Master Mariner ______________________________________________________________________ The filmed volumes of Lloyds Captains' Registers found in large archives worldwide are frequently cited as the main, if not the only source, for tracing the career of a Master Mariner. This is unfortunate as they are just one of the sources available and they do have limitations. The purpose of this posting is not to explain the reasons for and methods of compiling information at each source, which for most people is irrelevant. Rather it is to list the main sources available for anyone wishing to trace Master Mariners. It is not an exhaustive list. Where there is overlap you should check all sources. Remember also that most Masters and Mates will have seen service as ordinary seamen or apprentices before gaining their certificate and the various Indexes and Registers of Seamen and Seamen's Tickets should be also be searched together with Registers of Apprentices. Certain sources replicate information found in others, but as in any research, you are wise to check all possible sources. RECORDS OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL OF SHIPPING & SEAMEN Before 1845 Masters and other Officers were not separately registered. Use the Indexes and Registers of Seamen and Seamen's Tickets. 1845 -1854 Masters and Mates of all craft; Alphabetical Register of Masters, BT115 1845 - 1850 Men passing voluntary examinations for Masters; Certificates of Competency & Service, Miscellaneous; BT143 1845 - 1921 Series of six RGSS registers, comprising several volumes. (BT122-128) Each register differs in the masters whose details are included, depending on the category of certificate and the period covered. Indexed from 1845-1894; Index to Registers of Certificates of Competency and Service, Masters and Mates, Home & Foreign Trade; BT127 1880 - 1921 Fishing Officers - two registers each in several volumes (BT129-130) indexed 1880-1917; BT138 1910 - 1930 Index To Certificates of Competency, Masters, Mates, Engineers and Fishing Officers, Home and Foreign Trade; BT352 1913 - 1935 Registers of Examinations for Certificates of Masters, Mates and Engineers, Returns of Passings and Failures; BT318 1917 - 1968 Registers of Masters and Mates Certificates, Passings and Renewal; BT317 LLOYDS CAPTAINS' REGISTERS 1851 - 1947 Series of Registers each in several volumes predominantly only listing men employed in the foreign trade. Earliest date available, 1869 which has been published on microfiche. Note that although this contains retrospective details to 1851, it contains the details only of those Masters in service in 1869. Note that these registers can contain a wealth of information about individual voyages and also some biographical information about each man…colour coded entries are used and black and white photocopies are not therefore always adequate. PUBLISHED SOURCES Lloyds Register of Shipping and Mercantile Navy List both contain lists of those men who passed the voluntary examination, and the latter includes lists of all those granted certificates. MISCELLANEOUS Applications For Certificates (awarded before 1900) are held at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF. For these, you will need to provide the certificate number. Not all have survived. They include all voyages undertaken over at least the four years prior to the award of the certificate, along with useful biographical information supplied by the applicant. The NMM makes a charge for production of these certificates and has a long waiting period. Their web site is at http://www.nmm.ac.uk but note that they do not answer email enquiries! Later applications are held by the RGSS, Cheviot Close, Parc Ty Glas,Llanishen, Cardiff CF4 5JA. RGSS records, held in classes with prefix BT are held at the Public Record Office, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Surrey, England. http://www.pro.gov.uk. Some records have been filmed and may be available through archives near you. Some records are still in the process of being transferred to the PRO and you should contact them to check access before travelling. The PRO will not conduct a search on your behalf but will send out a list of researchers prepared to undertake such work. There is a series of on-line help leaflets available also via their web site. Lloyds Captains' Registers. Originals are at the Guildhall Library, Manuscripts Department, Aldermanbury, London EC2P 2EJ. http://ihr.sas.ac.uk/gh The staff will undertake only limited research. Filmed copies may be available at an archive near you. Other published records - Lloyds Register of Shipping and Mercantile Navy List are readily available at many large libraries and maritime institutions.