Merchant Seaman record

[Lensgirl]

Hi

I have found a WW1 merchant seaman medal card of my gg grandad, and i knew he was on the ships as a fireman (from certs) but didnt know he was involved in WW1. he recieved both the British War Medal and the Mercantile marine medal so i know he was actively involved but how can i found out where or how he was involved?

The Southampton records office where the marine records are held is just down the road from me, and i went there a few years ago and they didnt have any information on him so I was surprised to find this record from the National Archives, but im not sure where else to go now?

[Elaine ..Spain]

Have you had a look at our Maritime History page in the Reference LIbrary - there are a few links to research guides which may be useful.

[kiki1982]

That is a problem. If you have number, no problem. If you know which ship he was on, you can probably find the ship's record with him in it. If you have a name you get nowhere. In the words of the National Archive administrator, 'There is no chance whatsoever that you can find him, because the archive is a pile of non-organised material. You'll have to wait until someone somewhere decides to put it in order.' And that was in 2009. We are still looking for my hubby's grandfather, who was alledgedly a Pole...

There is also a part of the merchant sea records in The National Archives, in Canada, and a part in Southampton, as you said. None of them are complete or linked to each other, so have fun. Oh, yes, and a great aprt of it was destroyed or lost (can't remember which) in WWII.

Still, you might be lucky if you have any relevant info on that medal card.

[Jane Richards]

Did you find his seamans pouch at the National archives. These contain a lot of information about merchant seaman. They might contain a photo, description of him, his next of kin, all the ships he served on and when. When I was at tNA a long time ago I did a look up for someone and found these pouches very interesting.

Jane