Royal Navy 1790's

[Rutha1636]

I have a "Memorandum of the Services of Lieutenant William Anderson" obtained from National Archives.

The first entry is as shown in the attachment in 1798.

I would like to know what the rank is.  It looks like Ord & A.B.  Any ideas on what this is.
This also appears to be his first entry, yet I have a letter he sent home to his mum on 5 April 1796 from London, where he mentions he is on HMS Orwell under Captain Walker.

At the time of the letter he was 16 yo. - quite old for a boy to join the Navy - particularly one who is moving through the officer.  He was listed as Midshipman in 1803 and became Lieutenant in 1806.

On this same Memorandum, the last entry is as Lieutenant on HMS Prospero under Capt J.H. Godby in North Sea (5 Oct 1813 to 18 Jun 1814.

He did not marry until Jun 1826 (in Fife, Scotland).  So what was he doing between 1814 and 1826?

Is anyone able to fill in some blanks for me for the following questions?
1.  What does Ord & A.B. mean
2.  how can I find out when he entered the Navy, and where would the records be before 1798.
3.  When he died in 1837 he was still in the Navy - Lieutenant on half pay, but was the Prospero his last ship?  What happened inbetween 1814 and 1826.

Any help would be appreciated.
Regards Ruth

[KGarrad]

That would be Ordinary Seaman and Able Seaman.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinary_seaman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_seaman_%28rank%29

[andytilley]

The navy has never had or still does not, have ranks " below decks"
It's important to realise, the Royal Navy is still one of the only armed forces that has this awful class system. Lower deckers were and still aren't allowed to fraternise with Officers. you were literally scum of the earth in those days.
Even today the officers still dress up for evening meal in the wardroom with servants (they are called stewards these days) and 3 or 4 course meals, silver service and brandy and cigars after dinner.
The Captain is NOT allowed into the wardroom, ONLY with permission of the 1st Lieutenant (pronounced LUFFtenant, most definitely not LOOtenant as that is the USA way of saying it). He must dine and take stock of his day, in his own cabin, which has all his own facilities. Bath, shower, day cabin, night cabin. He also has his own chef and own steward.
The RN still has these wacky traditions carrying on from many a year gone by.

Ratings are split into groups themselves such as junior (Ord,AB, Leading) and Junior Non Commissioned Officers JNCO(Petty, Chief and WO)
its an age old class system which probably will end up dying out when the military become more and more politically correct

This is just a little info for you
Below decks means literally, the lower rates.
Below officer RANK, everyone is a RATING

Those are the two descriptive ways.
Anyone from Junior right up to Warrant Officer or WO, are ratings
Junior
Ordinary
Able
Leading
Petty Officer
Chief Petty Officer
Warrant Officer

Above this the officers are Commissioned and they are ranked

In the 1700's they were different again these were a Status

They were
Servant
Seaman
Petty officer
Standing officer
Cockpit mate
Cockpit officer
Warrant officer
and above all those Commissioned officer

And in amongst all those were their position

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy_ranks,_rates,_and_uniforms_of_the_18th_and_19th_centuries

[crimea1854]

For an officer, this excludes Midshipmen who were not commissioned, your best bet is to look at the Navy Lists that were published twice a year. If you can get to the National Archives there is a full set on the open access shelves.

Martin

[Rutha1636]

Thank you for this information.
So if he was Ordinary and Able seaman from 1798, then he must have been in the Navy  earlier than that.  Given the separation between the below decks, midshipmen and officers, as able seaman he would have been below decks, yet by 1803 he is midshipman.  I thought it was quite rare for the below ranks to move into the officer class.
I had always assumed he went in to the navy through the officer ranks.  His family were not wealthy or important but we have a letter he wrote to the Earl of Balcarres about an action in the Bay of Rosas, his father was a tenant of the Earl, and I thought maybe the Earl sponsored him into the officer ranks.
It now seems this may not be so.
Unfortunately I live in Australia, so it is a little difficult for me to access the National Archives directly.
What would be the best way to try and find information about him prior to that first entry as ordinary and able seaman in 1798.  Would that be in the Navy lists?
NB  As a 16 yo in 1796 he could read and write.  Unusual I would have though for a below the decks person.
Regards Ruth

[GrahamSimons]

There are online guides to the National Archives' holdings. You can get copies made, but the experience is that this is sometimes very expensive, for example when all you are looking for is one snippet of information in a huge ledger. But if you ask on RootsChat, you may find someone willing to have a look for you. As a start:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/royal-navy-ratings-before-1853/

As I understand it, it was very unusual but not unheard of for a rating to become a midshipman, but there is likely to be some sort of back story here. Looks well worth investigating.

[km1971]

Hi Ruth

The Navy was not as class conscience as people seem to believe. If you look for Midshipman in Wiki it says that a man could become a Midshipman after three years as a volunteer, officer's servant or able seaman.

No doubt the Earl would have provided a reference and money for his uniform. And the ability to read and write would have been mandatory. But the views of his captain would have been the most important factor.

It is a pity he was not alive in 1847 as that is when medals for the wars against France/USA were issued. The man had to claim them himself.  The other main records require you to know his ship.

Ken

[GrahamSimons]

For his officer service, you can trace his ships via the Navy List; some years are now digitised (a quick search with your favourite search engine will do the trick), otherwise there is a complete run in Kew and an incomplete one at the Society of Genealogists.

I've found this book to be an occasional goldmine; again discovered on the shelves at Kew:
A naval biographical dictionary : comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's Navy, from the rank of Admiral of the Fleet to that of Lieutenant, inclusive / compiled from authentic and family documents: William R. O'Byrne, 1849 pub John Murray. It is digitised on www.archive.org - I've just looked for your man and (predictably, I suppose!) it's not too helpful....

[Regorian]

His naval career certainly started off in style. The brand new 3rd Rate ship of the line HMS Dragon. It was a battleship.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dragon_%281798%29.

Added - Can't find an HMS Orwell but there was an HMS Prospero, a bomb ketch.