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Merchant Navy Day Reveals Britain's Lack of Ancestry Knowledge

This Merchant Navy Day (Saturday 3rd September), nearly one million Twentieth Century Merchant Navy Records are being released online for the first time ever.
Leisure - 2 September 2011   Download IconContent available for download:  
Audio | Interview with Janet Demspey and Deborah Chatfield| Login to Download

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Nearly one million Twentieth Century Merchant Navy Records are being released online for the first time ever today ahead of Merchant Navy Day (Saturday 3rd September). The Merchant Navy was integral in putting Britain on the trade and industry world map, and are considered to be Churchill’s forgotten ‘Fourth Service’.

New research has revealed despite 90% of Brits having heard of the Merchant Navy, just over half (54%) couldn’t correctly identify what they actually did – when in fact it’s these men and women whose contribution towards two World Wars and UK trade has shaped Britain as we know it today. The shocking gap in Britain’s historical knowledge is unsurprisingly highest amongst the younger generation – just a quarter (26%) of those aged under 35 know what the Merchant Navy is compared to 64% of over 55s.

The majority of Brits will be surprised to learn that the Merchant Navy consists of all seagoing UK vessels with commercial interest and their crews – and at various points in the millennium, Britain had the largest fleet in the world. This means that the majority of us are likely to have sailor ancestry without even realising it. The Merchant Navy has long been considered a ‘floating United Nations’, with as high as 70% of the crews made up from international sailors from counties around the world.

. Introduction:

This Merchant Navy Day (Saturday 3rd September), nearly one million Twentieth Century Merchant Navy Records are being released online for the first time ever to help Brit’s trace their sea faring family history. The Merchant Navy was integral for putting Britain on the trade and industry map and are regarded as Churchill’s forgotten ‘Fourth Service’. However, new research has revealed that the majority of Brit’s need a history lesson, as although many of us have heard of the Merchant Navy, just over half could actually identify what they did and understood the role they played.

So, this Merchant Navy Day, how can we discover if we have a sea faring ancestor tucked away in our family tree?

Joining us to discuss this further is Janet Demspey, a Maritime Records Specialist from The National Archives and Deborah Chatfield, a Family History Expert from findmypast.co.uk.

. Suggested Questions:

What does the research show about the Merchant Navy in our area?

So tell us – what is the Merchant Navy and how did the sailors and members of the fleet put Britain on the map?

What will the records tell us about our ancestors?

Where will these records be available to anyone wanting to find out about the ancestors?

What advice do you have for anyone who is interested in finding out more about their family history?

Where can we find out more information?