Merchant Navy Records

The History

As an island nation ships and sailors were operating before the Romans Invaded.

Trade went hand in hand with our development and became vital in servicing our growing Empire.

Seaman will feature in most family trees especially for those people living near the coast.

What records can you find?

Although Crew lists were often kept previously they only became compulsory in 1850.

Few earlier lists survive.

Due to the threat of war Government maintained lists of merchant crew from 1835 to 1857 and again from 1918 to 1941 so that men could quickly be recruited into the Royal Navy.

These lists are amongst the mass of Merchant Navy material available at the National Archives.

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The Crew List Project has drawn together as many crew lists as possible.

details are displayed on their great website which offers crew lists, owners,masters and vessels.

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The Maritime Museum at Greenwich is a major source of information holding records like

Death of merchant seamen

Marriages at Sea

Lloyds Captains Register

Shipping Company Records

It also has a very good detailed guide for researching merchant Navy ancestors

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The modern records centre at Warwick University maintain the archives of trade union records including the various carpenter and joiners unions.

A personal visit or hiring a researcher would be required as the records are not yet online.

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County Records Offices and local Museums will have information relating to the smaller ports and  smaller vessels, such as Thames barges, that made up the extensive coastal traffic