TRACING MASTER MARINERS IN BRITISH RECORDS Debbie Beavis The filmed volumes of Lloyds Captains' Registers found in large archives worldwide are frequently cited as the main, if not the only source, for tracing the career of a Master Mariner. This is unfortunate as they are just one of the sources available and they do have limitations. Where there is overlap you should check all sources. Remember also that most Masters and Mates will have seen service as ordinary seamen or apprentices before gaining their certificate and the various Indexes and Registers of Seamen and Seamen's Tickets should be also be searched together with Registers of Apprentices. Certain sources replicate information found in others, but as in any research, you are wise to check all possible sources. Before 1845 Masters and other Officers were not separately registered. Use the Indexes and Registers of Seamen and Seamen's Tickets. In 1845, a system of voluntary examinations for masters and mates of foreign trade vessels was introduced by the Board of Trade. The Mercantile Marine Act 1850 required examinations to be compulsory, and new masters or mates passing the examination were granted Certificates of Competency. Masters and Mates who had already been serving in that capacity on foreign going vessels before 1 January 1851 were granted Certificates of Service. In 1854 the requirement for certification was applied to masters and mates of home trade vessels also. RECORDS OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL OF SHIPPING & SEAMEN 1845 - 1854 Masters and Mates of all craft; Alphabetical Register of Masters, BT115 1845 - 1850 Men passing voluntary examinations for Masters; Certificates of Competency & Service, Miscellaneous; BT143 1845 - 1921 Series of six RGSS registers, comprising several volumes. (BT122-128) Each register differs in the masters whose details are included, depending on the category of certificate and the period covered. Indexed from 1845-1894; Index to Registers of Certificates of Competency and Service, Masters and Mates, Home & Foreign Trade; BT127 1880 - 1921 Fishing Officers - two registers each in several volumes (BT129-130) indexed 1880-1917; BT138 1910 - 1930 Index To Certificates of Competency, Masters, Mates, Engineers and Fishing Officers, Home and Foreign Trade; BT352 1913 - 1935 Registers of Examinations for Certificates of Masters, Mates and Engineers, Returns of Passings and Failures; BT318 1917 - 1968 Registers of Masters and Mates Certificates, Passings and Renewal; BT317 LLOYDS CAPTAINS' REGISTERS 1851 - 1947 Series of Registers each in several volumes predominantly only listing men employed in the foreign trade. Earliest date available, 1869 which has been published on microfiche. Note that although this contains retrospective details to 1851, it contains the details only of those Masters in service in 1869. These registers can contain a wealth of information about individual voyages and also some biographical information about each man. Colour-coded entries are used and black and white photocopies are not therefore always adequate. Original Lloyds Captains' Registers are at the Guildhall Library, Manuscripts Department, Aldermanbury, London EC2P 2EJ. http://ihr.sas.ac.uk/gh The staff will undertake only limited research and that some of the registers may not now be copied at all due to their condition. Filmed copies may be available at an archive near you. PUBLISHED SOURCES Lloyds Register of Shipping and Mercantile Navy List both contain lists of those men who passed the voluntary examination, and the latter includes lists of all those granted certificates. CONTINUING RESEARCH Once the various registers and indexes of Masters and Mates have been searched, the next step is to obtain a copy of the man's application for a certificate. Having passed the examination for a certificate of competency, a man had to make written application for the granting of the certificate. The information was entered in registers and the resultant information is of great value to the researcher. Applications For Certificates (awarded before 1900) are held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF. For these, you will need to provide the certificate number. Not all applications have survived. They include all voyages undertaken over at least the four years prior to the award of the certificate, along with useful biographical information supplied by the applicant. The NMM makes a charge for production of these certificates and has a long waiting period. Their web site is at http://www.nmm.ac.uk but note that they do not answer email enquiries! They can be contacted by post at the The National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF Later applications are held by the RGSS, Cheviot Close, Parc Ty Glas, Llanishen, Cardiff CF4 5JA. RGSS records, held in classes with prefix BT are held at the Public Record Office, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Surrey, England. http://www.pro.gov.uk Some records have been filmed and may be available through archives near you. Some records are still in the process of being transferred to the PRO and you should contact them to check access before travelling. The PRO will not conduct a search on your behalf but will send out a list of researchers prepared to undertake such work. There is a series of on-line help leaflets available also via their web site. Other published records - Lloyds Register of Shipping and Mercantile Navy List are readily available at many large libraries and maritime institutions in the UK. FISHERMEN: From: Margaret Taylor, Canada. If you have lost a male ancestor (trawlerman, fisherman, WW1 & WW 2), here's a list of mostly Hull addresses of men who were lost at sea. There are some Lincs addresses and MANY whose addresses have not been traced. Worth a look. http://www.hullcc.gov.uk/genealogy/download/lost_trawlermen.pdf ---------------------------------------- Last updated 3-January-2005 by Louis Mills