Some important information before starting

It helps to know if the man was an officer or rating. If the man was an officer you should find his name in the 'navy list'.

Prior to 1860 it is important to know the name of a ship and individual served on in the case of sailors, and which company or division a marine served in.

Unlike the army, nearly all of the records of service for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines from 1860-1923 survive. Prior to 1860, the records whilst very thorough, they do not always contain the records of the person you seek.

Most of the admiralty records are arranged according to when an individual joined. From 1873, the records of Royal Navy ratings are arranged by service number.

Except in the most unusual cases, there are name indexes for most of the records of service in the admiralty records.

If you have any medals awarded to a member of the Royal Navy or Royal Marines, these can be used to identify the period the individual served in but more importantly, they are usually named with the recipients details, either on the back or around the edge.