This series contains Fifth Register of Merchant Seaman's Service (CRS 10 forms).
The Fifth Register records on a standard form (CRS 10) the service of individual merchant seamen and lists the ships on which they served with relevant dates.
The CRS 10s give personal details of each seaman; the front page of the service entries includes:
- name;
- date of birth;
- place of birth;
- discharge A number;
- rank or rating, with relevant certificate details;
- details of any other qualifications;
- date CRS 10 first page was created;
- British Seamen's Identity Card Notations. The entries refer to correspondence and issuing of cards, certificates, applications etc. The originals in general do not survive except where they have been filed in the seaman's pouch.
The continuation pages show:
- a list of ships and their official numbers with date and place of engagement;
- rank or rating;
- F or H (for Foreign or Home trade voyage);
- date and place of discharge from the ship;
- character grade;
- National Insurance contribution code;
- Registry clerk's initials and date of the entry;
- when ashore the sheet may bear the entry MNRP (Merchant Navy Reserve Pool) with date and place.
This information about service was extracted from ship's logs and crew agreements lodged by ship owners. The information contained in the register is used to verify entitlement to wartime service medals.
Some commonly used abbreviations on the forms are:
- MNRP = Merchant Navy Reserve Pool
- AB = Able Bodied Seaman
- EDH = Efficient Deck Hand