SOME USEFUL MARITIME LINKS


The following list provides links to several on-line resources for photographs of ships, details of marine research facilities and items of interest to those researching maritime ancestry & history. Many of these sites have been passed on to me by David Martin, a Cardiff exile in the USA, where access costs to the internet are a great deal cheaper than in the UK, allowing him to "surf" far more than I can afford ! I have, however, checked them all out to ensure that the links work and the data is likely to be of interest. More links are likely to be added as I find them.




DATABASES OF MARINERS

WELSH MARINERS

This Excellent site is the result of many years work by Dr Reg Davies. It indexes Master Mariners, Mates and Seagoing Engineers who were born in or worked from Wales.




MARINERS IN SWANSEA CREW LISTS

Bryan Richards site which will eventually include all mariners listed in Swansea (Wales) Crew Lists c.1848 to 1913. A mammoth task but Bryan is adding more all the time.




CELTIC MARITIME CONNECTIONS

This is the new site of Milford Haven Port Authority's project, currently concentrated on Pembrokeshire and South East Ireland, but which will eventually cover all of Wales.




VICTORIA'S MERCANTILE NAVY MASTER MARINERS

A new site by Jenny Williams listing Master Mariners recognised by the Victoria (Australia) Government, but who did not hold UK master's certificates. A useful list.




AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL SITE

Many photographs of ships, aircraft & personnel from World War I onwards, not only Australian. Includes an excellent search facility.




ROYAL NAVY DOCKYARD BERMUDA

Provided by Bermuda Online

Excellent history of the Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda with information on ships and people from 1795 to 1953




BLUE STAR LINE

A history of this company with details of ships etc




BRIDGWATER (SOMERSET) CREW LISTS.

A searchable database of seamen appearing in Bridwater Crew Agreements held at Somerset Archives




BRITISH SETTLERS IN ARGENTINA

Website by Jeremy Howat which provides a lot of data on births, marriages, deaths & MI at the Protestant Churches in Buenos Aires, plus Obits and other information for Brits. in Argentina. A number of British seamen are amongst those listed.




BRITISH INDIA STEAM NAVIGATION CO.

A history of the company with ship details




BRIXHAM TRAWLERS - DEVON

The website of the Brixham Museum which includes a detailed list of all known Brixham Trawlers. Very useful site.




MILFORD TRAWLERS - PEMBROKESHIRE

Barry Johnson's excellent website on the Milford Haven trawler fleet.




BROADSIDE

Mainly a site for those interested in Maritime Fiction but this site includes links to lists and accounts of major British sea wars as an aid for people reading fictional novels about the periods concerned. It is, therfore, worth visiting for that purpose. The site is run by Paul Gooddy.




COASTGUARDS 1851

A list of Coastguard Officers in 1851 transcribed by Ted Wildy.




COASTGUARDS OF YESTERYEAR

An excellent website in the making which gives some details of UK Coastguards in general and in particular those stationed in Ireland and the stations themselves - by Tony Daly




CORNISH SMUGGLING AND ITS PREVENTION

George Pritchard's very good site covers smugglers, coastguards and revenue men in Cornwall




SHIPPING AROUND CORNWALL

This site actually contains a searchable database of newspaper cuttings from two 19th century Cornish newspapers about a variety of subjects, but there are many relating to ships in Cornish ports from all over the world and to Cornish ships and seamen.The years covered are 1836 and 1887. Well worth looking at.




CREW LISTS FOR SEAMAN VICTOR RUZICZKA - BY BARRY STEVENS

A history of Barry's ancestor who sailed mainly out of Cardiff in the latter half of the 19th century, with copies of several Crew Lists. Although Cardiff based these crew lists include seamen from various parts of the UK (including the Channel Islands) and many foreign seamen too. Well worth visiting. The site is a good example of what can be traced about a merchant navy ancestor.




STEVE BREW'S CREW LISTS

Crew lists for various ships that Steve's family have sailed on. The site also includes lots of other maritime data. Well worth visiting




CLYDE BUILT SHIPS - Details of the many ships built at Clydeside Yards.




