Catalogue description Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Registers of Seamen, Combined Numerical Index (CR1, CR2 and CR10 Series) and Alphabetical Index

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Details of BT 364
Reference: BT 364
Title: Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Registers of Seamen, Combined Numerical Index (CR1, CR2 and CR10 Series) and Alphabetical Index
Description:

This series is the combined numerical index of the Register of Seamen maintained by the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.

The Central Register of Seamen originally consisted of three separate card indexes; the fourth index was compiled from its predecessors, for reasons unknown.

Each card typically gives the following information:

  • discharge A number;
  • certificate of company number;
  • name of seaman;
  • year of birth;
  • place of birth;
  • rank or rating;
  • name and official number of ship;
  • date of engagement of service.

Some records include photographs.

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Date: 1921-1941
Arrangement:

The cards are arranged numerically by continuous discharge A number. The cards were filed by number, ignoring the letter prefix. At the end of the series is a small collection of un-numbered cards which have been sorted alphabetically by surname.
Separated material:

Cards dating from 1913 to 1921 were destroyed in 1969 for unknown reasons.
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: CR 1, CR 2 and CR 10 file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, 1872-1992
Physical description: 2 microform
Access conditions: Available in digital format and microform only
Immediate source of acquisition:

from 1998 Registry of Shipping and Seamen
Custodial history: Transferred from the Register General of Shipping and Seamen to the Registry of Shipping and Seamen in 1992.
Accumulation dates: Central Index Register of Seamen ran from 1913 to 1941
Selection and destruction information: Temporarily stored at Hayes awaiting disposal decision. Fourth index to the Register, drawn from the preceding three, compiled and preserved. All are available on microfiche in the Microfilm Reading Room.
Accruals: No future accruals expected.
Administrative / biographical background:

After several attempts in the nineteenth century, a Central Index Register of Seamen was proposed by the Advisory Committee on Merchant Seamen in 1910, and, after being accepted by the Board of Trade, was operated by the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen (RGSS) from 1913 until 1941.

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