British Royal Marines - Service Records
Fred Lawson
My father served in the British Royal Marines from July 1894 to September
1901. He last served on the HMS Argonaut. I am keenly interested in
obtaining his service record. To what government department or office can
I apply to obtain these documents?
The Canadian government furnished me his First World War service recorde,
so I assume the UK government would do likewise.
I would also appreciate receiving information on the HMS Argonaut of that
time.
Frederick Lawsons
Pincourt, Quebec, Canada
Leonard M. Keane
In <01bbdf3d$d5884fa0$3a65...@fred.cam.org> "Fred Lawson"
Frederick:
Try "Royal Marines Museum, Royal Marines Eastney, Southsea, Hants. PO4
9PX, England". This may not be a current address, but an inquiry
should get there. They should be able to give you some pointers, if not
actual detail on your ancestor. It may be necessary to research the
Public Record Office. Best way to do this is probably through a local
Mormon (LDS) Library on microfilm.
Good Luck,
Len.
John Pritchard
"Fred Lawson" <fla...@cam.org> wrote:
>My father served in the British Royal Marines from July 1894 to September
>1901. He last served on the HMS Argonaut. I am keenly interested in
>obtaining his service record. To what government department or office can
>I apply to obtain these documents?
The RM service records of the time are in the Public Record Office at
Kew, London. They have not been microfilmed (if you go there you read
the original large books of records), and are therefore not available
through the LDS Family History Centres.
The service records will give a significant amount of information,
including place and date of birth; place and date of enlistment;
physical description; next of kin and their address; a list of all
postings to ships and shore bases, with a note of "character" and
"ability"; good conduct badges, medals, promotions, examinations;
wounds; and date of marriage.
I understand that the staff at the PRO will now undertake research for
those unable to visit in person, though presumably there is a fee for
this. The PRO has web pages at
http://www.open.gov.uk/pro/prohome.htm
which will also give you their e-mail address.
There were four separate divisions of the Royal Marines at the time -
the Royal Marines Light Infantry (RMLI) had separate establishments at
Plymouth, Portsmouth and Woolwich, plus the Royal Marines Artillery
(RMA) based at Portsmouth. Each of these kept separate records, and
it can be relatively difficult to find an individual Marine. The PRO
is working on an overall card index, but last time I was there this
was incomplete. However, service on HMS Argonaut should be a clue -
normally the RM contingent was supplied from the Division based at a
ship's home port, which can be found from the _Navy List_ (published
quarterly - the PRO has a complete set, but other libraries may
sometimes hold copies).
For information on HMS Argonaut, the _Navy List_ will give the basic
information such as type of ship, size, names of officers,
station/service. For more information (and quite possibly a
photograph), the best source may be:
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road
Greenwich
LONDON SE10 9NF
U.K.
phone +44-181-858-4422
There may also be relevant information (such as letters, diaries, and
published books) at:
Royal Marines Museum & Library
Royal Marines Barracks
Eastney
PORTSMOUTH
Hampshire PO4 9PX
U.K.
phone +44-1705-819385
Hope that helps
--
John Pritchard
J...@brunswic.demon.co.uk