CONVOYS

Details of World War I & II convoy routes and their designations etc




CONVOYS - WWII OS & KMS

Details of World War II convoys to the Med & to Freetown, listing shipping involved etc - Mike Holdoway




WARSAILORS - ATLANTIC CONVOYS - WWII

Details of World War II Atlantic and other convoys, listing shipping involved etc.




ht CUMBRIAN SHIPPING & MASTER MARINERS by Steve Bulman

An excellent site which provides details of shipping at various ports in Cumbria in the early & mid 19th century, together with names of masters & owners etc. Part of a much larger site on Cumbria.




CUNARD LINE - AN UNOFFICIAL HISTORY

A history of the company by Kevin Tam with a complete fleet list.




A HISTORY OF PEMBROKE DOCKYARD

by John Guard, One time Commander at the Yard

An excellent account of the founding and development of the British Naval Dockyard at Pembroke Dock (Wales)




PEMBROKE DOCKYARD

by Bob Sanders

A site containing contemporary newscuttings relating to some of the Royal Navy ships built at the British Naval Dockyard at Pembroke Dock (Wales) 1830 to 1870.




THE NAVAL DOCKYARDS SOCIETY

The official site of the Society, which is for those with an interest in Naval Dockyards and Associated Institutions eg hospitals, victualling yards & Ordnance Board establishments. Also has links to various sites with similar interests




BOUTLAND'S SHIPBUILDERS, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE

Bob Boutland's site giving a history of Bill Quay, Newcastle, and the ships built there over the years, together with some details of their ownership




FISHING - BRIXHAM TRAWLERS - DEVON

The website of the Brixham Museum which includes a detailed list of all known Brixham Trawlers. Very useful site.




FISHING - MILFORD TRAWLERS - PEMBROKESHIRE

Barry Johnson's excellent website on the Milford Haven trawler fleet.




THE FLEET AIR ARM - OFFICIAL SITE

The official site of the Fleet Air Arm, including a history and photos of some of the ships




"FORT" SHIPS

Angela DeRoy-Jones' site giving details of the "Fort", "Ocean" & "Park" ships built during World War II in the USA and Canada.




GENSEEK

Australian site with lists of mariners etc.




THE STORY OF SIR JOHN GUNN, CARDIFF SHIPOWNER

A short biography of Sir John Gunn, a Scot who set up a shipping company in Cardiff in the 19th century. Includes some information on the ships owned by the company.




HISTORICAL MARITIME SOCIETY

The Website of a Re-enactment Society but contains lots of interesting data on Royal Navy history - Well worth looking at !




HONOURABLE EAST INDIA CO. (HEICS) SHIPS & SEAMEN

This site by Andrea Cordani sets out to list all the ships of the HEICS and some information on the crews of those ships where known.




HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY

This is the official site of the Hudsons Bay Co. and is part of The Province of Manitoba Archives Website. It provides details of what is available on the company including information on their ships etc




THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IRONCLAD WARSHIP

A German site with lots of photographs of Ironclad Warships (mainly British)




THE JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN JACOB STORM OF ROBIN HOODS BAY, NORTH YORKSHIRE

This site by Roy Storm is the on-line version of material researched by his brother Alan Storm and previously published in book form. It includes the 19th century journal kept by Jacob Storm.




LIFEBOATS - A COUPLE OF STORIES RELATING TO WHITBY (YORKSHIRE) LIFEBOATS

I have produced a couple of stories of Whitby Lifeboat action from the 19th & early 20th centuries - there are more details to come - See also under Shipwrecks below, where there are a number of stories about lifeboat action in the Bristol Channel




LIFE SAVING AWARD RESEARCH SOCIETY (LSARS)

This is an excellent site giving background & details of the Royal Humane Society Awards for Life Saving




LIFE SAVING BRONZE MEDAL AWARDS INDEX 1856 to 1976

Although this index gives the names and details of all those people who received awards many of them were merchant seamen or Royal Navy seamen. Unfortunately there is no search facility on the site so one needs to search year by year. Nevertheless this is an excellent site




OLD MERSEY TIMES - VARIOUS SNIPPETS TAKEN FROM MERSEYSIDE & NW ENGLAND NEWSPAPERS.

Very useful site by Jane Campbell which is still being added to. Worth looking at now and paying regular visits in the future. Scroll down to Emigration or Shipping for the relevant sections or just browse. There are a variety of sections to the site dealing with various aspects of Merseyside life & history.




