Of all the Armed Service records the Navy probably has the best set. But sometimes understanding of the many RN divisions is required to find records that are divided amongst them. The earliest English Naval records are the Anthony Rolls which date from 1540. They are 3 parchment rolls for 58 ships which are illustrated. As each ship carried some 3/400 men and there are not that many men named it can be presumed that only officers and senior ratings are listed. The rolls are held part in Magdalene College Cambridge and part in the British Library.
Recruitment Voluntary or Pressed men (1664 - c1830). Voluntary recruits had to buy their own uniform but had certain benefits such as 3 months pay that Pressed men did not. To protect individuals who were exempt from being pressed, such as dockyard workers, there was a certificate they carried with them to prove their exemption. Ian said but these were personal documents and unlikely to be in an archive. Nowadays they are probably only found in personal collections. Desertion was high amongst Impressed men.
During the Napoleonic Wars (circa 1795 – 1815) ‘the Quota’ was brought as an alternative and a better method to being Pressed. It was a form of conscription where each county had to provide a ‘quota’ of men for the navy according to the size of the county. Men were encouraged to join up paid out of the Poor Law rates a bounty for doing so but there was a high rate of desertion after the bounty was paid and many disappeared before they arrived at their ship. Local Newspapers and Hue & Cry, the Police Gazette, carried physical descriptions of deserters and when caught were subject to a Court Martial.
Challenges finding records – the documents are complex and heavily abbreviated, some can be guessed but others not, and documents are not indexed. Although, now they are starting to appear online this is improving and it should not be too difficult to find someone before continuous service. Pre 1853, before continuous service started, only names and ranks were listed in ships’ muster books plus an individual might serve on both Merchant ships and RN during this period as they were engaged on a voyage-by-voyage basis. It is useful to use The National Archives guides to help for example ships Muster books 1667 – 1878 cover several ADM series number but should the ship sink the book would have gone down with it but there should still be a Pay book as that was kept on land but will be classified with a different ADM reference and are also heavily abbreviated.
Rank is important not just Officers and Men but there are around 30 different types of Men or Ratings depending on the speciality of the sailor. Photographs showing insignia badges are helpful. Officers can usually be established but Ratings and Senior Ratings identification, insignia and or stripes are often reliant on precisely where on the uniform the badge is placed.
Medals campaign and proficiency are helpful and there are many sites on the web that will help you find out what they are for. Campaign medals such as for the Crimea will have the same colour ribbon no matter which Armed Service the man served with. The campaign will give you an idea about where the man served in that period and the ships they might have served on. Medal Rolls are held in The National Archives reference ADM 171 from 1793. They are available online on commercial sites such as Findmypast and Ancestry who each have some but not all medal rolls.
Ratings Continuous Service: we might find, personal details and the ships served on. Land-based establishments also had ships names. Most of the following are now on Ancestry.
ADM 139 (1853 – 1872) continuous naval service no longer serving on merchant ships.
ADM 188 (1873 -1924) if they joined the coastguards those details will be on the same records.
Free website for (1914-19) is Royal Navy - Lives at Sea Database Gives details as in ADM 188
ADM 362 + 363 (1925-1950) from WWII if a man took his record when he left, they will not be found.
Change of service numbers 1908 – 1923 initials at the start of the number gives the occupation.
Ratings Certificates of Service ADM 29 – compiled from pay books to give pensions and medals.
Pensions - The Chatham Chest ADM 22 – 23 Set up in the 1500s after many sailors had petitioned the monarch for support due to occupational injuries. Contributions were deducted from pay. If you did not contribute you couldn’t claim. Documents give details of injuries although many are held in family archives. The original chest in which the funds were held and after which the charity was named may still be seen in Chatham Dockyard today.
Greenwich Pensions for the Navy similar to Chelsea Pensions for the Army. Seamen contributed 6d a month from their pay at first inmates wore uniforms but were not allowed to have family stay with them so many lived nearby in Greenwich.
Ian talked about many other documents for Officers by rank and about the divisions and ended by saying said that he had only covered Service records of in the Royal Navy and that there are a huge amount more covering many other aspects of the navy including civilian dockyard workers. He said the number of records can be quite confusing but he recommended following The National Archives help guide and suggested his book: My Ancestor Was in the Royal Navy by Ian H Waller might also be of help to clarify things further.
Report by Tricia Baxter
Speakers Secretary for Kent FHS