|
. |
The British Mercantile Marine and Fishing Fleets
c.1835 - c.1972
with reference to the
Seagoing Naval Reserves
by Len Barnett
|
|
Go to Academic Papers on the Royal Navy . |
While
this website guide primarily covers historical and technical matters relating
to British mercantile trades (other than in the
East India Companies), reference
is made to the main collections of state and other records relating to these.
Also, some information is given on whaling and fishing.
Prior to 1835 there is no surviving large body of information on British merchant mariners. There are, of
course, various records still in existence. These include port books, ‘Board of
Trade’ shipping returns, Customs books, High Court of Admiralty records,
registers of protection from being pressed, muster rolls, apprenticeship books
and ledgers of receivers of sixpences. However, these are often far from
complete and for genealogical purposes are for the most part less than useful.
(There are, of course, exceptions. An obvious class would be of major legal disputes
involving merchant shipowners cum masters.)
Nevertheless,
as of 1823 it became mandatory for seamen apprentices’ indentures to be
registered.
Between
1835 and 1857 a whole series of experiments were made by the British state in
keeping tabs on the entire British mercantile marine. This was due to changing
political realities, inasmuch as the press had
become inexpedient for manning warships of the Royal Navy when necessary. Under
the control of the General Register Office of Merchant Seamen and headed by a
lieutenant R.N. initially this was answerable to the Admiralty (although later
handed over to the ‘Board of Trade’ in 1850). These exercises (known generally
as the ‘ticketing system’) failed
for a whole raft of reasons. Incidentally, by the end of this period the raison d’être had
become non-existent with increasingly widespread continuous service for ratings
in the Royal Navy from 1853 onwards.
Backing the ‘ticketing system’, from 1835 mercantile crew
lists and agreements were required to be kept and have been ever since. Similarly, ships’
official logs
were
also required by the state as of 1850.
As of 1857, while none of the Board of Trade registers were kept
on mariners, other than for ‘certificated’ masters and mates, all the rest of
the bureaucratic processes remained in force. This included the issuing of discharge
certificates that had already been introduced in real terms in 1835 to all
mariners.
‘Certification’ of mercantile seamen officers had
already begun in 1845, with a voluntary system of examination for masters and mates
of deep-ocean vessels. However, from 1850 onwards there were moves to make
certification mandatory, both in deep-ocean and coastal vessels. Regulation of
the latter trade remained far lighter though. (Again in the early years of the
20th century moves to have certification within the coastal trade
tightened up were fended off by the Board of Trade, but this came into being in
1931.) Certification of
engineers began in
1862, but it is important to note that this remained far from universal in the
earlier decades. Skippers and mates of larger fishing craft needed to certificated as of 1884. And, in order to improve the
standards of food at sea, cooks required certificates, at least theoretically,
as of 1908.
With changing business patterns through the development of iron
and steel, liner companies began to emerge during the mid 19th
century and unsurprisingly, they maintained records. One example is in the
companies that became the ‘P & O Group’. Principally these were of the Peninsular
and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Limited, British
India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. and the Orient
Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.
Although there had been calls for a naval reserve for the Royal
Navy long before, in 1859 the first element of the Royal
Naval Reserve was formed. Initially tiny, through fits and starts, it grew
through the rest of the century and into the next. After numerous changes in
the post Edwardian period, the R.N.R. was used in a great many roles during the
First World War (1914-1919). Of course, some mariners in merchant service had
also been in the Royal Navy and were called up as part of the Royal
Fleet Reserve.
There
was also a limited crossover into the Royal Naval
Volunteer Reserve as well. There was yet another reserve that merchant
mariners served in. This was the Mercantile
Marine Reserve
that
came into being mid First World War, originally for one specific purpose, but
that would seem to have enlarged its scope at least administratively by the end
of hostilities.
In 1913 the Board of Trade had been forced into reintroducing a
register of merchant mariners, known as the Central Index
Register
(although
modern civil servants had those up until around the end of the First World War
destroyed).
This
continued until 1940-1941 when it was replaced with the Central
Register of Seamen. This remained in force until 1972. .
Technical
details on vessels can be gained from the records of classification
institutions. In Britain, there were a number, but Lloyd’s Register of Shipping has
predominated. Further information can also be gleaned from another institution,
the insurance and re-insurance market Lloyd’s of
London.
Please note that I earn my living from freelance maritime
research and writing and while there is much in these guides, this information
is primarily aimed at showing my expertise as a researcher. Unfortunately,
since so many records are now online, I have found that enquiries have increasingly
been from people merely wishing to use me as a free information service.
Therefore, I have found it necessary to remove much detailed information on
records, but I continue to treat my clients with respect and can be contacted
at len@barnettmaritime.co.uk.