Merchant seamen serving after 1913: further research

1. Introduction

Following the closure of the Third Seamen's Register in 1857 no central register of seamen was kept for 56 years. The Board of Trade felt that the Agreements and Crew Lists provided an adequate means of recording information about the seamen without the need to create a separate register. Researchers will therefore have to rely on these returns and sundry other types of records, where they exist, for this period - see the related research guides.

In 1910 the Government's Advisory Committee on Merchant Shipping recommended the creation of a new Central Register of Seamen and so the Fourth Register was started in 1913.

Unlike some military service's records the dates given in the catalogue do not refer to date of discharge but reflect the dates of service.

Access to full details of seamen born less than 100 years ago may be restricted.

2. The Fourth Register of Seamen, 1918-1941

The Fourth Register, (Central Indexed Register), was started in October 1913 and continued until 1941. Unfortunately the entries for 1913-1918 were destroyed, therefore the register covers the actual period 1918-1940. Copies of the registry cards are held on microfiche at The National Archives in Kew; the original cards are held by Southampton City Archive. Please contact Southampton, (details given below), if you want to obtain copies from the original cards.

The full register consists of four sets of cards, held in four separate record series. These include details of all categories of men and women employed at sea. For clarity the term seaman has been used throughout the leaflets regardless of the gender or rank of the individual.

Using the records

BT 350 and BT 349, are arranged in strict alphabetical sequence, by surname and forenames. However, the fiche headers only give surname and initials, so it can look as though they are not in order. For example, a fiche containing cards for Smith, James Henry to Smith, John Albert, will be headed Smith J H - Smith J A. You may need to look in more than one fiche to find the record you need.

For each of BT 348 and BT 349 there exists a small additional set of cards which is filed at the end of each series. It is thought that these are for seamen who were not issued with discharge 'A' numbers. This could include apprentices.

Looking for a seaman between 1913 and 1920

The cards for 1913 to 1920 of the two main series BT 349 (CR 1) and BT 348 (CR 2) were destroyed in 1969.

For 1913 to 1917 you should consult the agreements and crew lists for the period, see the research guide Merchant seamen: log books, agreements and crew lists after 1861. To do this you will need the name and the official number of the ship(s) on which the seaman served. Once you have the name of the vessel(s) you can obtain the official number(s) by either consulting copies of the Merchant Navy List or Lloyd's Registers. The National Archives has a partial collection of both these series. The National Maritime Museum holds a complete set of the Lloyd's Registers.

If you know the name of the ship and need the official number try looking at the index of ships by official number. If you know the number of the ship and need the ship's name, try looking at the index of ships by name.

This includes, but are not limited to, the official Appropriation Books currently help by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (RSS) at Cardiff. These will eventually be transferred to The National Archives and form BT 388.

For 1918 to 1921 the gap is filled by the CR 10 cards in BT 350 see below.

How to find an entry between 1918-1921

CR 10 Card - Front side showing personal details

BT 350 Register of Seamen, Special Index, Alphabetical Series (CR 10 cards) 1918-1921

Look in the fiche drawers marked BT 350 . These contain fiches, in surname sequence, of the Special Index, Alphabetical Series (CR 10), 1918-1921. Note the photograph on the reverse of the card. The numbers and names listed by the picture are the official numbers or names of the vessels on which the seaman served, with the dates of signing on.

Nominal Index, organised by the seaman's surname, each card typically gives the following information. On the front of the card:

• discharge 'A' number;
• certificate of company number;
• name of seaman;
• year and place of birth;
• rank or rating;
• name (sometimes) and official number of ship and
• date of engagement of service.

How to find all the entries for a seaman, 1921-1941

BT 349 Register of Seamen, Central Index, Alphabetical Series (CR 1 cards) 1921-1941

Look first in the central alphabetical index, the CR 1 cards, in the fiche drawers marked BT 349.

Nominal Index, organised by the seaman's surname, each card typically gives the following information. On the front of the card:

• surname, christian name (forename),
• birth year and place of birth,
• discharge 'A' number;
• rating,
• RV2 number (origin unknown),
• certificate grade and number (if owned),
• PR number (origin unknown),
• health insurance number,
• unemployment insurance number,
• height, colour of eyes and hair, complexion, distinguishing marks.

On reverse of the card:

• the seaman's signature.
• the date of issue.
• There is a small supplementary series of cards, also alphabetically organised covering surnames beginning with the letters BLA to PR

BT 348 Register of Seamen, Central Index, Numerical Series (CR 2 cards) 1921-1941

Look next at the numeric index, the CR 2 cards, arranged by discharge number, (ignore any prefix letter before it), in the fiche drawers marked BT 348 . The prefix letter is significant as it signifies the country of origin of the seaman but the cards are arranged numerically irrespective of the prefix. These CR 2 cards should show a list of the ships on which the seaman served. However, the clerks do not seem to have entered every change of ship and you therefore may find that the record is incomplete - that some additional ship details may be recorded on the CR1 and CR10 card.

Numeric Index, organised by the seaman's discharge 'A' number each card typically gives the following information. On the front:

• discharge 'A' number;
• certificate of competancy number;
• name of seaman;
• year and place of birth;
• rank or rating;
• name and official number of ship and
• date of engagement.

On the reverse of the card:

• a list of the vessels on which the crewman served with date of signing on.

A small quantity of cards, which did not have a discharge A number, have been arranged alphabetically by surname

Combined Index 1918-1941

BT 364 Register of Seamen, Combined Index (CR1, CR2 and CR10 cards) 1918-1941.

