Merchant navy Records

[Kathy]

Hi there

Is it possible to get information regarding people who joined the Merchant Navy in about c1947 please?

Thank you.
Kathy

[Bertieone]

Here perhaps Kathy,

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/reco ... er1917.htm

[MaryA]

I know it's not easy at that sort of date, good luck with the link to the National Archives that Bert has given, do let us know how you get on.

[dickiesam]

Hi there

Is it possible to get information regarding people who joined the Merchant Navy in about c1947 please?

Thank you.
Kathy

Hi Kathy,
MN info around that date and later is sparse to say the least. What sort of info are you looking for?

[Kathy]

Thank you DS

I am trying to find information of my uncle who absconded from St Edwards Orphanage in Liverpool and then joined the Merchant Navy. He stayed in the navy until his death in 1973. At this time he was married, had two children and his home address was in Glasgow. His wife died not so long after him and his children emigrated to Canada.

I am wondering if I would be able to find and access his navy records, but I suspect not, sadly.

Thanks for any info you could provide though.

Kathy

[dickiesam]

Thanks for any info you could provide though.
Kathy

Can we have his full name, date and place of birth. Do you know who, when and where he married?

[Kathy]

Thank you DS

His name is/was

Joseph Christopher EVANS
DOB: 12 JUNE 1925 AT 144A BROWNLOW HILL

PARENTS: Charles Evans and Elizabeth Ann (Ferns) of 136 Limekiln Lane

DOD: 9 November 1973 at Ruchill Hospital, Glasgow (he was shipped home from ?Japan as he was very ill)

He married a Christina McGuigan, who I believe came from Scotland. They married in Scotland, but I think she had relatives in Liverpool.

Joseph was the brother of my mother Marie Elizabeth Evans and James Bernard Evans

Joseph and Bernard were placed into St Edwards Orphanage and my mother went to Leyfield Convent.

Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Kathy

[dickiesam]

Hi Kathy,
You may be in luck!
The National Archives appear to have a Seaman's Pouch for your Joseph. The given DoB [and place of birth] is an exact match as is the second forename initial C.

R273762 EVANS J C 12/06/1925 LIVERPOOL
Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Central Register of Seamen: Seamen's Records ('Pouches'). R273762 EVANS J C 12/06/1925 LIVERPOOL.

Collection: Records of the Board of Trade and of successor and related bodies
Date range: 1913 - 1972; Reference:BT 372/539/12

Background....
BT 372 Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Central Register of Seamen: Seamen's Records ('Pouches'). Records relating to individual seamen filed together in a pouch. These documents may include application forms (most with a photograph of the seaman), certificates, identity cards, cessation documents and notifications of death.

The contents of any particular pouch, however, may cover any period starting after 1913 and ending up to c2002. When seamen were discharged some or all of their documents (including the index cards) were placed in the pouches and these include discharges of seamen who were originally registered in the Central Index Register of 1913 to 1941.

This site should enable you to order a copy of the contents of the Pouch.
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.u ... i=C8217294
Not having ordered a pouch before I don't know if there will be a charge but I expect there will be.

Let us know how you get on.

[MaryA]

Good find DS. Bound to be a charge but I hope it won't be too expensive Kathy.

[Kathy]

I've just been on and ordered a copy of the pouch. They have to ascertain a cost for copying the documents, then advise me by e-mail and, if I am happy to pay the costs, they send the documents through the post. How simple is that? Brilliant.

Thank you all so very much.

Kathy

[dickiesam]

I've just been on and ordered a copy of the pouch. They have to ascertain a cost for copying the documents, then advise me by e-mail and, if I am happy to pay the costs, they send the documents through the post. How simple is that? Brilliant.

Thank you all so very much.

Kathy

Brilliant indeed! Nice to get a good result and I hope the pouch is well and truly packed with info for you.

[Kathy]

I cannot thank you enough for your help.

I'd like to think the pouch is packed too! Not too many surprises I hope. I suspect the cost is £1.30 a page though. We'll see and I will let you know. I can't wait!

Best wishes.

Kathy

PS If you are in Ireland, do you have access to Irish records? My great grandmother on my Dad's side says on her wedding cert that she is from Killarney but I can't find anything about her at all. I also suspect that she may have been with fairground travellers.

[dickiesam]

PS: If you are in Ireland, do you have access to Irish records? My great grandmother on my Dad's side says on her wedding cert that she is from Killarney but I can't find anything about her at all. I also suspect that she may have been with fairground travellers.

Unfortunately I don't have access to any records that aren't already online. Why not start another topic, this time under 'Other areas help'? Give the crew as much info as you have. Interesting that your paternal g.g.mother managed to get her place of birth on her marriage cert! Or is that her 'Residence at marriage' in column 6? When and where was she married? Where does the "fairground travellers" thought come from?

[Katie]

There may be a picture of him.

[Kathy]

I received the contents of the seamans pouch yesterday. I paid about thirteen pounds for it and it arrived in an A3 envelope. There were about five sheets of a3 paper with photocopies of what would appear to be ID cards for the different ships my relative worked on. That was it. It is interesting to see how he aged over the years. Some of the sheets contained addresses he/his family lived at in Glasgow, too.

The National Archives service is very efficient. You give them the reference number for the seaman you are looking for, they then ascertain how much it will cost to copy and post the documents before you place your order. Once the order is placed it takes about three weeks to receive your documents.

[MaryA]

Sounds a fairly easy process, thanks for the update, was there a photo of him?

[Kathy]

Yes, the ids were photo ids.
Kathy

[MaryA]

Yes, the ids were photo ids.

That's brilliant, I'm sure others will be pleased to know that.

[Kathy]

I recently ordered another seamans pouch for a friend of mine. On this occasion there were no photos and, because there was little information regarding this seaman, they e-mailed the records to me. The whole operation was dealt with in just a few days, as opposed to the weeks for the first one I applied for.

Hope this is helpful info.

Kathy

[MaryA]

It certainly is, thanks Kathy