Blog
Posts Tagged ‘ The National Archives ’
Ask the expert – Peruvian Navy
Our resident expert Stephen Rigden, pictured below, answers your queries.
From Bob Andrews:
‘On the marriage certificate of my great grandfather (George Thomas Andrews, married at Plymouth on 28 April 1867) his father’s (Thomas Ebenezer Andrews, born on 8 June 1833) occupation is recorded as ‘Engineer Peruvian Navy’. I have been unable to discover any details to support this fact. I would like to know if Royal Navy personnel were seconded to the Peruvian Navy in the 19th century. I have found George’s service with the Royal Navy but not his father Thomas Ebenezer Andrews. I have also been unable to find a death date for Thomas Ebenezer, although I suspect it to be between 1867 and 1871. I would be most grateful for any help on this subject.’
Stephen says:
‘Hi Bob,
Thanks for writing in with a copy of your great grandfather’s marriage certificate. His father’s stated occupation of ‘Engineer, Peruvian Navy’ is remarkable but isn’t perhaps as improbable as it may at first appear. I wouldn’t claim to have any knowledge of the history of the Peruvian navy, although the British signed various treaties with Peru following its 1821 independence from Spain – for example, in 1837 and 1850, touching upon commerce and navigation.
British commercial interests in Peru included mining and bird guano (used for fertilizer), and I expect also the construction of railways later in the 19th century. Moreover, the British Royal Navy and merchant marine were everywhere – take a look at the dropdown list of ports at which British (and other) ships were calling in an admittedly more modern period (1890-1960) in the outward-bound passenger lists of record series BT27.
I expect that your great-great-grandfather Thomas was in, or attached to, the Peruvian Navy for a relatively short period of time, perhaps restricted to all or part of the Chincha Islands War of 1865-1868 during which Peru (and Chile) fought against the Spaniards. I imagine it would not have been at all uncommon for British mariners to take up posts in the Peruvian Navy at that time.
Note that, strictly speaking, this would be in breach of the Foreign Enlistment Act. This was enacted in 1819 to stem the flow of British men eager to support the cause of South American nations against the Spanish – as Richard Cobden observed in 1863, the British ‘generally sympathise with everybody’s rebels but our own’. The 1819 Act was probably not rigorously observed, therefore, it is likely that Thomas was not officially seconded, but volunteered for political or financial reasons to serve with the Peruvian Navy.
Official Foreign Office correspondence of the time may refer to British subjects joining up with the Peruvians, or of the activities of the Peruvian Navy circa 1867. If you have the opportunity, and are sufficiently interested, you could try browsing through the surviving files that The National Archives holds in Kew – for example, pieces within FO177, FO 178 and FO855. TNA’s Catalogue entry for Home Office piece HO45/7800 also refers to material which may be of relevance and interest. Such materials would almost certainly only supply you with background context, however, and not with any details specifically about Thomas, so you would need to manage your own expectations.
By the way, if George was indeed 21 years at marriage in 1867, as the marriage certificate records, then he would have been born circa 1845/46 and, therefore, it seems unlikely that his father Thomas was born in 1833 as per your email – that would have made Thomas only 12 or 13 years of age when he fathered him.
Finally, for those readers who are not aware, the General Register Office’s overseas BMDs are online on findmypast.co.uk and include returns of births, marriages and deaths despatched to England from British embassies, high commissions and consulates in South America, as from elsewhere overseas. If you search the deaths for last name Smith and region South America, for example, you will receive three and a half pages of search results.’
If you’d like to send your question to Stephen, please register or opt to receive newsletters in ‘my account’. Stephen only has time to answer a couple of queries each month but if yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!
Find your criminal ancestors in our new Crime, Prisons & Punishment records
We’ve just launched our latest groundbreaking collection: over half a million historical records of criminals and their victims.
Today marks the culmination of our two-year project to scan and transcribe original records from The National Archives. We’ve made the records available online for the first time, and findmypast.co.uk is the only place you can view these fascinating documents.
Click to enlarge
The Crime, Prisons & Punishment records will be crucial to your research as they contain information about your ancestors that isn’t available in other records. They really give you a sense of what kind of person your ancestor was and you could even find a photo of them!
We’re launching our collection with records for the period 1817-1931. We’ll add new records in the coming months to bring the total to more than 2.5 million records for the period 1770-1934.
On the right is a record from the collection – click on the image for a larger version.
The record tells the story of charwoman Charlotte Smith, also known as Elizabeth Smith. Charlotte was convicted of being a habitual drunkard in 1903 and sentenced to one month of hard labour.
As well as two photos, the record also provides a detailed physical description: Charlotte was 5ft 5 inches tall with a stout build, fresh complexion, oval face, dark brown hair and blue eyes. She had a slightly pug nose and scars over left eyebrow, right cheek, right side of neck, left side of lower lip and palm of left hand.
