I realise this is way off WW2 but being a TOTAL novice at pre-war I was wondering if anyone had any advice on this: I am researching someone who was noted as being an 'apprentice sailor' on the south coast on the 1851 census, aged 13. As I would like to trace whether this was Royal Navy or commercial can anyone suggest where I should look next for this period? I do not have an accurate date of birth but do have a full name and place of birth. By 1861 the same man had given up the sailor's life and was married living in London so there is a small window to check, although I'm struggling to think where to start. Cheers, Skip.
"Findmypast" has a list of merchant navy seaman for that period: "Merchant Navy Seamen 1835-1857: records of individual seamen that the central government created to monitor a potential reserve of sailors for the Royal Navy" It doesn't seem to have much detail, but it does show DoB and may identify if your man was merchant navy and not RN.
Blutto - thanks very much indeed. Will sign up and try that. From his location at the time (Gosport), I would think that he will be RN and my next step will be to try and find service records from that period ... has anyone any pointers where they might be?
Hi Skip, check 'Ancestry' website also. I'm sure that was where I found the attached documents (and more) on my Great Grandfather covering his Merchant Navy service. As Blutto suggested, I also found 'findmypast' useful in my search. Can you post the details you have already i.e. name, approx year of birth etc so we can help you further? As with all of these websites, check the terms and conditions. Pay As You Go Credits are good if you have done your research first using the free search engine and you know exactly which documents you may want to look at. But I'm finding that buying a Subscription tends to allow these websites the right to renew your subsciption without your prior approval when it expires, even when you specify that you don't want your subscription automatically renewed! I had to threaten legal action to have my money returned with one of these types of websites, even though I had ticked the box asking for the subscription not to be renewed on expiry. All the best - Maria
Hello Maria, Thanks for your reply. Very useful, especially seeing how much you have managed to find yourself. Cheers for the tips on subscriptions too. The man I'm looking at is John James Richards, born Chichester circa Oct-Dec 1938 and who appears on the 1851 census as living at 26 High Street, Gosport (Alverstoke), Hants, age 13, whilst working as an apprentice sailor. By 1861 he was living in London and is fairly easy to trace but it's his maritime history that I would like to trace, i.e. whether he was Merchant Navy or Royal Navy. Given the location amongst many RN shipyards I think the latter is more likely but would like to confirm this with a service number, ship etc. Any help would be very much appreciated as I'm way out of my period of normal interest here. All the best Skip
I'm afraid that you seem to be a victim of a transcription error. John Richards age 13 from Chichester was apprenticed to Fred Dunaway of High St. Alverstoke, a tailor. So as the original census form shows, he was a tailor's apprentice, not an apprentice sailor. Of note, that whilst his birth was registered in the fourth quarter of 1838 (Oct-Dec) it should not be assumed that he was actually born in that quarter. Births in September may be included in that quarter and even earlier births if there was some tardiness in registering. Unfortunately I cannot find a baptism (not that it means he wasn't, as Sussex church records may not be available on Findmypast) which may also have given a birth date.
Skip This might be your man, its only the initial step as we need to ensure he is right before going on further, in the 1851 census he is shown as a lodger with (as Blutto states) a Mr Dunaway, but this record is the only one for a John Richards aged 13 with a connection of Gosport on his record 1851 England Census about John Richards Name: John Richards Age: 13 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1838 Relation: Lodger Gender: M (Male) Where born: Chichester, Sussex, England Civil Parish: Alverstoke Town: Gosport County/Island: Hampshire Country: England Street Address: Occupation: Condition as to marriage: Disability: View Image Registration District: Alverstoke Sub-registration District: Alverstoke ED, institution, or vessel: 2a Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Fred Dunaway 45 Jane Dunaway 40 James Dunaway 17 Fred Dunaway 15 William Dunaway 3 Vandence Meaker 76 Harriett Jackon 24 John Richards 13 The address at which the census was taken was : 26 High Street, Gosport Mr Dunaway is a Tailor and John is noted as a tailors apprentice Edited to add: John Richards is stated as being born in Chicester, Sussex
Blutto & Tricky Dicky - thank you both very much indeed. A classic case that 'fact' is only truly fact with more than one reference! Three if possible. This has been very worthwhile posting and a good example of how WW2talk members help each other out even though not within the forum's specialist area. I really appreciate what you've posted and am very happy to find out what's what as a result. Cheers
