Merchant Navy

[Jaznjjj]

I am hoping someone can educate me please.  Were all sailors who were not military regarded as Merchant Navy or is this an elite group?  Having trouble locating a couple of sailor ancestors. 
Thanks, Jennifer

[IMBER]

I'm not a Merchant Navy expert but to some extent I guess it depends on what they were sailing on and when. Might be best if you put up details of the people and the circumstances so that someone can explore this. There are some really hot MN rootschatters.

Imber

[Jaznjjj]

Thanks Imber, I looked up the Merchant Navy Lists on FindMyPast for two people:

Robert Holland, born Shrewsbury Shropshire in 1861
George Donald Perry, born West Cowes, Isle of Wight in 1858

I haven't been able to match them to entries in the Merchant Navy Lists using year of birth or place of birth though for George Perry there are a number of entries without these facts which I have yet to explore. 

Because they probably arrived in South Australia by being discharged from (or walking away from) their respective ships, there is no immigration record for them, so their ships and year of arrival are unknown.  George some time before 1881, Robert some time before 1891.  George worked on yachts and tugboats at Port Adelaide about and after 1881 and before that was possibly on at least one voyage on wheat or wool clippers.   Robert also lived at Port Adelaide, went away from his family in Australia on long voyages, including some to the United States. 

Ta.

[glsalw]

For merchant navy, read also mercantile marine. This could be cargo vessels or passenger ships, run by private companies.

[Jaznjjj]

Thank you - cargo and/or passenger ships are the go.  If sailors HAD to be in the mercantile navy/marine in that era then they must be in the records somewhere.  What about cabin boys, cooks and such I wonder?  Jennifer

[seaweed]

Central personal record of British Merchant Seamen were not kept between 1857 and 1913
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/merchantseaman1858-1917.htm

[Romilly]

I spent ages looking for Merchant Seamen in my family without success, - and seaweed has pointed out why...

It is frustrating, but there's no way to find them.

Romilly 

[Jaznjjj]

Ahhh!   I still have hopes of locating crew lists - but don't know the names of the ships.  My understanding is that the crew lists are scattered in different repositories throughout the world.  Put this one on the back burner for now.  J.