Researching seafarers and merchant seamen

This is a guide to national records and specific P&O records for researching seafarers in the British merchant navy and specifically P&O and its subsidiary companies. Many of these national records have been digitised and are available to view and download via paid for or subscription services.

Records in the P&O Archive have not been digitised but are accessible to researchers at Royal Museums Greenwich.

National registers of merchant seamen

The Merchant Shipping Act of 1835 introduced the formal registration of British seamen, to allow the Government (Board of Trade) to identify individual seamen for the Royal Naval Reserve.

Seafarers who registered were issued with tickets, which contained some personal details including name, date, and place of birth. As the registration system evolved over time, each merchant seafarer was allocated a unique number which would be retained during their time of service at sea.

The registers are preserved in the National Archives and available online at Findmypast. They cover the periods:

Records from 1835–1857 can be found at Findmypast.
Records from 1918–1941 can be also be found at Findmypast.
Records from 1941–1972 are not yet digitised but can be found at the National Archives.

For 56 years, between 1857–1912, no central register was kept. The Board of Trade relied instead on crew lists and agreements to record information about seamen.

Crew lists and agreements

The Merchant Shipping Act of 1835 also required each ship to complete crew lists and agreements for each voyage and file them with the Register Office of Merchant Seamen.

The crew agreements were used by the ship’s master (Captain) to record the conditions of employment for the crew for each voyage and to outline their period of service. Each agreement was signed or marked by the individual seaman before the ship sailed.

Crew Agreements generally include:

A description of the ship and its owners
Name of the ship’s Master (Captain)
Port of departure for the voyage in question
Destination and/or port of termination of the voyage
Daily meal provisions for the crew
Rules or laws to be observed during the voyage
Particulars for each member of the crew, including name (signature), age, place of birth, previous ship, place and date of signing, capacity (seaman, fireman, engineer, etc), Certificate of Competency number (if any), when expected on board, pay for the journey, and address details etc
Particulars of discharge (end of voyage, desertion, sickness, death, never joined etc)
Ports visited (endorsements by British Consuls)

The crew lists and agreements take many forms and are spread across three main repositories: The National Archives, Royal Museums Greenwich and local archives where they are accessible to in person researchers.

Crew lists and agreements can be hard to find and difficult to navigate so it is worth taking time to read the National Archives guide to looking for Merchant Navy ships’ records: crew lists, musters and log books at the National Archives, and also at the Crew List Index Project.

Finding a ship’s Official Number

Beginning in 1857 every British registered ship was given an official number (ON) by the Board of Trade. Like the number plate on a car, it’s unique to that vessel and can be crucial in distinguishing between two or more vessels which have the same name.

You can find the official number of P&O ships on our individual ship records, and other ships in the Lloyd’s Register of Ships online.

1835–1860

Before 1861 all official copies are in the National Archives where they can be found at BT 98.

1861–1938 and 1950–1989

Crew agreements that still exist for these periods are held in three mainrepositories with a small percentage in local and regional record offices in UK.
A 10% specimen group of crew agreements for each year, taken at random (every tenth box of papers) can be found in the National Archives in series BT 99.
Crew lists for the years 1861, 1862, 1865 and every year ending in 5 thereafter up to 1995 are held by Royal Museums Greenwich.
Crew lists for 1945 are held at the National Archives where they can be found in the Registry of Shipping and Seamen.
All crew lists from 1915 have been digitised by Royal Museums Greenwich and can be found on a project website.
Approximately 70% of the Agreements and Crew lists for 1863 to 1938 and 1951 to 1976, were transferred to the Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada where they can be found in the Maritime History Archive.
for the period 1863–1913, 10% of agreements and crew lists are held by a number of Local and Regional Record Offices in the UK. See our guide to researching Agreements and Crew lists in regional archives and record offices.

1939–1950 including the second world war

The National Archives holds the surviving official agreements and crew lists for the second world war and the succeeding years up to 1950. These can be searched for by the ships’ Official Numbers and can be found in series BT99, BT100, BT380, BT381, BT385, and BT387.

After 1972 and from 1999 onwards.

