Character books

• Reference:GB 248 UGC 199/1/5
• Dates of Creation:1864-1951
• Physical Description:
  3 volumes

• Scope and Content

  Entries in all three volumes record the name of each crew member, ship served on, ship Master, rank of crew member, certificate, service dates from and to and a character report. Multiple entries have been made for most crew members. The pages are numbered and each volume contains an alphabetical index of crew members. For departments and time periods:

  • Book 1: Stewards, deck and engine department, 1864-1907;
  • Book 2: Deck and engine department, 1895-1919;
  • Book 3: Deck and engine department, 1918-1927.

• Administrative / Biographical History

  Character reports for crew serving on Wm Thomson & Co sailing ships and thereafter for crew managed by Wm Thomson across Ben Line ships and Leith and St Petersburg Shipping Co (Petrograd Steamers) ships.

• Arrangement

  Arranged chronologically within record series.