British Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924
Discover the brave individuals who served on the waves during a period of monumental naval transformation. This collection offers an invaluable window into the lives of the men who manned the warships through the turn of the century, the First World War, and the uneasy peace that followed. By exploring these detailed service records, you can uncover vital biographical details, including service numbers, ship assignments, physical descriptions, and conduct marks, allowing you to trace your ancestors' seafaring careers and honour their maritime legacy.
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Discover the brave individuals who served on the waves during a period of monumental naval transformation. This collection offers an invaluable window into the lives of the men who manned the warships through the turn of the century, the First World War, and the uneasy peace that followed. By exploring these detailed service records, you can uncover vital biographical details, including service numbers, ship assignments, physical descriptions, and conduct marks, allowing you to trace your ancestors' seafaring careers and honour their maritime legacy.
Learn more about these records
Each record is an image and transcript of a Royal Navy Seaman's service record from The National Archives ADM188 series.
The amount of information varies, but the Royal Navy Seamen 1899-1924 records usually include a combination of the following information about your ancestor.
- Name
- Date of birth
- Sailor number
- Place of birth
- Country of birth
Image
- Physical description: height, hair and eye colour
- Occupation
- Ships served in and dates
- Character ratings
- If died, cause of death
British Royal Navy Seamen 1899–1924 records provide you with your ancestor’s service record, which details their career with the navy. The records will show when your ancestor served and on what ship, which will help you to determine what engagements or naval battles they took part in. Most include a physical description such as height, eye and hair colour, and any distinguishable marks like scars. Your ancestor’s character during service is recorded, and if they were killed or died during service, most records will include a cause of death.
The Royal Navy can trace its origins to the 16th century. It is the oldest service branch of the British Armed Forces and is often referred to as the Senior Service. From the end of the 17th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world and played a central part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power.
The Royal Navy Seaman records contain the complete service histories of up to 375,000 ratings who joined the service between 1899 and 1924. Our Royal Navy Officers’ records are held in a separate series which we are also publishing. The period covered takes in both the Boer War (1899–1902) and World War 1 (1914–1918) and it is, therefore, likely that anyone who enlisted in the Royal Navy during this period could have seen active service in one or both of these conflicts.
HMS Good Hope
In the records, we find Richard Walter Gould from Portland who, before joining the Royal Navy, was a quarryman. He joined the Navy on 18 July 1904 and was recorded as having a height of 5’6” and brown hair and eyes with a fair complexion. He served on Drake, Sapphire II, Blenheim and Good Hope. Gould was lost at sea when HMS Good Hope was sunk in action off the Chilean coast. Further research into the ship’s history finds that HMS Good Hope, the flagship of Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock, was sent to South America to search for German commerce raiders, which attacked merchant ships. The vessel was outnumbered by the Germans and the Battle of Coronel began on 27 October 1914. At 19:42 on 29 October, after being surrounded, she charged directly at German ships and was fired upon. The vessel’s topside was in flames and minutes later the forward magazine exploded. The ship sank with all hands; 919 men perished.