After 1972 only the samples of Agreements and crew lists have been preserved and are now held by the National Archives and by Royal Museums Greenwich. The rest of the Agreements and Crew lists, up to 1989, have been destroyed.

All Agreements and crew lists from 1999 onwards are held by the UK Ship Register.

Seamen’s papers or pouches, 1913–1972

Individual seamen’s papers are sometimes filed together in what is known as a seaman’s ‘pouch’. The contents vary from single registry cards to ID Cards, photographs, letters, applications forms and other ephemera. The records cover the period 1913 –1972, though few have contents from earlier than the 1930s.

The pouches can be found in National Archives series BT 372.

Some other material from pouches is also in the National Archives and can be searched by surname. It can be found in series BT 364 and in series BT 391.

Masters and mates’ certificates

Certification and exams to assess the competency of ship’s captains or masters and ships mates was first introduced in 1845. Possession of a certificate became mandatory for all masters in 1850 and mates from 1854.

1854–1927

Many of these certificates have survived and are now in the care of Royal Museums Greenwich. In addition to the certificate, many of the records have the accompanying application forms. These certificates have been digitised and can be searched at Ancestry.

1928 onwards

Certificates from 1928 onwards have not survived, but there are some registers of certificates applied for and issued at the National Archives.

Campaign medals and honours

Records of medals and honours awarded to merchant seamen can be found in National Archives series. Begin with their research guide to Merchant Navy medals and honours.

P&O Archive

The P&O Archive contains crew records of P&O and some subsidiary shipping companies. The records are not digitised but they are publicly accessible at Royal Museums Greenwich.

If the crew member you are looking for worked for a subsidiary company of P&O, please start with the relevant company. Once you have identified the existence of sources, follow links to Royal Museums Greenwich’s online catalogue.

Crew records

The P&O Archive contains crew records for the following ranks: deck officers and engineers, surgeons, pursers, stewards, petty officers (boatswains, gunners, carpenters, etc), ordinary European seamen and Asian seamen.

Information regarding Seniority Lists, Crew Lists and Sea Staff Deaths is also included.

Registers

A series of registers, compiled by rank/role, contain useful information on individual seafarers and arranged chronologically by year of entry into P&O service.

Officers’ registers 1849–1957 are a series of volumes (roughly chronological and indexed) and relating to commanders, deck officers, surgeons, and some pursers. They can be found at P&O/75/2–11.
Engineers’ registers 1845–1957 can be found at P&O/76/1–12.
Stewards’ registers 1891–1940, incomplete and not fully indexed, can be found at P&O/77/12–37.
Petty Officers’ registers1900–1949 contain a page per individual with a record of certificates gained, vessels served on, dates of appointments and general career progression and in some cases a reference to conduct. They can be found at P&O/78/1–2.
Records of pursers have not survived in a similar form, but two volumes containing confidential (conduct) reports on pursers and stewards-in-charge exist and cover period 1879–1926. They can be found at P&O/86/1–2.
Records of P&O Branch Line (ex-Lund’s Blue Anchor Line) sea staff employed 1901–1931 can be found at P&O/76/13.

Seniority lists

Another, briefer, source of information is contained in seniority lists. These printed lists were compiled annually for internal company use and arranged by seniority from commander (captain) to fifth engineer and include surgeons, pursers, and head stewards).

These lists contain names of officers, age at time of publication, date of present rank, date of entry into P&O service rank/class of certificate and ship on which the officer served.

With a few gaps, the seniority lists cover these years:

Lists for 1847 can be found at P&O/75/1
Lists for 1886–1917 can be found at P&O/75/43.
Lists for 1923 can be found at P&O/75/15.
Lists for 1932–1976 can be found at P&O/75/12–14, P&O/75/18–36 and P&O/75/43–71.

Fleet Lists

Arranged by ship and covering the period 1932–1975 (with some gaps), fleet lists record the name and rank of officers and petty officers serving aboard each P&O ship at the time of publication and re-issued at regular intervals. They can be found at P&O/75/37–42.

