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Navigating Admiralty records

JessNev

JessNev

New Member
Hi,

I have recently discovered my Great Great grandfather's naval service record and it turns out he was in prison for a month in 1853 and he also lost 3 years of service. I was wondering where to start looking in the Admiralty records at Kew so that I can order documents when I come over to the UK next year. (I think I will be allowed a day of research since we are visiting many Roman ruins :) )

I am finding the catalogue quite overwhelming.

Thanks in Advance.

Jess.
 
I must begin by saying that I don't know anything about Navy records, but the TNA catalogue is very challenging, so please don't be disheartened. You are wisely starting in good time to have it all figured out well before you travel. Nearer the time you will need to order a reader's ticket and book your visit, when you can also order documents in advance, to avoid wasting a lot of your day waiting around for the documents to be produced.

You may have already done this, but it is a good idea to look at the research guides on the TNA site as they can be very helpful.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me can also suggest some books, or other online guides, that cover this type of research in sufficient detail to guide you as to what records are likely to prove most useful and how to locate them at Kew, or elsewhere. If you already have access to Mark Herber's book Ancestral Trails that may help as a starting point? Apologies if you have already done all of this, however.

If you are on Facebook there are lots of genealogy groups on there with some knowledgeable members that could help, if no one here can offer the specific expertise that you need.

Good luck and I hope that you enjoy your trip to the UK.
 
There are usenet newsgroups, too: I find soc.genealogy.britain, for example, though it appears dormant, has plenty of people who pop out of the woodwork if anyone posts a question.
 
We received an email from Madeleine (who is waiting to join but we're experiencing some email issues which is preventing the last step) who asked to post the below for you @JessNev

You probably don’t need to visit Kew because it looks as though all British armed forces records held by TNA are now held in Fold3 or online elsewhere..


Ancestry has Royal Navy service records, this could be a good place to start.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/60522


If you draw a blank and would like some more help, please provide his name and any other details you know about him and where you found his prison record.


Thanks,

Madeleine
 
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