Reckon that you've got an Officer's Steward 2nd Class and 1st Class respectively; these were the guys who served the Ward Room. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harvie and Liz Barker" <hebarker@shaw.ca> To: <ENG-HAMPSHIRE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 4:46 AM Subject: [ENG-HANTS] reading Seamans' services records? > Dear listers: > > I just downloaded a Record of Seaman Service from National Archive. I have > one page in front of me...for years 1906-1928 for a seaman born 1885. > > I tried to read through the abbreviations list but still cannot really > determine what I have before me. > > Ship names..next column 'List and no"..? then "rating"...under "rating" I > get some terms as "OFF STEW 2c" and "OFF STD I"..? > > under 'no' column I get "4, 19, 55, 56 etc" > > period of service I can understand..eg 1 Aug 11 to 21 sept 11, > "character" VG Sup...I understand that VG might mean "very good" > accompanied by a date of character entry? > > final column: If discharged, whither cause..."shore paying off"? "R.M > G."?? > > Funniest thing: although the marriage cert for this seaman, listed his > residence n 107 as HMS Flirt, Portsmouth, there is no listing of this ship > in first column > > If anyone can help me interpret my record, i will be very appreciative. > goodness, if these fellows served continuously, how did they have any > family life? and no wonder I can only find one offspring of this marriage! > > thanks Liz of Canada > > > ============================== > Find your ancestors in the Birth, Marriage and Death Records. > New content added every business day. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13964/rd.ashx > >