Merchant Seamen: Medals and Honours

Domestic Records Information 95

1. General

Rewards for service and acts of gallantry were first given in the mid-nineteenth century. The system was administered on behalf of the Government by the Marine Department of the Board of Trade. Types of award ranged from formal thanks to gifts (such as a gold chronometer) to medals.

By the time of the Second World War there were six medals granted for gallantry at sea:

Records related to honours and awards are to found in the following series: Albert Medal Register (BT 97 ); Marine Divisions: Gallantry at Sea Awards (BT 261 ); Registered Files: Marine Crews (MC Series) (BT 238 ).

Code 6 of Marine Correspondence and Papers (MT 9 ) contains several files relating to the award of the Albert Medal from 1903 to 1950, and many files concerning awards and gallantry during wartime.

Home Office: Registered Papers (HO 45 ) contains records relating to awards for heroism on land.

2. Pre-First World War

For records of the award of the Egyptian Medal, awarded to some masters at Alexandria (11 July 1882) and Tel-El-Kebir (13 September 1882), and for the Sea Transport Medal, awarded to senior and certain other officers of the Mercantile Marine who served on vessels transporting troops to the South African War (1899 - 1902) and to the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900) look in (ADM 171/52 ). Information on the Egyptian Medal can also be found in ADM 116/711 and in ADM 171/41 .

3. First World War

There were four medals awarded to merchant seamen during the First World War:

Awards of the British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914-1915 Star to men of the Mercantile Marine Reserve and to officers and men of the Royal Naval Reserve are available on microfilm and are in ADM 171 .

Records of the Mercantile Marine Medal, awarded to those with sea service of not less than six months between 4 August 1914 and 11 November 1918, and who served at sea on at least one voyage through a danger zone, are available on microfiche in BT 351 . All recipients of the Mercantile Marine Medal were automatically entitled to the British War Medal; details are also in BT 351 .

Many merchant navy officers and men received naval gallantry awards during the First World War. Records of these can be found in the series Admiralty and Secretariat Cases (ADM 116 , code 85). Lists and indexes to these records are in Admiralty and Secretariat: Indexes and Compilations Series III (ADM 12 ). Further material may be found in ADM 137 . Rolls of Honour, 1914-1918, from the ranks of the merchant marine fleet are in BT 339 .

4. Second World War, 1939 - 1945

Records relating to the applications for campaign medals to merchant seamen during the Second World War are with the Registry of Shipping and Seamen, MCA Cardiff, Anchor Court, Keen Road, Cardiff CF24 5JW. Telephone +44 (0) 2920 448800, Fax +44 (0) 2920 448820 or email rss@mcga.gov.uk.

If you are enquiring about a seaman's entitlement you should in the first instance contact Cardiff. If they do not find an entitlement but you wish to check whether there is in fact one, they will advise you on what evidence they will require. The National Archives has a copy of the applications made for medals (BT 395 ) but does not have the entitlement list, hence the need to contact Cardiff first.

Normally to prove entitlement you will need to

This can be done by consulting the Fifth Register of Seamen in BT 382 and BT 372 ( it may in some circumstances be necessary to consult the Fourth Register in BT 348 , BT 349 and BT 364 ) and getting copies of the seaman's sea service record. Access to full details of seamen born less than 100 years ago may be restricted.

Then you will need a copy of the relevant ships' movement cards in BT 389 for the vessels on which he/she served on the respective dates to prove the vessel was in the theatre of war on that date. The movement cards are required in preference to the Ship's Agreement, Crew List and Log. The reason being that Admiralty orders frequently prohibited the Masters of vessels listing their ports of departure or arrival.

Rolls of Honour, 1939-1945, from the ranks of the merchant marine fleet are in BT 339 .

Code 6 of Marine Correspondence and Papers (MT 9 ) contains many files relating to various awards, including the Board of Trade Medal for Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea, the Sea Transport Medal, the George Medal, the Lloyd's Medal for Gallantry at Sea and the Polish Cross of Valour.

Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen: Royal Naval Reserve: Representative Records of Service (BT 164 ) - BT 164/23 contains papers on awards to RNR officers.

Most of the files under the subject heading 'Awards' in Home Office: Registered Papers (HO 45 ) relate to the award of the Albert Medal for heroism on land (see above).

The Lloyd's Medal for Gallantry at Sea was instituted by the Committee of Lloyd's in December 1940, to be awarded by Lloyd's upon officers and men of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleet in cases of exceptional gallantry at sea in time of war. A published list and history of the medal is available in The National Archives Library.

Many merchant navy officers and men received naval gallantry awards during the Second World War. Records of these can be found in the series Admiralty and Secretariat Papers (ADM 1 , code 85). Lists and indexes to these records are in Admiralty and Secretariat Indexes and Compilations Series III (ADM 12 ).

Further material may be found in War History Cases and Papers (ADM 199 ).

(ri2202) Last updated: 1 May 2008 | © Crown Copyright 2005