Dad's Merchant Navy Records.

[pat fowles]

Hi Everyone.
If anyone is going to Kew in the near future could you do a 'lookup' for me. I am looking for the service records for my Dad who was in the Merchant Navy 1939-1942. We know the records are at Kew and not Southampton. These are his details:
Kenneth Edward Macaulay (formerly Santanna so could be under both...his medal records are) DOB 15/04/1920 Southport, Lancashire. Any help appreciated as I am in Australia.

Thanks

[Peter Goodey]

If anyone is going to Kew in the near future could you do a 'lookup' for me.

If you're asking someone for a 'lookup' at the National Archives, I think you'll need to specify which series the record is in.

[LOVAT#]

His medal entitlement is filed under Santanna at Kew in piece BT 395/1/86165 so I would guess the rest of his WW2 service is filed similarly. That being the case look for his CRS 10 (service record from January, 1941) under Santanna in BT 382/1583. If you wish to check for MacAuley then check BT 382/1056.

Please note that the CRS 10 only covers from January 1941 so if he left the service in 1942 it will only show 1 year of his service and you would need to use crew agreements to find out what ships he served in back from Jan, 1941. Also the CRS 10 is held in surname block order of up to 60 other names.

Regards
Hugh

[pat fowles]

Thanks for replies. We have his medal records and (hopefully) I've found the correct reference for his Seamans Pouch. Just waiting to hear back on the cost of copies from National Archives, and hope the cost isn't prohibitive. We are mainly looking for the details of the ships he sailed on. Does anyone know if that information will be in his Seamans Pouch?
He was torpedoed three times and badly burnt in the Merchant Navy, and I have to say I'm quite saddened at how difficult (and expensive) it is to obtain his records.....sorry for the whinge.

[LOVAT#]

Hi Pat,
The seaman's pouch will be hit or miss. Some contain a lot of detail others not so. However, usually, there should be an ID photo albeit a mugshot in it. Again, if you are lucky, there will be a CR2 card which may give details of ships by official number, not name. This may cover dates prior to 1941. As I stated previously you will need his CRS 10 for details of ship's served in after 1941. The pouch will probably not be too much as it is for a named person but the CRS 10 is in a block of up to 60 surnames and to obtain online would be quite expensive. However, I would advise you do get the CRS 10 if you can.

If you cant get anyone to do a lookup for you then the next best thing would be to private message me with your email address and I can put you in touch with someone who does my copying at Kew - very reasonably priced and wont rip you off - but a CRS 10 at Kew will cost a lot of money using the Kew research service.

Regards
Hugh

[pat fowles]

Thankyou Hugh...I have already tried to get a CRS 10 but the reply from Nat Archives was that the 'file' is too big for them to search. I sent them the ref number for the block of surnames appropriate to my Dad...but still too many to search apparently.

[oceangrover]

Hi Pat,
I got my Dad's seaman's pouch a couple of years back and have just had a look at it. There are several cards there which I see are the CR2 cards as mentioned by Hugh above. They show official numbers and sometimes the actual ship name. But there are only a couple in my pack. They certainly don't cover all the ships he was on. I do have a list of those but I think that he must have got that when he went back to the UK in 1983. (It actually has £20 typed at the bottom!) Good luck!

[LOVAT#]

the reply from Nat Archives was that the 'file' is too big for them to search.

Yes, Pat, you got a standard reply from them. Because the file is not to a named person they deem searching for it as research and offer their own research service but will charge accordingly. The charges in my opinion are too high and will penalise all of us not able to travel to Kew.

Regarding the CR2 card - there may or may not be one in the pouch - and as oceangrover has found out there are mistakes and omissions in them as well. However, any information such as ship's official numbers can be converted into names and other methods can be used to track missing ships on the record - albeit with a bit of luck thrown in.

Regards
Hugh

[pat fowles]

Hi everyone....Received my Dads Seamans Pouch and Discharge book yesterday (both from Kew). The book and pouch coincide date wise...both December 1960. However....we know he was in the Merchant Navy during WW11 because we have his medal card and the medals...so where will his service records be for that time and how do we find them....need a lateral thinker I think.
Both the records we have are under the surname Macaulay 'stating' previously Santanna. On his Seamens book is the note 'name changed by deed poll 1947, certificate sighted'....but he joined the RAF in 1943 under the name Macaulay.
To complicate things even more, his name is spelt McAulay on his Seamens pouch. Will keep looking and hoping for some help with this if anyone has time. Head spinning with it all ...off for a bacardi and coke.

[LOVAT#]

Hi Pat,
I would be willing to take a look at what you have with regard to the seaman's records if you wish. Sometimes there are things you don't see but another pair of eyes can help.
Regards
Hugh