Lives of the First World War

The Trawler Section was formed in 1912 and numbered only a few hundred men at the start of the war. It's mine sweeping and anti-submarine work proved so invaluable to the war effort that as well as requisitioning civilian fishing vessels the Admiralty manufactured their own. The Trawler Section grew to over 55,000 RNR personnel plus other sailors from other branches of the Navy. They lost a lot of men to mines, submarines and the ever present danger of rough seas. It was dangerous if un-glamorous work without the kudos of big Naval Engagements and their contribution has been somewhat neglected. The vast majority of men joined during the war and don't have other seeding documents. If you are interested in these men their medal rolls can be downloaded from the National Archives or searched on ancestry. Officers ADM 171/92 - ADM 171/93 and Ratings ADM 171/120 - ADM 171/124 Service records for Officers can be found in ADM 240 and 340 (often several for each man) Skippers (rated as Warrant Officers) and Ratings are found in BT/377 A minority of these men were ex RN regulars so have RN records and some were awarded the Mercantile Medal so appear in the Merchant Navy seeds (their cards are usually marked RNR or Navy). This community highlights a few

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