Organised by the seaman's discharge 'A' number this index was compiled using extracted cards from the other three indexes. The reasons for doing this are unknown. For details of what you will find on each type of card please see the descriptions above.

The majority of these cards refer to seamen who went on to serve after 1941 and thus their Discharge 'A' number may be found from the docket book in the Central Register of Seamen (BT 382 ).

Why can't I find a record in the Fourth Register?

There are a number of known reasons:

• The record is in the additional index (BT 364 ) which is arranged by Discharge 'A' number .
• The record has been extracted and is in the Fifth Register (1942 - 1972)- BT 372 .
• The records were destroyed
• The record was misfiled or lost before being filmed.
• The Seaman was not a British seaman or did not sail on British vessels.
• The seaman was only employed temporarily and was not issued with a discharge 'A' number or a British Seaman's Identity Card.
• The seaman was an apprentice and had not yet been issued with a discharge 'A' number or a British Seaman's Identity Card.

The original cards

Under section 3(6) of the Public Records Act 1958, the original cards were presented to the Southampton Civic Archives Service. The Southampton Civic Archives offer a service to provide first generation copies of the cards, and any photographs attached to them.

Southampton City Archive
Southampton
SO14 7LY
Telephone +44(0) 23 8083 2251
Email: city.archives@southampton.gov.uk
Website: Southampton City Archive

Looking for ships 1861-1938

If you want to follow up the ships, you will need to look at the agreements and crew lists in BT 99 , which are arranged by the ships' official numbers and the famous ships in BT 100 , which are organised by name. Please note that The National Archives only has 10% of the agreements and crew lists from 1861 to 1938. If you want to know more you should consult the research guide Merchant seamen: log books, agreements and crew lists after 1861.

Finding a ship's name

The National Archives does not have a simple index to find the ships' names from the official numbers shown on the cards. However, BT 336 Registers of Changes of Masters (1893 - 1948), can be used for this purpose as the records are arrange in official number sequence.

You may also find the Allocation Registers helpful. These record the allocation of an official number to ships registered in the UK and Dependant Territories. These have yet to be transferred to The National Archives, but will be held under reference BT 388 when they arrive.

3. The Fifth Register of Seamen, 1941-1972

1941 the Essential Work (Merchant Navy) Order created a Merchant Navy Reserve Pool. To ensure that seamen would always be available to man vessels, the Government paid them to remain in the Reserve Pool when they were ashore. Thus continuous paid employment instead of casual employment was available to all seamen, and comprehensive and effective registration became possible.

All those who had served at sea during the previous five years, and those who were intending to serve during the war, were required to register. A new Central Register of Seamen (known as the Fifth Register of Seamen), was established. CR 1 and CR 2 cards of seamen who were still serving in 1941 were removed from the old Fourth Register, placed in pouches (BT 372 ) or resorted into BT 364 and their details carried forward to the new register in (BT 382 ). The Fifth Register was maintained until 1972, although occasionally records after this date are to be found. The records were transferred to the National Archives during 2002. If researchers fail to find records in the section where they expected to find them, they are advised to search other relevant parts. They are also advised to read the content and scope descriptions in the catalogue.

BT 382 , CRS 10 docket books

The CRS 10 Docket Books form the register. These dockets create a sea service record for each registered seaman. They are arranged alphabetically within eight parts:

• The continuation pages show:
  • A list of ships and their official numbers with date and place of engagement,
  • rank or rating,
  • F or H (for Foreign or Home trade voyage),
  • date and place of discharge from the ship
  • character grade
  • National Insurance contribution code
  • Registry clerk's initials and date of the entry.
  • When ashore the sheet may bear the entry MNRP (Merchant Navy Reserve Pool) with date and place.

Why can't I find a record in the Fifth Register?

There are a number of known reasons:

• The seaman was only employed temporarily and was not issued with a discharge 'A' number or a British Seaman's Identity Card.
• The seaman was an apprentice and had not yet been issued with a discharge 'A' number or a British Seaman's Identity Card.
• The record you seek was filed in one of the other parts of the register.
• The record was, for whatever reason, lost during the life of the files.
• The record was misfiled.
• The Seaman was not a British sailor or did not sail on British vessels.

4. Seamen's Pouches (BT 372, BT 390, BT 391 )

A series of seamen's pouches (BT 372) were created for some seamen. These records relate to individual seamen. His/her papers were filed together in paper envelopes known as 'pouches'. The contents vary for single registry cards to ID Cards, photographs, letters, applications forms and other ephemra. The records cover the period 1913 to 1972, though few have contents dating further back than the 1930s.

Some special categories of pouches are to be found in BT 390 (those who served on Royal Navy auxilliary vessels) and BT 391 (those who served in the liberation of Europe); these should be consulted, where relevant in addition to BT 372. Some material that might have been expected to be in pouches can be found in BT 364. BT 391 can be search by name using the catalogue.

Not every pouch survives and many were destroyed before 1988. The BT 372 catalogue entries contains the Discharge 'A' number, surname, initials, and in the majority of cases date of birth and place of birth, and of each individual's pouch. Searches may be made on any of these index terms in the online catalogue. An equivalent list is available on CD-Rom in The National Archives Library, Kew.

5. Further reading

The following recommended publications are available in the The National Archives' Library. Where indicated, a publication is also available to buy at The National Archives' Bookshop.

• Amanda Bevan, Tracing your ancestors in the The National Archives (The National Archives, 2006) - Available to buy
• Kelvin Smith, Christopher T Watts and Michael J Watts, Records of merchant shipping and seamen (2001)  
• Christropher Watts, My ancestor was a merchant seaman: How can I find out more about him? (2002) - Available to buy