Pay and pension records

Selected records relating to pay, pension and recruitment can be found in the following documents:

Rates of pay for sea staff 1892–1938 can be found at P&O/77/42.
Rates of pay for pursers and stewards in 1937 can be found at P&O/77/43.
Rates of pay for 1937, 1940, 1943 and 1951 can be found at P&O/75/16.
Rates of pay for 1960–1964 can be found at P&O/77/44–50.
The retired list 1880–1914, four volumes which list individuals retiring on pensions or gratuities including both sea and shore staff of all ranks and payments to widows of P&O with dates, can be found at P&O/83/1–4.

Death of sea staff

A single volume ‘Death Book’ records the deaths of P&O staff and pensioners at sea and ashore for the period 1848–1922. The volume is indexed and includes details of name, employment, approximate cause and place of death and place and date of burial (if known). It can be found at P&O/88/3.

Records of casualties of the second world war can be found at P&O/75/17. (These records are not available for public access until 1 January 2030 due to the General Data Protection Regulations (2017).)

Rules and regulations

Company Circulars, Fleet Orders and Rules and Regulations for crew are found in the following series of records.

General circulars, fleet orders and regulations covering the period 1877–1973 can be found in the series P&O/7.
Instructions for commanders, deck officers and cadets (books of instructions and regulations for navigation covering the period 1869–1959) can be found in the series P&O/8.
Books of instructions for engineers (1867, 1873 and 1932) can be found in the series P&O/9.
Instructions for pursers, clerks and stewards (selected years 1860, 1900, 1914 and 1941) can be found in the series P&O/10.

Recruitment

Recruitment Brochures for 1955, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1970, and 1972 can be found at P&O/75/16.

P&O subsidiary companies

British India Steam Navigation Company

The British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd collection includes:

Officers and Engineers’ Register from 1863–1877
Reports on Officers and Engineers from 1885–1933
Engineers’ Record Books from 1894–1925
Commanders’ Record Books from 1866–1957
Steward Staff Afloat from 1913–1953
Cadets’ Service Books from 1906–1953
Engineer Service Records from 1905–1957

Not every year will appear in all the records listed.

These records can be found in the British India Steam Navigation Company Ltd collection.

James Nourse Line

The James Nourse Ltd collection includes:

Apprentice Papers from 1880–1963
Service Records of Masters, Mates, Carpenters, Engineers, and Sailmakers from 1890–1921
Service Records for Deck and Engine Officers from 1919–1956
Seniority Lists from 1919–1965
Crew Lists from 1937–1961
Applications for Employment of Deck Officers and Engineer Officers for 1941.

These records can be found in the James Nourse Ltd collection.

New Zealand Shipping Company

The New Zealand Shipping Co Ltd collection includes:

Captain’s Register from 1905–1956
Joint Officers’ and Engineers’ Register from 1877–1933
Officers’ Register from 1918–1936
Engineers’ Register from 1929–1938
Register of Stewards-in-Charge from 1912–1950
Surgeon’s Register from 1919–1947
Record of Masters from 1874–1898
Pension Members Sheet from 1931–1967
Officers’ and Engineers’ Photographs from 1947–1966

These records can be found in the New Zealand Shipping Co Ltd collection.

Orient Line

The Orient Steam Navigation Co Ltd collection includes:

Steward Records from 1884–1927
War Records (including prisoners of war) from 1939–1945
various Pension Records from 1938–1963
Lists of Officers and Engineers of the Fleet from 1927–1937
Seagoing Personnel Record from 1943–1957

These records can be found in the Orient Steam Navigation Co Ltd collection.

General Steam Navigation Company

The General Steam Navigation Co Ltd includes an Employee Record of Service book, containing entries on date of commencement, advances, monies paid etc. for all staff, sea-going and shore-based from c.1850–1914.

These records can be found in The General Steam Navigation Co Ltd collection

Useful resources

CLIP Project: 1861–1913

The Crew List Index Project (CLIP) is as a project to improve access to the records of British merchant seamen for the last part of the nineteenth century, by indexing records at local record offices throughout the UK.

CLIP has gathered the largest database of entries directly from crew lists. Its website gives information about the nature of crew lists, how to find the original documents and the seafarers on them, indexes of seafarers including the CLIP data, CLIP finding aids and details of projects on the records of shipping and seafarers. You can consult the CLIP database on the CLIP website.