Who Do You Think You Are? Encyclopedia of Genealogy (28 page)

Along with specific histories, many regiments also have museums preserving aspects of each regiment’s history. There are 136 military museums scattered throughout the United Kingdom at present. Many of these museums will have regimental records relating to the campaigns they were involved in. They may also have other paraphernalia relating to their campaigns, such as photographs, medals and uniforms worn at the time. Other useful research collections include regimental newspapers and journals. Certain museums may also have donations from ex-soldiers deposited with their holdings. It is possible to find a list of these museums and their contact details at the following website, www.armymuseums.org.uk.

‘
Private diaries give a unique and very personal insight into a campaign
.’

Many soldiers would write private journals about their experiences during battle. These provide a very personal and unique insight into the campaign in which they were involved. If your ancestor was in the Army such a diary may be found amongst his personal papers. Otherwise, as mentioned above, the Imperial War Museum holds papers that were donated by individual soldiers.

Along with the many regimental museums dedicated to military history, the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London (www. national-army-museum.ac.uk), is the central location for the history of the British Army as a whole. The Museum has significant archives and collections relating to over 500 years of military history. This includes over half a million images from the 1840s onwards. Other items for anyone interested in researching military history include a large collection of army medals and uniforms and over 43,000 printed books including journals, regimental histories and biographies of well-known soldiers. The Museum also has a collection of the different types of weapons used in various conflicts through the ages. There is also a collection of fine and decorative art including paintings, sculptures and ceramics obtained by the British Army through its history. The Museum has been publishing a quarterly journal relating to British Army history since 1921 through the Society of Army Historical Research. These many collections held at the Museum make it indispensable for anyone wishing to gain a fuller picture of the type of life in the Army that your ancestor would have had.

This is another museum dedicated to preserving the history of life in the Army, specifically relating to conflicts from the First World War
onwards. It was established in 1917 to record the story of the First World War and the contribution made in that conflict by soldiers from the British Empire. The main museum is based in Lambeth, London. However, there are other branches of the museum at five other sites throughout the country. Along with the personal journals mentioned above, there are collections of medals, firearms, significant film and video archives, and the sound archive has many interviews with ex-soldiers and historic radio broadcasts. The Museum has placed a lot of information online, which at www.iwmcollections.org.uk. As the Museum is related to the history of conflict during the twentieth century it is particularly useful for anyone researching an ancestor who fought during this time.

As well as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, described above, there are other ways to find out more about your ancestors who fell in battle.

The Army kept separate lists of births, marriages and deaths relating to serving soldiers. Births were recorded from 1761 to 1994, marriages from 1818 to 1994 and deaths from 1796 to 1994. These registers are now found at the General Record Office and the indexes can be searched online at www.findmypast.com. The registers are not available to view, but if an entry is found in the index it is possible to order the appropriate certificate to obtain the details of death.

Many cities, towns and villages have erected war memorials to honour their dead. These became especially prominent after the First World War due to the huge numbers of casualties every village suffered. They usually have details for local residents and can give clues to when a soldier served and where or when he died. It is estimated that there are approximately 70,000 such memorials throughout the United Kingdom. The Imperial War Museum has worked in partnership with English Heritage to create a centralized database of these memorials, and the United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials has placed this database of the 55,000 war memorials that have been recorded so far online. The database can be searched free of charge at www.ukniwm.org.uk. The database covers memorials from many wars, starting in the tenth century. It is not possible to search the database by name as the memorials themselves have been listed individually. However, if a memorial was erected to commemorate an individual soldier then that has been listed by his name. Many family history societies have name indexes of war memorials that can be used.

Additionally, there is a database for those who were commemorated for the First World War, and this can be searched by name on the Channel 4 website Lost Generation. The site is dedicated to the history of the First World War, following on from the series of the same name. It is possible to search by the individual soldier’s name on the following page free of charge: www.channel4.com/history/microsites/L/lostgeneration/search/person.html.

It is often worthwhile spending time researching any obituaries that may have been written after a soldier died. This is particularly true of high-ranking officers as local newspapers and, sometimes, national newspapers too would publish obituaries. Obituaries can give useful summaries of the deceased’s career and can give clues for further research into original sources. The newspaper archive is now part of the British Library’s collection, based in Colindale, north-west London. It is possible to search
The Times
online archive through most local libraries.

If you are particularly interested in the military history of a conflict then visiting the battlefields can be a very enlightening process. There are specific tour groups for those interested in visiting the more popular battlefield sites from the First and Second World Wars. Details of many of those operating such tours can be found online. It is also possible to visit these sites without using a tour guide, but it would be necessary to have a detailed guidebook to make the visit worthwhile. There are also tours for those interested in visiting famous UK and Irish battlefields along with those in Northern France and Belgium. Touring a battlefield is a very good way to help visualize the actual fighting your ancestor would have been involved in.

Alongside service in the army, the other main military destination for many of our ancestors, particularly those living along Britain's hundreds of miles of coastline, was the Royal Navy. This chapter explains how you can locate relevant service papers, where they survive, as well as find out more about life on the ocean wave from official material such as ships' logs, admiralty correspondence and pension records, as well as in museums, archives and research institutions around the country.

