Hi Adi, Absolutely no offence taken <g>. Yes I have been through Ancestry (on a recent free weekend as well as in the past) and it was the release of the merchant seamen apprentice records on FMP that got me looking there again (my mum has a subscription). I do have his medal card and his Tower Hill monument inscription and even where the SS John Miles currently lies. We found some further info on past ships in WSRO but, as ever, there are gaps. We are gradually filling them in but I think that we have done the 'easy' parts and now need to undertake some detective work. As with all genealogy it is a case of chipping away at that wall! However I do have more on him (and his brothers) than most of his predecessors as they were Ag Labs and gypsies!! Oh for a pedigree to follow................ Many thanks for your help, Anne > > Hello Anne, > You wrote:"I appreciate that this list is not for 'normal' genealogy but I was wondering (hoping!)?if any mariner's records would have 'extra' info - such as next of kin, address, place of birth etc - similar to military service personnel records." > ?The answer is a *qualified* yes. Some of the sources do have spaces for that sort of information, but they are not consistently enough filled in to be depended upon. > Now I apologize for reading too much into your very first post where you wrote:"I'm new to this list, although not to genealogy. My great grandfather, Emmanuel Tester, was a merchant seaman most of his life and died in 1917 on the SS John Miles. I know a reasonable amount about him through censuses etc but am only just starting to explore his, and possibly his brothers', merchant navy connections. " > Since you had already seen the census-es, that suggested that you had already been through Ancestry and FindMyPast, both of whom have several sets of TNA merchant navy records. Have you? If not, try there next. To best of my knowledge, FMP is always a pay site, but Ancestry can be accessed for free on the in-house computers of many public libraries. > It won't be as easy to find records to trace the career of a cook-and-steward as it would have been if he were a master, mate or engineer, (rueful smile), but then ..... 'twas ever thus - the officers get lots of ink, and the other ranks get next-to-none. > Do you already have your Emmanuel's WWI medal card? You can buy it over the internet for 3.30 GBP by credit card.http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/results/r?_st=adv&_aq=Emmanuel%20tester&_dss=range&_ro=any > Regards,Adi?