It’s time to find how many criminal ancestors are in your family tree…
Search Crime, Prisons & Punishment records now
Ask the expert – absent service record
Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, offers advice on how to solve your military family history mysteries.
From Mary Gregg:
‘My father served in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps in WWI. His name and number was Pte George Brunt 44919 – he later joined the 6th London regt. number 348277. I have his card but it gives no details of his actual service and I cannot trace his service records anywhere. I do know he served in France and was mentioned in two despatches as I saw the typed out pages which said he had captured a German trench. I also saw one that said he had captured some Germans single-handedly but these were lost by my family in the move to Australia. I would be most grateful for any information you can discover.’
Paul says:
‘Hello Mary. Thanks for writing to me.
The numbers date to quite late on in the war. 44919 for the King’s Royal Rifle Corps dates to March 1918 (almost certainly the first half of the month) and 348277 for the 6th London Regiment is a month or two after that. It’s possible that he was transferred from the KRRC to the 6th London Regiment under Army Order 204/1916, which dealt with compulsory transfers.
In the absence of a service record (which could have been destroyed as a result of enemy bombing during WWII) you could at least obtain a copy of the 6th London Regiment’s war diary from April 1918. This would give you an idea of what the battalion was up to at this time. The diaries are held at The National Archives in Kew but you could ask a researcher to obtain copies for you. As far as I know, this particular war diary is not available via documents online at TNA, although many are.’
If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!
Ask the expert – missing military information
Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, offers advice on how to solve your military family history mysteries.
From Grahame Reed:
‘I am trying to trace the military history of my great-great-grandfather but have only been partially successful.
His name is Charles Reed, born in 1808 and died on 27 October 1884 in Harpenden, St Albans, Hertfordshire.
Charles married his second wife Eliza Moorcroft on 10 July 1850 – the certificate shows his profession as ‘Colour Sgt 60th Rifles’. From the information given below in the 1851 census, Charles probably previously served in Ireland. The details of his first wife are not known.
The 1851 census shows Charles Reed, his wife Eliza, daughter Adelaide (born 1836 in Ireland), son Charles (born 1840 in Ireland) and daughter Caroline (born 1841 in Windsor, Berkshire) – these three children are by his first wife.
The birth certificates of his sons born to Eliza show the following:
- Arthur (born 21 April 51) shows Charles as a labourer – this is my great-grandfather.
- Walter (born 2 August 1852) shows Charles as an Army pensioner.
- Certificates for Edward (born 19 April 1856), Joseph (born 25 May 1861) and Frederick (born 26 March 1863) indicate that Charles was a Staff Sgt in the 2nd Royal Middlesex Rifles living at No 7 Militia Storehouse, Barnet, South Mimms.
Other census documents show Charles as a Chelsea out-pensioner in 1852.
We have been unable to trace any military or pension records or any details of his first wife or the record of Caroline’s birth at Windsor in 1841.
Your help would be appreciated in pointing out the path we should take to fill in the gaps detailed above.’
Paul says:
‘Thanks for your email.
Do bear in mind that there is a wealth of military information that has not been published online. In the absence of a pension record in the WO97 Chelsea Pensioners’ Service Records, you need to look at WO12 (general muster books and pay lists) and also WO25/266-688 (regimental description books 1756-1878). First of all, find Charles Reed in WO12 and then work backwards until you get to the description (on enlistment) in WO25.
If he was born in 1808 he could well have joined up around 1826, or even earlier if he enlisted as a boy. The description books give a physical description of the soldier and are generally arranged by initial letter of the soldier’s name in the various regimental volumes. You’ll get physical characteristics plus age, where born, former trade, former service etc.
A further offline source is WO23/26-65 which are the admission registers of Chelsea out-pensioners between 1820 and 1875. These are arranged by regiment, each volume containing a number of regiments. All of these WO (War Office) series can be requested at The National Archives in Kew, London. You can do that yourself or hire a researcher to do it for you.
Unfortunately, no personnel records survive for the Volunteer Force (the precursor to the Territorial Force) so you’ll be unlikely to find anything specific about his time in the 2nd Royal Middlesex Rifles, although you could of course gen up on this battalion and also the 60th Foot (King’s Royal Rifle Corps) to plot his likely career path. Good luck!’
If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!
Findmypast.co.uk launches new Titanic records
Today marks the launch of two fascinating sets of records, which include information about the Titanic: Maritime births, marriages and deaths and White Star Line Officers’ books. We’re thrilled to offer you the most comprehensive collection of Titanic records anywhere online.
