Lives of the First World War

One of the least understood Naval Formations of the War were the men of the Mercantile Marine Reserve. Merchant sailors serving aboard Admiralty vessels, they served on supply vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxilliary as well as being mingled with other Navy Ratings on other ships. They remain mostly absent from this memorial as although it could be assumed they would be found under the Merchant Navy Seeds (those men awarded the Mercantile Medal by the Board of Trade) many are not. This small selection of lives highlights just a few. If you are interested in researching these men they have medal rolls at the National Archives that can be downloaded free of charge (at time of writing), these can also be searched on ancestry with a subscription. Officers ADM 171/93 Ratings A-Fou ADM 171/130, Fow-Mea ADM 171/131, Meb-War ADM 171/132, Wat-Z ADM 171/133 and a roll for locally enrolled "Native" sailors from other parts of Empire and beyond ADM 171/134 Some of these men will appear in BT 350 - Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Register of Seamen, Special Index, Alphabetical Series (CR 10) which can be searched through findmypast

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