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What are the medal cards?You can search and download over 155,000 cards recording the award of campaign medals to merchant seamen in the First World War. These cards record the award of the British War Medal, Mercantile Marine Medal and Silver War Badge. The cards are from the catalogue references BT 351/1/1, BT 351/1/2 and MT 9/1404. The records were used to record the issue of medals to individual seamen. All recipients of Mercantile Marine Medals were automatically entitled to the British War Medal and the index additionally records its issue. Why were the medals awarded?The Mercantile Marine Medal was awarded to those who served at sea for no 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. All recipients of the Mercantile Marine Medal were automatically entitled to the British War Medal. The Silver War Badge was awarded to merchant seamen who were no longer fit for sea service as a result of sickness or wounds contracted or received during the war, either at home or overseas. Searching the medal cardsYou can search the cards by:
You can download the entire list of 155 recipients of the Silver War Badge from MT 9/1404 for £3.50. Once downloaded, you can scroll through the pdf file to locate the merchant seaman that you are interested in. How do you read them?A card records a merchant seaman’s name, details of the medals issued and the Mercantile Marine Office (M.M.O.) to which the medals were sent. The top of the medal card contains a merchant seaman’s name, place of birth, year of birth, and discharge/RS2 number(s). The lower half of the card contains a printed list of ribbons, medals and clasps issued. A date next to any of these indicates that the award was issued. Ribbons were issued in lieu of medals until the medals were minted. Clasps were awarded for taking part in a particular battle or action. The right hand side of the card contains a M.M.O. reference which indicates which Mercantile Marine Office an award was sent. In some instances a home address may be noted in this section. To get an idea of what the records look like, have a look at the medal card of Hassan Abbas The reverse of the card contains the date the award(s) were confirmed and the address to which the medals and ribbons were sent. Occasionally a card will confirm that the individual did not receive any medals. In these cases it is most likely that the merchant seaman did not fulfill the necessary criteria needed in order to be issued with a medal. To get an idea of what the Silver War Badge records look like please click here. The list states a merchant seaman’s name, medal number, ship served on, and incapacity/reason for being awarded the medal. Further researchRecords of the British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914-1915 Star awarded 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. 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. Research guidesLooking for records of a merchant seaman serving between 1858 and 1917 Looking for records of a merchant seaman serving after 1917 Merchant Seamen: Medals and Honours BooksMy Ancestor was a Merchant Seaman, Christopher and Michael Watts, Society of Genealogists. Medals: The Researcher's Guide William Spencer, The National Archives, 2006 |
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