Commissioned and warrant officers´ service records
Early service records are patchy and as there was no central registry, details of officers´ service can be found in a number of series of records. Some early service records for Admirals and Captains from 1660 to 1688 can be found in ADM 10/10
with similar details on the same individuals up to 1685 in ADM 10/15. After this it is possible to build up details of service from passing certificates, commission and warrant books and ships´ musters and pay books.
The main series of service records ADM 196 commences in 1756. However, the majority of service records do not start until the mid-19th century. The records cover service to 1931. There is a card index in the Open Reading Room, but it is incomplete. Other service records for particular ranks can be found in a number of series, ADM 6, ADM 11, ADM 29, and ADM 104. ADM 29 records can be searched by surname on the online catalogue.
Some later officers´ service records are in the series ADM 340 which contains files and record-of-service cards detailing the service of officers in the Royal Navy, the Royal Naval Reserve, the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS). The new format - cards and files - was introduced early in the 20th century for all officers then serving, including, therefore, some with service dating back to c.1880 (and possibly earlier in a few cases). Duplicated and additional information on many of the male officers whose records appear in this series will therefore be found among the books and registers in the earlier ADM 196 series. Some records in this series detail service through both World Wars and into the 1950s.
Duplicated and additional information on some of the female officers (i.e. WRNS) whose records appear in this series may be found in the two series containing WRNS First World War officers' service records - ADM 318 and ADM 321. See Women´s Royal Naval Service.
Warrant officers who received a pension may also be found in Officers´ and Ratings´ Service Records (Series II) in ADM 29. They cover the period from 1802 to 1894 and are searchable on the online catalogue. Further certificates of service can be found in ADM 73/1-35, covering 1790 to 1865 for warrant officers seeking admission as in-pensioners of Greenwich Hospital.
Survey and analyses
After the Napoleonic wars the strength of Royal Navy was drastically reduced. The Admiralty needed information on its officers and sent out survey forms requesting details of service. Returns are in ADM 6, ADM 9 and ADM 11, with indexes in ADM 10. Some officers did not receive or respond to these surveys and not all returns survive. The details contained in surviving surveys may not always be reliable as officers often included information from memory. The records are arranged by rank and date and there are original name indexes, but there are also printed name indexes for the surveys of 1817 and 1846 available on the open shelves in the Open Reading Room.
Analyses of officers´ services can be found in ADM 11/10 for 1780 to 1847 and in ADM 11/64 for 1844. Later analysis of officers´ services covering 1893 to 1900 are in ADM 11/80. Analysis of lieutenants´ services between 1813 and 1846 are in ADM 6/174. Others for masters´ services between 1777 and 1847 are in ADM 11/6 and between 1793 and 1847 in ADM 11/10. Records relating to surgeons, assistant surgeons and surgeon´s mates are in ADM 11/40 for the period 1742 to 1817.