It was in the reign of King Alfred (871–901) that the first known naval fleet in this country was established to defend against Danish invaders. Hence, King Alfred is credited as the founder of the Navy. About a century later, Edward the Confessor established the institution of the Cinque Ports, key ports on the south coast where merchant vessels could be refitted for military purposes in defending against Norse attacks. As this conversion process was relatively easy, there was no specific requirement for a separate military navy, although King John commissioned the construction of a large military fleet in 1212 to attack France. The year 1340 marked the first occurrence of a major naval engagement at the Battle of Sluys off the coast of Flanders, though previous large-scale skirmishes had frequently taken place for over a century beforehand. From an institutional point of view, though, the origins of the navy as a recognized ‘department of state' come with the
appointment in 1391 of the Earl of Rutland as the first ever Lord High Admiral.

‘
Henry VIII is credited as the ‘Father of the Navy'
.'

The origins of the modern Navy are to be found in the Tudor period. The first dry dock was constructed in Portsmouth by Henry VII, who personally owned a fleet of seven ships. His son Henry VIII built a large number of fighting ships including the
Henry Grace a Dieu
, the largest warship at the time in 1514. Henry VIII also established the Navy Board in 1546 as well as the Office of Admiralty. He is thus credited as the ‘Father of the Navy'.

The Tudor monarchs were well aware of the benefits of exploratory travel and the potential spoils of the New World and were keen to develop a suitable naval force to undertake such voyages. Of course it was during the Tudor period that the Navy faced one of its most famous conflicts against the Spanish Armada in 1588. The Navy did not at this time have a permanent staff, either officers or ratings. Instead men were recruited to serve when required.

The reign of Charles II led to further developments in the history of the Navy; it was given the official title of the ‘Royal Navy' in 1660, and the Royal Society of London was also established during the reign of Charles II to help further knowledge of seafaring and scientific knowledge. The Royal Navy became an increasingly important fighting force in the wars against the Dutch during the mid-seventeenth century. Developments in fighting techniques also meant that converting merchant ships to military vessels was no longer an effective option, and a unique military Navy became essential. It was Samuel Pepys who instituted the Naval Discipline Act in 1661, bringing in strict discipline rules and codes of conduct marking the beginnings of a professional naval force.

The growth of the British Empire during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries placed new demands upon the Royal Navy. Dockyards were built in various parts of the world, ensuring the fleet remained rapidly mobile. Scientific innovations in seafaring such as sophisticated means of navigation, accurate charts and powerful weaponry were embraced by the Royal Navy, helping it to dominate the seas. Many buildings were constructed at the turn of the eighteenth century to administer the Navy, such as the dockyards in Portsmouth, Chatham, etc., the Royal Hospital in Greenwich and the
Admiralty building in Whitehall (in 1699). This era was marked by numerous conflicts with various European powers, and the Royal Navy established its reputation as the world's foremost maritime power after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The growth of the Navy in this period led to a large increase in the numbers employed in the force, both ratings and officers, up to the end of Napoleonic Wars. However, once this conflict was over, the Royal Navy did not face any large-scale war until the First World War. The primary role of the Navy changed to policing and protecting trade routes and the numbers employed decreased considerably.

The living and working conditions for ratings were far from comfortable. Living space on the ships was very cramped, food was far below adequate and pay was minimal. The work itself was extremely physical, exhausting and also hazardous, with injuries not being uncommon. The risk of disease was also ever present for the average rating.

Unsurprisingly, officers fared better than did ratings whilst serving on ships. Although officers had to pass a lieutenant's exam to be considered as an officer, promotion afterwards would mostly be by ‘selection'. This ensured nepotistic practices, as officers would be more likely to be promoted if they came from influential families. They would be mostly from privileged backgrounds and considered gentlemen.

The first steamships began to be used in the nineteenth century; their running depended upon a more specialized workforce of engineers and electricians. The Admiralty established training schools to equip its men with the required skills and the Royal Navy became an increasingly professional force in the twentieth century.

The National Archives holds the majority of records for the Royal Navy, mostly in its Admiralty series (ADM). Additional information may also be found amongst the archives of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Similar to the Army records, service records are divided between naval officers and ratings. The main series for officer records begin in 1660. Records for ratings start much later, in 1853, although it is possible to research the career of a rating prior to that date if details of the ships the individual served in are known. Unlike for the Army, the First World War does not mark any new opportunities for searching out service records as many series continued after 1914. However, Royal Navy records are more complete than Army records.

Prior to 1660 records of individuals serving in the Navy were not kept on a systematic basis. Any surviving documentation will be found amongst the appropriate State, Chancery and Exchequer series held at The National Archives.

Broadly speaking the Royal Navy employed two types of officers: commissioned officers and warrant officers.

The main ranks of commissioned officers ranged from sub-lieutenant, through lieutenant, captain, commander, commodore and rear-admiral to admiral at the very top. They were recruited from 1660 onwards through the grant of a royal commission after an examination had been passed.