MARINERS LIST WEBSITE

The website connected to the Rootsweb Mariners List. Contains research aids for maritime research etc. In particular it contains various detailed explanations of how to research merchant navy ancestors. Also Fleet Lists for many Shipping Companies




THE MARITIME HISTORY VIRTUAL ARCHIVES

by Lars Bruzelius

A great deal of information on ships & shipping related subjects by Lars Bruzelius which is well worth visiting.




MARITIME WARFARE WORLD WAR I TO THE FALKLANDS WAR



Sea warfare World War I onward. Includes information on Royal Navy, Dominion Navies and US Navy. Well worth visiting.




THE SONS OF THE MARS



John Fitzgerald's website, dedicated to the boys who served on the Mars training ship moored on the Tay near Dundee 1869 to 1929. Includes a searchable database which currently has the names of about half of the 6500 boys concerned.




BRITISH NAVAL & MILITARY CAMPAIGN MEDALS c.1793 - 1920


My site giving colour illustrations of British naval & military medals




MERCHANT NAVY - THE RED DUSTER


Website by Malcolm W Pickhaver on Merchant Navy history which includes the histories of some shipping companies & various other matters connected with the Merchant Navy. Very useful site.




MARITIME HISTORY OF THE NORTH WEST OF ENGLAND - Site operated by Tim Latham




NAVAL- HISTORY.NET by Gordon Smith

An excellent source for the history of the Royal Navy in WW1 & WW2 & the Falklands War.



THE GREAT OCEAN LINERS

Daniel Othfors & Henrik Ljungstrom's excellent site on ocean liners of the past, up to the 1960s.



PALMER'S LIST OF MERCHANT VESSELS - by Michael Palmer


Website by Michael Palmer on merchant ships which includes the histories of a number of British, US & European ships. Very useful site.




NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM (NMM)

The website of the UK National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Provides details of their holdings, research services etc.Now includes a good deal of on-line information from the collection but not details of individual seamen.




PORT - THE NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM GATEWAY PAGE




AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM (ANMM)

The website of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Provides details of their holdings, research services etc.Now includes a good deal of on-line information from the collection but not details of individual seamen.




PASSENGER LIST LINKS

The following sites provide some links to ships' passenger lists for those researching emigrant ancestors

New Zealand Bound

Links to various passenger lists for shipping into New Zealand, plus other New Zealand pages - by Olwyn Whitehouse

Australian & New Zealand Passenger Lists

Plenty of passenger lists for these two countries.

Australian Shipping 1788 - 1967 by Peter Larson

Lots of passenger lists for various ports

Public Record Office Victoria, Australia - Passenger Database

A searchable database of passenger lists for Victoria 1852 to 1879

Canadian Immigration Records 1925 - 1935

An Official Government online database of immigrants to Canada in this timeframe.

Irish Passenger Lists

Some online records of Irish emigrants by Alan Tupman

Passenger Lists on the Internet

A huge amount of information on passenger lists for Australia, Canada, New Zealand & USA. A must if you are searching for immigrants from anywhere to anywhere !

Ellis Island Records

A searchable database of immigrants to the USA via Ellis Island

Passenger Lists on the Internet

Alan Tupman's Pages of Links to Passenger Lists on the Internet.

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild

Information on passenger lists.

What Passenger Lists are on the Internet

Links to many, many passenger lists.

The Ships List Home Page

The homepage of The Ships List - The rootsweb list dealing with emmigration/immigration

Passages to India

This site by Sylvia Murphy gives some information on passengers to India


Liverpool Shipping & Emigration information (USA)

This site has details of several Liverpool ships and their captains mostly related to emigration to America. Well worth a look if you are searching for emigrants to USA or Canada





PICTURES OF SHIPS

MONSTERS OF THE SEA - A Collection of Pictures of the Great Liners




ROYAL REGALS OF THE SEA by Bryan R Guinn - Another collection of pictures of great liners




POSTCARD PICTURES OF SHIPS

The following sites are really for postcard collectors but contain lots of images of ships from around the world which have been published as postcards over many years. They can be a good source of ship pictures. Naturally most are of ocean liners but these are not only the very well known liners but some lesser known ones too. The sites are well worth visiting.

Simplon Postcards

Travelback



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND SHIPPING

The website of The Island Register - gives details of ships and mariners from Prince Edward Island. Also Passenger Lists.




PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE (PRO)

The website of the UK Public Record Office which contains detils of holdings (not only maritime) and on-line leaflets on research.




THE RED DUSTER

Malcolm Pickhaver's Merchant Navy site. Provides an excellent variety of information on merchant shipping, including a pictorial explanation of the different types of sailing ships eg barque, schooner, clipper etc. Also some shipping company histories. Well worth visiting




ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY

Brief history of the Royal Canadian Navy on their Official site. Includes information on the naming of RCN ships




ROYAL NEW ZEALAND NAVY

Brief details of ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy through the 20th century.




ROYAL NAVY BIOGRAPHY

This is an index to Royal Navy Officers contained in O'Byrne's Royal Navy Biography of 1849

The index contains the names, dates of birth, dates of enlistment, dates of last promotion, dates of marriage & names of spouses of officers of the 19th century up to 1849. I now have the full version of O'Byrne and am prepared to do look-ups. .


Surnames A to D

Surnames E to G

Surnames H to L

Surnames M to P

Surnames Q to T

Surnames U to Z



PAUL BENYON'S NAVY SITE

There is a lot of interesting information on Paul's navy site, in particular this index which lists 19th century officers. Whilst some of these are the same as listed in O'Byrne (above), it also includes others eg surgeons who are not in O'Byrne's.



AGE OF NELSON

This site provides a list of Royal Navy Officers during the Napoleonic Wars plus a list of all ranks who served under Admiral Lord Neson at Trafalgar. Whilst some of those named in the list of officers are the same as listed in O'Byrne (above), it is still a very useful cross reference since it gives additional information for many eg date of death etc.



RNSHIPS MAILING LIST

A mailing list for anyone with Royal Navy interests provided by e-groups.




QUEEN VICTORIA'S NAVY

"A photographic tour of the pride of the Royal Navy 1867 - 1897" by Steve Johnson




A list of Royal Navy & Army Officers for 1827 - Currently unavailable - I am working on a replacement




A list of Royal Navy Flag Officers for 1840 - Currently unavailable - I am working on a replacement




ROYAL NAVY OFFICERS 1894

By Ted Wildy

A list of Royal Navy Officers for 1894 transcribed by Ted Wildy from Whittaker's Almanack




ROYAL NAVY PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN THE ACTION IN THE RIVER PLATE 1806-1807

By Ted Wildy

A list of the people involved in this action. Mainly Royal Navy but includes some army and politicians. Transcribed by Ted Wildy




ROYAL NAVY - PLYMOUTH NAVAL BASE MUSEUM

The official site of the Plymouth Naval Base Museum with various historical information on the base etc




HMS WORCESTER

Site devoted to the Royal Navy Training Ship HMS Worcester




HMS WILDFIRE

Site by Bill Hagger devoted to the Royal Navy Training Ship HMS Wildfire




ROYAL NAVY SUBMARINES

A history of Royal Navy submarines from 1901 onwards




ROYAL NAVY SUBMARINES - A HISTORY

By David Hallas

"BritSub" Site by David Hallas. Intended to be a history of the RN Submarine Service and submariners since 1901. Excellent site.




UNIFORMS OF THE ROYAL NAVY & ROYAL MARINES c.1921 by Bob Sanders

Colour illustrations of the uniforms of the Royal Navy & Royal Marines around 1921 including rank insignia and badges



ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS 1780s - 1840s

Ships of the Old Navy Website

by Michael Phillips

An on-line directory of RN warships from the 1780s to the 1840s with historical notes which often include names of Captains and other Officers - Excellent for anyone researching a Royal Navy Captain or a warship on which an ancestor sailed. This site is run by Michael Phillips.




ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS

An excellent on-line history of RN warships, submarines & auxilliaries.




WARSHIPS ON THE WEB - Information on warships of many nations

An excellent on-line history of RN warships, submarines & auxilliaries.




ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS

Ships.Co.UK Website

Information on some British Warships and on specific naval actions. Also some details of ship losses & accidents around Britain.THIS SITE IS NOT YET LIVE.




