Researching the Royal Marines

[bootneck]

Up to this year, if you wished to research records relating to the Royal Marines and their predecessors, you had to rely on Garth Thomas’s typographically flawed Records of the Royal Marines (PRO (now TNA) Guide 10, 1994) supplemented by N A M Rodger’s Naval Records for Genealogists (PRO (now TNA) Guide 22, 3rd revised edition, 1998), not the easiest book for the novice to understand, and Bruno Pappalardo’s Tracing Your Naval Ancestors (TNA, 2003). To which can also be added the online research guides Royal Marines: Officers' Service Records, Royal Marines: How to Find a Division and Royal Marines: Other Ranks' Service Records from the National Archives website. I have always been of the opinion that their leaflet Royal Marines: Further Areas of Research is such a ragbag and should either be withdrawn or restructured.

This has been partially rectified this year by the publication of the following two books, Ken Divall, My Ancestor Was A Royal Marine (Society of Genealogists, 2008) and Richard Brooks & Matthew Little, Tracing Your Royal Marine Ancestors: A Guide For Family Historians (Pen & Sword Books in association with the Royal Marines Museum, 2008). Both contain material relevant to the Corps during the First World War and are firmly pointed at the genealogical market.

My Ancestor Was A Royal Marine was the first book published and contains a interesting mix of the history and make up of the Corps with where to find material relating to members of it. There are some curious chapter divisions and the section on the National Archives relies heavily on Garth Thomas’s guide. It does contain case studies into individuals; unfortunately there is no study of a marine from the Napoleonic Wars period and some men are glossed over. There is a glossary of terms, names and abbreviations which contains some things that are rather self evident, a short bibliography and index.

Richard Brooks & Matthew Little, author of The Royal Marines – 1664 to the Present and the archivist/librarian at the Royal Marines Museum respectively, have produced a more substantial book which is a good introduction to the organisation, operation and administration of the Corps over the last three centuries and it is worth buying for this alone. I must admit that the Chapter 4: on the sources on where and how to find out about Marines is to my mind the disappointing part of the book. The section on the National Archives is a rather curious mix and there appears to be a misunderstanding as to the introduction of Divisional numbering and the registers of service in 1885, while the section on the Fleet Air Arm Museum relies heavily on their website. It is a pity that there is no index or case studies and at times I was expecting to find footnotes.

It was also a shame that neither book indicates those periods where the family historian will encounter ‘black holes’ when attempting to piece together a marines career or the many pitfalls to be found with the surviving records.

In my opinion, these books form the framework to anybody researching the marines but the definitive guide has still to be written.

Bootneck

[bootneck]

I just thought I would bring this thread to the front again, just to see if it might get any sort of response from any Royal Marine specialists.

It was heartening to see that 152 people have viewed the post, but disappointing that nobody had anything to say.

regards

Bootneck

[Len Trim]

Hi Bootneck,

my paternal grandfather was a Royal Marine. I have his service record. I know he was at Zeebrugge, on the ballot for the VC, and Murmansk (where he was wounded). Other than that the record is a list of ships he served on. How do I find out where he served with those ships? Family oral history has him at Tanga (sp?),but as someone who served throughout the war we know remarkably little.

Len

[bootneck]

Len

I am assuming that you have a copy of your grandfather’s service register entry (ADM 159/-) from the National Archives, Kew, available there on microfilm or from their documents online service. There should also be supporting service papers. Depending on which Division he served with, these could be at the National Archives under their reference: ADM 157/- or the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton. Chapter 4 section 5 of Richard Brooks & Matthew Little’s book Tracing Your Royal Marine Ancestors will point you to which of these will be the most likely of the two to hold them.

His medal entitlement should be on the bottom of the register of service, but you will also find separate medal rolls at Kew in ADM 171. First World War Medal Rolls for Royal Marine NCOs and Other Ranks are in ADM 171/167-171.

As to fleshing out his service, you will need to consult various war diaries and ship’s logs also held at Kew. Besides the various books mentioned in my first post you will also find Bruno Pappalardo’s Tracing Your Naval Ancestors useful as well as the various Research Guides available on the National Archives website.

Some of the ships mentioned on his register of service could in fact be shore bases and you should consult both the Navy List, which contains lists of ships, and B Warlow’s Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy (2nd edition, 2000) to get a clearer idea of this.

Tanga was in German East Africa (now part of Tanzinia). The campaign in East Africa is discussed in H E Blumberg’s Britain’s Sea Soldiers: A Record of the Royal Marines during the War 1914-1919 (1927, reprinted 2006) on pages 243 to 252. You will also find chapters on both the 4th RM Battalion at Zeebrugge and North Russia and Murmansk. It is a good overview of the Corps during the war, but is showing its age. You can supplement this with Julian Thompson’s The Royal Marines: From Sea Soldiers to a Special Force (2000) and Richard Brooks The Royal Marines: 1664 to the Present (2002). Paul Kendall’s book, The Zeebrugge Raid 1918: The Finest Feat of Arms (2008) is the most recent book on the subject and it was received plaudits.

There are also many threads on the forum dealing with both Zeebrugge and Murmansk.

Finally, you should contact both the Royal Marine Museum and the Imperial War Museum to see what material they hold.

Regards

Bootneck

[Len Trim]

Bootneck,

thanks for your extensive and very helpful reply. I will be getting the books and hunting down the information.

Len