Warrant officers included masters, engineers, surgeons, boatswains, carpenters and other ranks that were involved in the practical aspects of running a ship. These individuals held their rank by a warrant and were also subject to examination. Warrant officers became more likely to be promoted to commissioned officers during the latter half of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

Records for these individuals may be found in a myriad of sources.

For the earliest periods it may be easier to research an individual by consulting the published sources listed below. All of these sources are available for consultation at The National Archives, the National Maritime Museum, the British Library and other large reference libraries. You may be able to view certain publications online.

•
 
The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy, 1660–1815
by Syrett and DiNardo: This three-volume book lists all the commissioned officers serving in the Royal Navy for the above years, along with their rank and the dates they served in each rank. The book is now available to search online at www.ancestry.co.uk.

•
 
Naval Biographical Dictionary
by William R. O'Bryne (1849): This publication lists all serving officers who were alive at the time of publication, from the rank of lieutenant to admiral. Each entry varies in detail depending on each officer. This book has also been digitized and can be searched online as part of the Ancestry website.

•
 
Biographia Navalis
by John Charnock (1797): Charnock's book is a comprehensive survey of all naval officers serving between 1660 and 1797, from the rank of captain to admiral.

•
 
Lives of the British Admirals
by Dr John Campbell: A list of all admirals serving up to 1817.

•
 
Royal Naval Biography: or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains, and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the present year, or who have since been promoted; illustrated by a series of historical and explanatory notes … With copious addenda
by John Marshall (1823–25).

•
 
The Navy List
: This publication is based on the same principles as the Army List. It was started in 1796 as
Steel's Navy List
and was published quarterly from 1814 onwards as
The Navy List
. Similar to the Army List it details all officers of the Royal Navy from the rank of lieutenant onwards along with the date of each promotion. After 1810 it records each naval ship and which officers were serving on each. The National Archive series ADM 177 has confidential Navy Lists published during the two world wars.

•
 
An unofficial Navy List was also published from 1841 to 1856, as the
New Navy List
. It is particularly useful as along with all the information provided in the official lists it gives biographies of officers.

The National Archives holds numerous series of records that contain service history information and, depending on the date your officer ancestor served and the rank he held, you may have to consult more than one of these series. Below is a list of the types of records held by The National Archives and the information each series contains.

Register of Officers' Returns

There are three main series that contain service register histories after the Royal Navy started a central record-keeping system from the mid-eighteenth century onwards:

1
.
ADM 196: Officers' Service Records (Series III), 1756–1966

This is the main series of service records compiled by the Admiralty. Although the dates begin from 1756 the majority of records are from between 1840 and 1920. However some records may well go back to the mid-eighteenth century. The series has been microfilmed and there is an index to the series in The National Archives, although it is not complete. If your ancestor is not mentioned in the card index, he may still be in the series. There are numerous indexes within the series itself that can also be consulted. The registers record the details of the individual's career (including promotions and ships served on), birth, residence and marriage details.

The records cover all commissioned officers entering the Royal Navy until May 1917, and warrant officers till 1931. If your ancestor entered the service after these two dates the records will still be retained by the Ministry of Defence. They are only available to next of kin and can be requested from two different departments, dependent on whether the officer concerned is alive or dead:

The Directorate of Personnel Support (Navy) – for deceased personnel

Navy Search TNT Archive Services

Tetron Point, William Nadin Way

Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE11 0BB

Tel: 01283 227910

Fax: 01283 227942

Email: [email protected]

Data Protection Cell (Navy) – for personnel still alive

Building 1/152

HM Naval Base Portsmouth

Victory View, Portsmouth PO1 3PX

Tel: 02392 727381

Fax: 02392 725829

2
.
ADM 29: Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Coastguard and related services: Offificers' and Ratings' Service Records (Series II), 1802–1919

Although this series is mainly for ratings it also includes warrant officers amongst its records. The records were produced for individuals seeking pensions or medals, as they had to provide a record of service. Hence the Navy Pay Office produced these certificates of service. These are also available on microfilm.

3
.
ADM 9: Survey Returns of Offificers' Services, 1817–48 and ADM 11: Offificers' Service Records (Series I), 1741–1903

The information found in ADM 9 and ADM 11 constitutes the various surveys of officers that occurred in the nineteenth century. One survey was carried out in 1817, shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. As hostilities had now ceased the Navy found itself vastly overstaffed and had to decide which officers to retain in peacetime. This was done by sending out circular letters to individual officers and asking them to fill out their details of service. A similar survey was also carried out in 1846.

The records do not include every serving officer as not every officer received the letters, nor did every officer choose to fill in the required information. A large number of returns were also lost. Nevertheless, the surveys that do survive can be found in ADM 9 or ADM 11 (and in ADM 6 for warrant officers). Indexes can be found in ADM 10/1–7.

Naval Officer Pay Registers

The Navy Pay Office was responsible for compiling pay registers for officers. The information contained in these registers was used to compile certificates of service and for pension purposes. As such they contained a full, but basic, record of each officer's service with the Royal Navy. There were registers for officers on full pay or half pay (for officers who were paid a retainer to keep them on reserve or a type of pension). The registers were kept from 1668 until 1920.