Maritime births, marriages and deaths
Search for your ancestors in vivid full colour scans of the original birth, marriage and death records of those associated with maritime occupations, not just ones which took place at sea. These include all Titanic crew members and all Titanic passengers who died at sea.
Until now there has never been a mandatory single centralised register of births, marriages and deaths at sea. Some records were deposited with the General Register Office, some with The National Archives and others elsewhere. Our online collection is published in association with The National Archives and brings together 30 different record types from 10 different record series held at The National Archives.
White Star Line Officers’ books
View full colour scans of the original service records of White Star Line officers and commanders, including all the officers on board the Titanic.
The records include an original colour scan of Captain Edward Smith‘s employment record listing all the ships he served on and when. You can see the red ink on his record which tells us he was ‘Lost in “Titanic” April 15th, 1912′. View Edward’s record below – click on the image to enlarge it.
Click to enlarge
The information for each officer includes: date and place of birth, address, details of his apprenticeship, the names and dates of the ships served upon and the date he left the company.
Search White Star Line Officers’ books
Search other Titanic records on findmypast.co.uk
As well as these two brilliant sets of records, you can also search for your Titanic ancestors in our passenger lists leaving the UK 1890-1960 and our Merchant Navy Seamen records. You won’t find a more comprehensive set of Titanic records anywhere else.
Find out more about our Titanic records
New Merchant Navy Seamen records launched
You can now search 359,000 records of Merchant Navy Seamen for the period 1835-1857 on findmypast.co.uk
We have made these 19th century Merchant Navy records available online for the first time, working in association with The National Archives.
From 1835, the central government started to monitor a potential reserve of 
sailors for the Royal Navy, which resulted in the creation of thousands of records that identify individual seamen.
The information the records hold about your ancestors can vary, but they usually include name, age, place of birth, physical description, ship names and dates of voyages.
This release follows the 20th century Merchant Navy Seamen records, published on findmypast.co.uk in September 2011. This means you can now search two centuries of records for your Merchant Navy Seamen ancestors, making it possible for you to trace their service over time.
Search the Merchant Navy Seamen records now
Ask the Expert – Indian Navy
Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.
From Anthony Mathers:
‘I would like to know how to get information on the Indian Navy. On the 1881 census, my great-grandfather, Richard Moore, was a pensioner of the Late Indian Navy. His age was 45. In 1862, the year he got married, he was a seaman. In 1863, on his son’s birth certificate, Richard’s profession is listed as ‘soldier’. By 1868, he was a warehouse porter. He lost his hand in an accident at sea so he left the navy. He was born around 1839 in Birmingham, England. I would be so grateful for any help as it has always been a mystery.’
Paul says:
‘It’s possible that there is a surviving record for him in one of the ADM files at The National Archives. You can then visit TNA yourself or hire a researcher to have a look for you. See the Royal Navy pension records for ratings here
Failing this, it might also be worthwhile contacting the British Library to see if there are relevant papers held in the India Office collection. There are certainly soldiers’ records which survive and there may well be Naval records too.’
If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!
We launch our Merchant Navy Seamen records
We have just published 1 million 20th century Merchant Navy Seamen records on findmypast.co.uk
We are working in association with The National Archives to give you access to your merchant navy ancestors. This is the first time ever that these records have been made available online.
What are these records?
The records are index cards which the Registrar General of Shipping and Seaman used between the two world wars to produce a centralised index of merchant seamen serving on British merchant navy vessels. They cover the period 1918-1941.
The merchant navy consists of all seagoing UK vessels with commercial interests and their crews. Research that findmypast.co.uk conducted has shown that a shocking 54% of the UK population have no idea who or what the merchant navy is.
What will the records tell me?
The front of a card gives the basic biographical information about each seaman, for example, their name, their year and place of birth and their rank or rating. Initials were sometimes given rather than first names and sometimes a physical description is provided.
The front of a card may also give other information, such as discharge number, health insurance number, address of kin and so on.
The reverse of the card may be blank, or may contain a list of official vessel numbers and signing-on dates, and/or a photograph and/or signature of the seamen. Sometimes a photograph is not on the reverse of the card but on a separate attached card.
Why are these records so valuable?
See a photograph of your ancestor
It is possible to find a photograph of your ancestor within these records. These rarely seen photos of the mariners mean you can see what your seafaring ancestor looked like for the first time – a real achievement for any family historian.
They cover a wide range of people
A vast range of people can be found in these records. We’ve found records for 12 year old ‘ordinary seaman’ Archie Kerr, 78 year old steward George Field, and lots of women, including Doris Abbey who was a manicurist!
The records show that the seamen who made up the merchant navy not only came from the UK, but from every continent, including the maritime provinces of Canada, the West Indies, Sierra Leone, Scandinavia, Somaliland, China and Japan. It is even possible to find seamen from landlocked Switzerland.
