Minimum Age for Royal navy

[LKD]

I have the opposite question - my ancestor was born in October 1887. He joined the Royal Navy in November 1911 when he would have been 24 years old. But for some reason he recorded his date of birth on his enlistment as the same day and month but reduced his age by 5 years to 19. Why would he have felt the need to do that?

 

[horatio2]

One can only speculate. He was close to the maximum age (25) to enlist as a seaman or stoker but why reduce by five years?

As an aside, his false d.o.b. would stay with him throughout his service.

KR&AI (1913) 355. Date of Birth.-Unless otherwise ordered by the Admiralty, the date of birth as given by a man or boy on entering the Service shall be the date from which his age is to be determined so long as he is in the Service.

2. No alteration is to be made in the date of birth recorded on the service certificate of a man or boy without previous reference to the Admiralty.

So, in theory, he should have remained 'five years younger' throughout his service, May we know his name/number?

Edited 6 March , 2021 by horatio2

[LKD]

Wow. Thank you. That must be the reasoning. I really appreciate your help. He was Ernest William Dunsford born 11 October 1887 but in his record it is 11 October 1892. Service no. K13266. Copy service record attached (2 sheets). Throughout WW1 he served on HMS Lion and was at the Battle of Jutland and others.

[horatio2]

Nothing out of the ordinary in those two records.

I assume your 1887 d.o.b. is supported by a birth certificate - just asking!

The only other place where his declared d.o.b. will  be found is in the Engagement Papers that he signed on first enlistment. These commited him to an initial 12-year period of service. He then re-engaged in August 1923 for a further ten years to pension but he was discharged invalided Permanently Unfit for Naval Service (PUNS) before reaching time for pension.

His original Engagement Papers are held in the archive of the Fleet Air Arm Museum and, when the Covid-closure is over, you could try and get a copy. This would confirm what he actually signed for in a legal document as his d.o.b. It is possible (but unlikely) that his d.o.b. was mis-transcribed from the Engagement to his other records.

Ortherwise his mis-statement as to age remains a mystery, known only to Ernest Dunsford,

Good luck!

[LKD]

Thx ever so much for your help.