What does this section cover?
Merchant Navy research is ship research with a civilian crew structure. A seaman's record is built from discharge books, crew agreements and ship papers, and the ship, not a regiment, is the unit that anchors the timeline. This section is organised as one pillar guide plus supporting guides that each answer one question about the same record type. Read the pillar first for the shape of the records, then follow the supporting guides for the detail that matches your case.
The records in this section are held principally by The National Archives and the National Maritime Museum. Holdings change as transfer and digitisation programmes proceed, so the holder and coverage statements in each guide describe the general position and point you to the holder's current guidance for the exact position.
Starting here, in order
Do not let the first record you find set the shape of the research. The first record is a starting point, and starting points are often unrepresentative. One dated fact from a record outweighs three plausible details from a story, and the timeline should show which is which.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fix the person first: name, number, service and dates. |
| 2 | Fix the unit or ship, where the record allows it. |
| 3 | Open the record for those dates only, and note the reference. |
| 4 | Add dated facts only to the timeline, each with its source note. |
The organisation behind these records
A word that looks familiar may have meant something narrower, or something entirely different, when the record was written. A name in a unit document proves presence only when name, rank, role and dates all match the person you are researching, not when the surname alone matches.
When is a match safe to use?
A common surname in a large unit needs a second filter before any search is meaningful. Without one, you are sampling the unit, not finding a person. If you have tried every spelling variant and every date range, the next step is not another search, it is a different record type. Let the timeline choose it.
Where do you go next in this section?
The neighbouring guides are not a reading list. They are the next links in a chain, and the chain order matters more than the reading order. A timeline should end each session with a named next step, not with a vague intention to look further. Name the record, the reference, and the question. The person you started with is the test for every next step. If a step loses that person, it is the wrong step, however interesting it looks.
Primary sources for this guide
Claims in this guide are kept general and point to official holders, so you can check the current position with the holder itself. This guide is general educational information only. It is not personal professional advice, it does not offer a record lookup service, and it does not determine any individual's service.