Family Tree Frog

S is for Ships My father and I often have this exchange: Me:  That's a nice boat Him: That's not a boat.  It's a ship. Me: What's the difference? Him: It's too big to be a boat. Me: So how can you tell it's too big. Him: ..... I can't remember what he says next (if it floats, it's a boat is my logic and I tend to tune out to specifics).  I would probably have known the difference between a boat and a ship if I'd listened to him. But I didn't, so I was forced to google it the other day in preparation for this post. (Gasp of shock from fellow librarians)   Google told me that if you can put a boat on another boat, then it's a boat and the other one is a ship.  Or something like that. If you wish to investigate further then you can go here or here. Here's a ship for you. HMAS Choules RAN Can you see all the sailors lined up neatly on the deck? Here is a boat.  And my dear father. These p...

R is for Rodger (and Reading and Really Good Reference) I've been agonizing over what to write for this post.  Have I covered everything I should have covered?  I am not an expert in this area by any stretch of the imagination.  I am still feeling my way round the subject.  Should I write about Ratings , Rigs , or Remittance Registers ?  Did I cover all the right references? Have I been remiss in something?  Oh the agony! A boat at the Garden Island Museum...who can tell me what kind of boat this is? It was in the Garden Island RAN Heritage Centre Picture me thumbing through book after book, seeking inspiration.  I was reminded that I hadn't really looked at Dr. Nicholas Rodger's Naval Records for Genealogists.   I googled him to remind myself of his qualifications. And they are very substantial indeed.  Here is the Wikipedia entry .  Looking at the Authority Control at the bottom of the Wikipedia page is always intere...

Q is for Quartermaster My eyes are dim, I cannot see....from doing too many blog posts for this challenge! Do you remember the Quartermaster's Song?  We used to sing it whenever we went on long car trips usually to the Coast.  It was a lot of fun. I was interested to read that one of the Quartermaster's duties was to steer the ship.  Who knew? I thought the job was all about food.  But then I do tend to think that everything is about food. Or navigating my way to food. Here are some boys under instruction at Greenwich about how to find food.  One of them might have even become a Quartermaster. How are you going with your Blogging from A-Z challenge?  Are you still on course?

P is for Prize Money (and Pensions) When I think of acknowledgement or reward for military service I tend to think of medals.  I had not heard of Prize Money until I came across it in my great-grandfather's record as mentioned in this post. Pappalardo informs us that: It was considerably cheaper for the navy to make use of captured ships rather than build new ones. (p. 127) See!  Recycling has been around for ages! Crews that captured enemy ships were rewarded with prize money.  Y ou can check ADM 238 for Prize Money Lists . You can access British Royal Navy & Royal Marines Service and Pension Records, 1704-1919 on Find My Past here but you need to have a World Subscription at £13 per month or 60 credits at £6.95 which lasts 3 months (the record would cost 10 credits). You should also note that they only include the following as per here: The National Archives series included in this collection are as follows: ADM 6 / 223-320...

O is for HMS Orontes My 2nd great-grandfather James Cook (no, not the James Cook) was a Gunner on the HMS Orontes from 15 June 1879 to 19 July 1879. (ADM 196/31 Warrant Officers Register of Service Image 351). He was 31 years old and had been married for nearly eight years to Caroline (nee Jefferies). His daughter Eleanor (my great-grandmother) was just four years old.   According to this site he would have been paid about  £2 6 per annum.   In the remarks column on his register of service, it says " Naval Brigade 8 Mch 79 to VO (perhaps this is WO??) Orontes 6 to 9 June 79, Hosp.(???) to Cape of Good Hope from 10 June to 11 June 79 ".  Before serving on the Orontes , my great-great-grandfather was serving on the Shah .  His service record lists the period 19 April 78 to 14 June 79. Conrad Dixon's Ships of the Victorian Navy advises us that on the way back from her first commission: Shah was diverted to Natal to land 400 officers, seam...

N is for Newspapers (and Navy Records Society and Nancy Dawson) Regular readers of my blog will know how much my family history research has benefited from digitised newspapers on Trove and overseas newspapers accessed through my National Library of Australia card (free to Australian residents) using their e-resources such as the 19th Century British Newspapers - one of the British Library Newspapers collections - or The Times Digital Archive.   I have been able to trace ship movements and find fascinating stories about my naval ancestors' families.   I visited the National Library of Australia this week in Canberra.  It was a fleeting visit but, as always, the staff never failed to impress me with their professionalism and above all, care.   From the security guard who approached me diplomatically about my enormous handbag and giving me thoughtful instructions on how to best access the lockers downstairs, to the staff who handled our en...

M is for Malta (and Musters) Image taken from page 237 of 'John Cassell's Illustrated History of England. The text, to the Reign of Edward I., by J. F. Smith; and from that period by W. Howitt' from the British Library on Flickr My great-great-grandfather Edward Conner served in Malta - or at least I'm pretty sure he did because the eldest of his children was born there - Edward G Conner in about 1856/7. According to The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea,  (borrowed from my father's library this week during a visit to Sydney), Malta is: a strategically placed island in the central Mediterranean Sea commanding the relatively narrow channel between the southern extremity of Europe and the northern extremity of Africa...i t was the main base of the British Mediterranean Fleet.      (pp. 514-515) ADM 338/51 and ADM 338/52 have records of Baptisms 1845-1959 (Malta, dockyard) and 1924-77 (Malta (Bighi), Royal Naval Hosptial and ...