THE ROYAL NAVY IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

Part of a Malta Family History site which has some excellent information on the Royal Navy in the Med. in the 19th century, with details of some of the personnel involved. Also includes records of baptisms, marriages and burials of service personnel on Malta and some Monumental Inscriptions etc




THE ROYAL NAVY IN NOVA SCOTIA 1800

Information extracted from an 1800 Almanac giving the names and details of RN ships stationed in Nova Scotia at that time plus the Army Regiments




THE ROYAL NAVY IN THE 1901 CENSUS

Jeffery Knaggs has created this index to RN ships at sea or in foreign ports in the 1901 census. A great site which gives details of the ships and the names of their commanders and the PRO Reference to enable searchers to find the full details of crews on the PRO On-Line 1901 Census Pages




ROYAL NAVY WARSHIP LOSSES OF WORLD WAR II

By Gordon Smith

Site devoted to Royal Navy ships lost in World War II.




SHIPPING COMPANY HISTORIES ETC.


UK SHIPPING COMPANIES WEBSITE

Histories of many of the well known UK companies, by Rodney Hall.



BLUE STAR LINE

A history of this company with details of ships etc



BRITISH INDIA STEAM NAVIGATION CO.

A history of the company with ship details



CALEDONIAN FERRIES.

A history of the company



ESSO PETROLEUM CO. LTD. - Auke Visser's excellent site on Esso Tankers




THE STORY OF SIR JOHN GUNN, CARDIFF SHIPOWNER

A short biography of Sir John Gunn, a Scot who set up a shipping company in Cardiff in the 19th century. Includes some information on the ships owned by the company.




P & O LINE - A History

The official company history including pictures of many of their ships.



SHAW, SAVILLE & ALBION

An excellent site providing details, with many pictures, of White Star Line, Shaw, Saville & Albion and some other shipping lines



UNION-CASTLE LINE

A history of the company with ship details and pictures.



WHITE STAR LINE

An excellent site providing details, with many pictures, of White Star Line, Shaw, Saville & Albion and some other shipping lines



WHITE STAR LINE

Another site dealing with the history of this Shipping Company & their ships.





CLYDE BUILT SHIPS - Details of the many ships built at Clydeside Yards.




SHIPWRECKS

For a list of some shipwrecks in the Bristol Channel click here.




For an account of the sinking of the SS Castleton (Matthew Cope & Co, Cardiff) in Bideford Bay in 1886 click here.




For a brief account of the wreck of the SS Cornubia of Cardiff (Short & Dunn) off Spain in 1874 click here



For an account of the wreck of the SS Rohilla (British India) off Whitby, Yorks. in 1914 click here



For an excellent account of the wreck of the Barque "John" off Cornwall in 1855, including crew and passenger lists and Boart of Trade Enquiry and newspaper reports (Website by Mark Sandford) click here



For information on shipwrecks off The Lizard, Cornwall click here



For information on other shipwrecks off Cornwall click here



For a list of shipwrecks around the world (This is a site for wreck divers but very worthwhile looking at if you have an interest in ships) click here



I have produced a couple of stories of Whitby Lifeboat (North Yorkshire) action from the 19th & early 20th centuries - there are more details to come




SEALING IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

A site largely about Nova Scotian sealers and sealing.




SOUTH AFRICAN MARITIME MUSEUM

Lots of photographs of ships which called in to South African ports. Worthwhile investigating if you are looking for a ship that sailed in that area of the world.




SOUTH WEST MARITIME HISTORY SOCIETY

Website of this Society specialising in the maritime history of South West England




TEES-SHIPS

Ron Mapplebeck's site on Tees ships and shipping. Sories and photos of Tees ships through time.




THE TRAINING SHIPS WEBSITE

An excellent site devoted to the various training ships of the 19th & 20th centuries.




REFORMATORY/TRAINING SHIP RECORDS WEBSITE

An excellent site which lists the various 19th & 20th century training ships and includes lists for each of published and unpublished records and their whereabouts.




UNION-CASTLE LINE

A history of the company with ship details and pictures.




WELSH MARINERS

This Excellent site is the result of many years work by Dr Reg Davies. It indexes Master Mariners, Mates and Seagoing Engineers who were born in or worked from Wales.




WHITE STAR LINE

The official history of this Shipping Company with pictures and details of some of their ships.




WHITE STAR LINE

Another site dealing with the history of this Shipping Company & their ships.




WORLD SHIP SOCIETY HOMEPAGE

Details of the Society.




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