Royal Navy & Royal Naval Reserve - Service Records

All matters military, militia, regiments and the like. Army, Navy, Air Force etc.

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Pandabean
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Location: Aberdeenshire - Originally Falkirk

Royal Navy & Royal Naval Reserve - Service Records

Post by Pandabean » Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:10 am

Thought I would make a quick post to give information about how to obtain service records for Royal Navy and the Royal Naval Reserve. It was a couple of years ago that I managed to obtain my Great Grandfather's service record for the Great War, and they do contain a bit of information especially the ships he was on, which to be honest wasn't many as he was discharged due to contracting TB while in service. However the records did tell you about their appearance.


For the Royal Navy - I assume these are modern service records:
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/contact/obt ... cords-and/



Fleet Air Arm Museum, which contains the RN, RNR, RNVR, Royal Marines....
http://www.fleetairarm.com/en-GB/royal_ ... ments.aspx

The Fleet Air Arm Museum (FAAM) has assumed custody of a large number of Service Documents from the Ministry of Defence (Navy Records). The majority of records are those of non-commissioned personnel who enlisted in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines before about 1925, the earliest records dating from the late1850s. Included are the papers of most of the men who were enlisted for short service ‘hostilities only' during WW1.



As well as these you have the Online collection at the National Archives

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/docu ... ervice.asp

You can search and download over 600,000 service records for most ratings who joined the Royal Navy between 1853 and 1923 in the Registers of Seamen's Services ( ADM 188) and the Continuous Service engagement books (ADM 139).

These records can tell you about your ancestor's birth, their physical appearance, their occupation and which ship(s) they served on. Details of service are recorded up to 1928.
Andy
[size=75]
[b]McDonald[/b]
[b]Greenlees & Fairnie[/b] (Musselburgh area)
[b]Johnston, Whitson, Whitecross, Runciman [/b] (Haddingtonshire)
[b]Rutherford [/b](Dumbartonshire, Airth & Larbert)
[b]Ross, Stevenson & Robb[/b](Falkirk)[/size]

Currie
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Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2007 3:20 am
Location: Australia

Re: Royal Navy & Royal Naval Reserve - Service Records

Post by Currie » Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:31 am

Thanks for posting that information Andy. It should be very helpful to anyone chasing such matters.

For information about the availability of R.N. records prior to 1853 and for other categories such as Nurses etc see the Navy section of this N.A. page http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/reco ... efault.htm

All the best,
Alan