of hostilities. Individuals can be traced through the M.M.R.’s two medal
rolls
for the entire Great War period.
Another
possibility relates to foreign mariners naturalised as British citizens. The
relevant paperwork is to be found in Home Office classes at The National
Archives, Public Records Office, Kew. Although a Home Office responsibility,
the day to day processing of mariners was conducted by the mercantile
bureaucracies. My only experience of these at the time of writing relates to
cases between 1900 and 1914, but there can be a great deal of info in these
files, including full and accurate certificates of service, compiled by the
office of the R.G.S.S.
It is
presently not until about 1919 that tracing any British merchant mariners
(other than those already dealt with above) is realistic though. Although begun
six years before, the Central Index Register can be an invaluable
source for researching men during the inter war period. The C.I.R. continued
until 1940-1941 when it was replaced with the Central Register of
Seamen,
which was in force until 1972. The original documents that form the bulk of
this latter system are at the Public Records Office, Kew. It should be pointed
out that the C.R.S. does not record information prior to 1941, which makes
researching past service difficult in a large number of mariners.
I have
deliberately not mentioned the period of the First World War until this point,
since it requires attention of its own. Apart from certificated officers,
tracing forebears in mercantile service can be very difficult indeed and
sometimes impossible. At first sight it may be surmised that enemy action
(especially from February 1917 onwards when unrestricted U-boat warfare was
re-imposed by the Germans) would have meant the total loss of crew-lists
and agreements.
However, this is not necessarily the case: though a great many crew lists are missing. However, the real problem is the loss
of the Central Index Register prior to 1919.
Nevertheless,
because of the all-encompassing nature of this conflict information can be found dealing with merchant mariners, but
often only in their aid of the state. Increasing levels of tonnage were
requisitioned by the government for its use. And, in the closing stages there
was something akin to ‘nationalisation’ of shipping. This all produced official
paperwork, some of which has been preserved. Also, this was also the first
major war where in Britain naval reserve forces were committed in a large way.
For the merchant service, this primarily meant the Royal Naval Reserve, though of course
there were merchant mariners of the Royal Fleet Reserve, who having previously
served in the R.N. were
recalled to
service in 1914. There was also some crossover into the Royal
Naval Volunteer Reserve as well. Allied to this, the relevant medal rolls for the
Great War
covering both the Merchant Service and Reserve Forces have now been released
for public scrutiny.
The Second
World War is now proving generally easier to research from a genealogical point
of view. Along with the release of the Central Register of
Seamen
it would appear that all the surviving crew lists, agreements and other
documentation have now been transferred from the R.G.S.S. (Earlier sloppy
cataloguing at the T.N.A./P.R.O. has now apparently been corrected - but only
after complaints from researchers.) Some other classes of official wartime
mercantile records also now released can be of real use, especially the Board
of Trade ships’ voyage cards. Although sometimes highly codified, these can be
used to get access to naval operational records (in particular those relating
to convoys) and much can now be gleaned. It
should be stated though that these operational records are not necessarily of
use without a good understanding of the concepts dealt with. (Operation Orders,
for instance, were produced for naval, air force and mercantile officers and
can be full of jargon and abbreviations.) Poor cataloguing of these records by
modern civil servants also often make searches of these far more time consuming than should be necessary.
Partially through this and additional weaknesses in the original record
keeping, other problems can be encountered in these classes, but reference to
some documents in the Lloyd’s of London collection at the
Guildhall Library in the City can sometimes resolve these.
Genealogical
research post Second World War is now more organised than it was, although the
disposal of this batch of the crew-lists and agreements through to 1972 can
present difficulties in finding. Since then few of these records have
apparently been retained: but then the British Merchant Navy was on its knees
by this time.
Vessels - technical
data, tracing their movements and accidents
It is also be possible to learn more of vessels, especially
technical details, from the records of classification institutions. In Britain,
there were a number. However, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping has predominated. Also
available in a few locations of the U.K. are the registers of the French Bureau Veritas. These can be useful,
not only for European registered vessels, but also for those under the U.S.
flag. There were, of course, other classification institutions. These included
the Germanischer-Lloyd and the Det Norske Veritas. However, I am not aware of any of
their older registers being available in the U.K.
