This is a brief guide to help you with your research into non-commissioned ranksnon-commissioned rank - a person ranking lower than an officer in the Royal Marines. Royal Marines records are kept in different places depending on when the Marine served. This guide will help you to find out if the information you are looking for exists and, if it does, where to find it.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- full name of the Marine
- the division he served in (Chatham, Plymouth, Portsmouth or Woolwich)
- date range of his service
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What records can I see online?
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Royal Marines' service records (1842-1926)
Search online by name and download (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) Royal Marines' service records (ADM 159) from Discovery, our cataloguea search tool with descriptions of tens of millions of documents from the UK central government, law courts, and other national bodies.
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Royal Marine medal rolls (1914-1920)
Search the First World War campaign medal rolls (ADM 171) for the Royal Marines on findmypast.co.uk (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.). This database provides a complete listing of all Royal Marines who served in the First World War and also has service details for a large number of men.
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Recommendations for honours and awards (1935-1990)
Search online by name and download (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) Recommendations for Honours and Awards (WO 373) from our catalogue. These are mainly British army awards but do include some for the Royal Marines.
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Selected births, marriages and deaths (1830-1920)
Search by name for selected registers of births, marriages and deaths for marines who served in the Chatham Division (ADM 183/114-120) and Portsmouth Division (ADM 184/43-54) on findmypast.co.uk (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.).
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Wills (1786-1909)
Search by name for Royal Marines' wills (ADM 48) from 1786 to 1882 on our website.
You can also browse the Registers of seamen's wills (ADM 142) which may refer to Royal Marines on digital microfilm. For more information on what information you may find, read the catalogue description of these records.
Please be aware that these are very large files and only suitable for download on a fast and unlimited broadband connection.
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Attestation and discharge forms (1790-1925)
Search our catalogue for an attestation form in ADM 157. These were compiled for each Marine on enlistment and show birthplace, previous occupation, physical description and often a record of service.
Please note, this is a search across the entire catalogue description of each record, not just the name. A search for someone called Barnes, for example, may give some results for people born in Barnes.
Narrow your search by using quotation marks to find a person's full name, such as "John Williams"
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Index to attestation forms (1914-1925)
Consult index ADM 313/1-26 if you cannot find an individual's attestation paper. Failing this, browse ADM 157 and choose the relevant file.
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Description books (1750-1940)
Consult description books in ADM 158. These volumes summarise the information given in attestation forms. However they may fill in gaps where the attestation no longer exists and will give a reason and date of discharge.
They are arranged largely by division and then by last name.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, pay for research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Service records (1927 to date)
Look on the Veterans UK website to find out how to obtain service records from the Royal Navy for Royal Marines who enlisted after 1926.
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Short and continuous service records
Consult the 'Research' pages of the Fleet Air Arm Museum website to see a list of the service records they hold.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Websites
Browse the collection of research documents which are available to download from the Royal Marines Museum website.
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Books
Use our library catalogue to find a recommended book list.
The books are all available in The National Archives' reference library. You may also be able to find them in a local library. You can buy from a wide range of history titles in our bookshop.
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Royal Marines officers
Royal Navy ratings 1853-1923
Royal Navy commissioned officers