Petty Officer William John Harris

[terriecc@yahoo.co.uk]

Hopefully some one will be able to help me with my Brick wall.
My GGGF WJ Harris was according to my older relatives a sailor, my ggm wedding cert shows him as a Petty Officer in 1909. My father recalls that in later years he had a PO pension, and lived with his other daughter in Plumstead, (part of Woolwich?, until his death in the early 1940's. My grandmother always said he had been on the Cutty Sark as a young lad but this could be any Tea Clipper. She also told of him comming home with arns of bananas and on one occcasion a monkey! I can not find him on any census, nor his birthdate, marriage or death. At some point he left the sea and was a publican

Thank you for any help I receive

[sandiep]

can you give a few more details like
when he was born and where
any idea of any parents names
when did he marry roughly what were his childrens names and any birth dates
any of these details might help us to find him for you

sandie

[Geoffers]

As Sandie has mentioned, a little more detail would help

Have you tried searching the indexed seamen's pouches on TNA's catalogue?
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/default.asp
enter HARRIS W J (in that order) in the name or phrase field
In the department or series code, enter BT372
Do any of the three hits seem possible matches?

TNA's online research guides are a good place to begin, to see what is available for merchant seamen
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/researchguidesindex.asp

If he was ever in the RN, the service records can be searched and downloaded at
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/

Geoffers