TNA naval research - help please!

[tecumsah]

I would be very grateful for some advice and guidance as I plan to make my first visit The National Archive at Kew next week to try to find the service record of a great, great, great uncle who served in the Royal Navy. I know the ship he was serving on in 1861 - from the census of that year - and obviously his name and place of birth. He was 21 in 1861 so I presume he would have joined earlier and, all being been well, for quite a while afterwards as well. Can someone tell me if it is a relatively simple job tracking down details of his naval career or should I limit myself to just one period of his service? My time in London is limited so I'd like to make the most of it.

[willow154]

Hi,
I haven't researched a Royal Navy ancestor, but did try to find information on a merchant navy seaman - records there were very patchy.
I t looks as if Royal Navy coverage is much better:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/RdLeaflet.asp?sLeafletID=39&j=1#2
It might be worth you speaking to a reader advisor before you go - they will know which records to focus on.
Kind regards,
Paulene

[Mean_genie]

Tecumsah

Some of the service records for the Royal Navy are online, part of DocumentsOnline

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/

Records of men who joined from 1873 onwards are all online, some of those who joined 1853-1872 are also online (the rest are being added). So it's worth having a quick look to see if he's there before you go. If he is there, don't spend £3.50 downloading it, wait until you get to Kew and you can see it there free of charge (it will only cost 20 to print it out).

If he's not there, you will have to look at the microfilm at Kew - pretty straightforward to do, there are neat little 'how to' leaflets in the searchroom, and the staff can help you out if you get stuck.

There are other records you could look at, such as ships' musters and log books, depending on what you find in the service record. As this will be your first visit, make sure you take two forms of ID with you (one with a signature, one with proof of address), to get a Readers' Ticket which you will need if you want to look at original documents (you won't need one for the service record, which will either be online on on microfilm).

Have a great day, and don't be overwhelmed by the size of the place. You won't be the only beginner, and you can get very nice coffee and cake in the cafe when it all gets too much!

Good luck

Mean_genie

[tecumsah]

Thankyou Paulene and Genie, your help is greatly appreciated. I have checked for my uncle on documents online without any success - hopefully I'll have better luck when I get to TNA.
Just a point, knowing his name, place of birth and the ship he was serving on in April 1861, will I be able to go straight to his service record? Or will I still have to piece his naval history together by searching microfilm?
Despite your reassurances Genie I fear I might still be overwhelmed when I get there!
Again, thankyou both.

[Mean_genie]

Tecumsah

You should have no great difficulty finding your man's Continuous Service Record on the microfilm (since he's not online yet). You will only have to work through stacks of muster rolls if you are very unlucky, and fail to find him for some reason. Even then it's not difficult, just a bit tedious! Log books can be interesting for background, but you won't find lists of names in them.

Concentrate on finding his service record to start with, then decide what to do next. Read the relevant bits of the Research Guide that Paulene gave you the link for (you can pick up a free paper copy of it when you get to Kew), and ask for help if you get stuck.

You'll be fine, honest!

Mean_genie   

[tecumsah]

Thanks again, Genie. I'm sure I'll be fine - and if I'm not it'll be my own stupid fault.