Mercantile Marine Medal

[westkent78]

Hello all,

I was wondering if it is possible to research mercantile marine medal recipients. I remember reading somewhere that the war records for these men were largely destroyed.

If you only have a medal with a name on it- specifically no ship name to link the medal to and no serial number- is there anything that can be done to find out more?

Thanks,

Matthew

[Ian Underwood]

Matthew

My Grandfather served in the Merchant Marine in WW1 with the MFA, so I've been down this path before. Unfortunately you're correct, the majority of WW1 service records for men in the Merchant Marine were destroyed in the late 60s.

These men were listed in the 'Fourth Register of Seaman, 1913-1941', but for reason's not known to anyone the records for men who served between 1913 and 1918 were destroyed. The records for men serving from 1919 onwards have been kept however!! The only hope you have is where a chap served during the War and contined to serve into the 1920/30s. Their records by and large exist in a number of different forms. If this sounds confusing, it's because it is....there's an online PRO brochure here that explains it all.

As has been mentioned on several other threads, the Southampton Archives hold copies of all remaining records and will search them for a fee of 5 pounds. There's a thread with all the info they provided me with here.

The Medal Index Rolls for the Merchant Marine are held at the PRO, their website has the following info:

There were four medals awarded to merchant seamen during the First World War:

The 1914-1915 Star

The British War Medal

The Victory Medal

The Mercantile Marine Medal

Awards of the British War Medal, Victory Medal and 1914-1915 Star to men of the Mercantile Marine Reserve and to officers and men of the Royal Naval Reserve are available on microfilm and are in ADM 171 .

Records of the Mercantile Marine Medal, awarded to those with sea service of not less than six months between 4 August 1914 and 11 November 1918, and who served at sea on at least one voyage through a danger zone, are available on microfiche in BT 351 . All recipients of the Mercantile Marine Medal were automatically entitled to the British War Medal; details are also in BT 351 .

Many merchant navy officers and men received naval gallantry awards during the First World War. Records of these can be found in the series Admiralty and Secretariat Cases (ADM 116 , code 85). Lists and indexes to these records are in Admiralty and Secretariat: Indexes and Compilations Series III (ADM 12 ). Further material may be found in ADM 137 . Rolls of Honour, 1914-1918, from the ranks of the merchant marine fleet are in BT 339 .

I hope this helps, needless to say my Grandfather's records were destroyed. Fortunately enough scraps of his records existed in the back shed to help me piece together a few key periods of his service, but there are still black holes that might never be filled.

Ian.

[westkent78]

Ian,

Thank you very much for that very comprehensive answer to my request. It seems a fairly daunting task, starting from scratch. You've certainly given me a good starting point for researching the medals in my care.

Regards,

Matthew