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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: mylines on Thursday 18 June 09 16:30 BST (UK)
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I'm new please can anyone help me. My grandfather served on aquitania oct 1915 to feb 1916 when it was a hospital ship. Can anyone please guide me to any info about the ship during that period eg where it went, would I be able to find his name on any crew/patient lists?
mylines
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The National Archive have some records online which are searchable
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/about.asp
Registers of Seamen's Services (ADM 139, ADM 188)
Service registers of more than 600,000 seamen in the Royal Navy, 1853- 1923.
Royal Naval Division service records (ADM 339)
Service records of more than 50,000 officers and men who joined the RND, 1914- 1919.
Royal Naval Officers' Service Records (ADM 196)
Service records of officers who joined the Royal Navy between 1756-1917.
RNVR service records from WW1 (ADM 337)
The service records of those who served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during WW1.
If you find a record it costs £3.50 to download.
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There are lots of photos of it when it was built in 1914 for Cunard here
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/search-results/?search_word=aquitania&x=58&y=11
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Many thanks for your help. It isn't quite what I need though. I think my grandfather was in the army, so I don't know why he was on the acquitania. His military records didn't survive.
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Do you know what your grandfather was actually doing on the Aquitania? Was he in the RAMC as a member of staff, or was he a patient? There are some crew lists for the period you mention at The National Archives in class BT100/505, 506 and 507, although I've never looked at them, and can't say what they consist of - whether just naval staff, or RAMC and nursing staff as well. There is also a part war diary for the ship in WO95/4142, but the catalogue details says it only covers the period from August 1916 to April 1917 - would be worth checking to see if there are any more dates available. None of these are online and would need a visit to TNA or a researcher to check.
There are no surviving patient patient admission and discharge registers for the ship, so for patients it depends on a man's service record surviving, except for men of a few units who have medical records held separately (Leicestershire Regiment; Royal Field Artillery; Royal Flying Corps; Grenadier Guards; Corps of Hussars).
Sue