The
certificates of registration for British and Colonially registered civilain
vessels can also yield good technical information. ‘Office’ copies of these are
to be found at The National Archives, Public Records Office, Kew.
Knowing the
dry detail of which vessels and when forebears served on them is one thing,
knowing where they operated is another.
Although crew-lists and agreements can give this information, often much is
missing. However, as an aid to underwriters, the intelligence department of Lloyd’s
of London
compiled a great deal of information on foreign-going vessels, with a far lesser amount on coasters. Not only did this
cover movements, but also ‘casualties’, the marine insurance underwriters’ term
for damage to, or loss of vessels.
Newspapers can
also be helpful in gaining information on vessels and incidents. Excluding the
shipping press, which is dealt with in the page on Lloyd’s of London (see link
above), with the exception of movements into and out of London docks, ‘quality’
national titles tend only to have dealt with serious incidents, such as sinkings.
Often these were syndicated reports from regional newspapers. Regional
publications, especially of large ports, can often be a rich source of data,
showing both routine movements and covering also ‘local’ incidents far more
fully than the nationals. There are various holdings of newspapers, probably
the best in the U.K. is the British Newspaper Library at Colindale, North
London.
In essence the
shipping industry is far from glamorous. It has been and remains merely there
to shift goods from one location to another and make profits for the
shareholders, which is not to say that this cannot be interesting, or exciting.
However, this mostly goes unreported (by anyone) and normally it is only when
something goes disastrously wrong that there is any record.
The subject of
safety at sea is complex and one I do not propose to discuss at any length.
Suffice to say that death and injury through accident was traditionally
staggeringly high during the ‘sailing ship’ era, with something of a gradual
tailing off through technological change of the latter nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. (Nevertheless, if one routinely reads Lloyd’s List it is apparent that the accidents that were
prone one hundred years ago, still happen with depressing regularity. Such is
human nature.)
Although begun
before, as of 1850 through the Mercantile Marine Act, there have been state
mechanisms in Britain to deal in a disciplinary manner with gross misconduct
and miscalculation by ships’ officers: as well as lesser matters. An important
element of this dealt with major accidents
resulting in serious damage to, or loss of vessels. However, wartime
incidents
including sinkings by enemy action, at least during the First World War, were
dealt with in a different manner and surviving documentation can be found
elsewhere. Also, there are the ‘Black Books’ and
‘Confidential Circulars’, which entered details of disciplinary action taken
against certificated officers. For crew-members however, (apart from routine
reporting on conduct and ability which cannot be relied on as accurate)
official comment is generally only to be found within surviving ships’
official logs
and even then it is overwhelmingly far from complimentary.
Mariners: Life, Death and Bravery
The
documents mentioned so far can tell much about the careers of merchant
mariners. However, a wider knowledge of life and conditions at
sea
can add significantly to understanding
these. Of course, it all depends on how deeply one wants to go, though a
realisation that life was routinely hard and even brutal should be borne in
mind.
The
death of mariners at sea primarily through accident was also routine: particularly
on sailing ships. Even so, while Select Committees periodically reported
thousands killed every year, some perspective should be given to this. Other
industries also had high levels of death and injury, such as the mineral mining
industries, which I believe had an even worse record than
mercantile shipping.
Finally, apart
from martial wartime honours and awards, civil gallantry awards have only been dealt
with in passing. Lloyd’s of London was not the only
authority to reward acts of bravery at sea. The state also honoured merchant
mariners in a lesser manner, from gifts of items such as watches, to various
classes of medals. Very occasionally other grateful organisations, such as town
councils or foreign governments, also gave awards to mariners. Sometimes
details of these are to be found in state records for civil gallantry awards
(see above link) though are also occasionally mentioned in Lloyd’s Captains Registers.
Press reports can
also be a source for such recognition.
Return to the
chronological guide
Return to technical data on vessels, tracing their movements and accidents