They contain vivid and unusual details
These records are fantastic for finding out vivid details about your ancestor. Take, for example, Mohamed Abbathira who is recorded as having a pock marked face and a scar on his right thumb.
A more sombre find is chief officer William Hunt Aaron who died on 25 October 1925 – a note in his record states ‘Supposed suicide’.
Colourful detail can be found in ‘ordinary seaman’ Henry Duncan Abbot’s record, which describes his tattoo as ‘Chinese death head with inscription ‘Death is Glory’ on right forearm’.
The publication of the Merchant Navy Seamen records 1918-1941 is the first phase of a release of merchant navy records from The National Archives. In due course, we will be publishing additional records on findmypast.co.uk, covering an earlier period from 1835 to 1857.
Find out more and search these records now. Which ancestors will you find today?
Ask the Expert – lost army service records
July’s Ask the Expert puzzler comes from Rita McArthur. Our expert Paul Nixon gets his teeth into a knotty problem that has been common to many of our readers:
“We have found our ancestor’s discharge papers from the 9th Royal Veterans Battalion in 1814. He was discharged to a pension due to disability but we can find no pension records or anything else relating to his army service, which was about 12 years (not consecutive) in total. I have tried the Chelsea Pension records. Any suggestions?
Angus McArthur
Discharged 1814
9th Royal Veterans Battalion (and other regiments prior)
Ref: WO 97 /1135/44″
Paul replies:
“If you’ve found some papers, you’re doing well! Remember, if a man was killed, or was not discharged to pension, his records will not survive in WO 97. Having said that, many record sets that do survive have been ‘weeded’ over the years and so what you see in some files may just be a fraction of what you could have hoped to see.
In your case, I see that Angus McArthur has only two pages surviving in his WO 97 record. All is not lost however. One page clearly states the regiments and periods of service as follows:
3rd Argyle Fencibles – 21st April 1798 – 3rd December 1799
26th [Cameronian, Regiment of] Foot – 17th August 1803 – 24th July 1808
2nd Garrison Battalion – 25th July 1808 – 10th January 1809
9th Royal Veterans Battalion – 11th January 1809 – 24th March 1814
Wikipedia states that:
‘When hostilities resumed with France in May 1803, the Cameronians were based at Fort George, in the Highlands of Scotland. They were brought south to Stirling at the end of July, where they were heavily reinforced from men who had been recruited under the Army of Reserve Act. Over thirteen hundred new men were enlisted, and the regiment was able to raise a second battalion, both having about equal proportions of new and old recruits.’
So it looks as though Angus was one of those thirteen hundred new recruits, and the beauty of knowing the dates he served means that you can consult the muster rolls for the 26th Foot between 17th August 1803 and 24th July 1808. By doing this, you will be able to get a physical description of him when he joined the regiment and see, month by month, where he was stationed. You can’t do this online but you could hire a researcher to do these look-ups for you at The National Archives. See this National Archive link for more information about the muster rolls, pay lists and description books between 1730 and 1898: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/research-guides/army-muster-1730-1898.htm
Angus would appear to have spent much of his time with the 26th Foot in Germany and had he remained with it a little longer, might well have seen service in the Peninsular war at the Battle of Corunna. However, by this time he had transferred to the 2nd Garrison Battalion, possibly as a result of infirmity. ”
If you would like to have the chance to Ask the Expert, please email your query to casestudies@findmypast.co.uk
Please note that our experts cannot enter into personal correspondence and only a limited selection of queries will be answered per month. We try to select questions which reflect the most common enquiries.
Ask the Expert – soldier in South Africa
Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.
From Auriel Abrahams in Johannesburg, South Africa:
‘I have an ancestor who served in the 72nd regiment of foot. He left the army, was a Chelsea Pensioner and settled in South Africa where he married and died. I have been able to establish that John McKenzie was born in Dingwall, Urguhart, Ross and Cromarty in 1787 via WO97/843/31.
His papers do not give his parents’ names so I am stuck and cannot see from baptism records who his parents were. I also cannot find the muster rolls in the British Archives. I assume the muster rolls will indicate his parents – or is this a will that the soldiers had to complete when they signed up which would indicate their next of kin? Any suggestions as to how I can go further back?’
Paul says:
‘This is probably a case of checking pay books and muster rolls in class WO12 at The National Archives. Use the information contained within the WO97 document to work out when John McKenzie enlisted and then consult the muster rolls and/or pay lists for this man. WO12 is organised by regiment and the date on which his name first appears should give more information about him.
Supplemental evidence about his physical description may appear in WO25, although this series tends to cover records from the first half of the 19th Century only. It was not obligatory for a soldier to make a will when he signed up.’
If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!