RootsChat.Com
General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: SuperFuzz on Sunday 22 April 18 10:52 BST (UK)
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I have an ancestor who worked in the merchant navy from about 1901 - 1936, he died in 1936 in Nigeria of Malaria. I have his death certificate from abroad, and have been able to find the names of a few ships he was on, and a few destinations he visited. I read one of the stickies in this sub-forum, and I wondered if any further records exist for him, and if so; how could I go about applying for them? He stayed in the merchant navy right up until he died. I wondered if there would be any WW1 documentation or maybe some kind of record with a photo? Thanks if you can help.
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What is his name and when/where was he born
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His name was Charles Thomas Page, born about 1883 in Liverpool. He worked many years as a ship's cook, but I think I found him on some kind of postal ship when he was very young.
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No Central Merchant Navy personal records were kept between 1857 and 1913. Records for the period of WW1 have been destroyed.
MN personal records 1918-1941 are available on Find my Past. If your man has records 1918-1921, these should contain a photograph. Ships sailed on are usually identified by the ships official number, These can be translated into ships name here.
http://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/vesselsnum
Be aware that many of these records have been lost or destroyed. If you have no joy with FindMyPast come back to us. There are other means of finding out about his seagoing career.
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Thanks for the info. I found two records on FindMyPast before: one seems to have a discharge number, and the number of a ship. Another, a series of dates recorded on it, no photo sadly!