Enrollment options
Optional Course Print Material: English/Scottish: Occupations - Military and Services
*Course material will only be sent to students who are registered in the course.
Family history is more than just collecting names, dates, and places. In their efforts to recreate the lives of their ancestors, diligent researchers will endeavour to find details about home, schooling, work, and community. They will search for pictures of people, places, and events connected to the family to give visual impact to the history. The family historian can also discover much about the occupations of these ancestors. This course and the companion course English: Occupations-Professions and Trades deals with other methods of earning a livelihood. The extensive material on the occupations and on individuals is waiting to be used in archives, libraries, and FamilySearch and its Family History Centers/Affiliate Libraries.
This course will help you learn what material is available and how to use this material to help you recreate the lives of your ancestors. English: Occupations - Military and Services will deal with the use of army, militia, navy, merchant marine, and many other services records in genealogy. These include police, customs and excise, railways, and post office employees. Background information on each service will be included with copious references for further study. Listings and examples of the major record types for each branch will be included. The student will be well prepared to launch into researching these occupational records.
Course Length: 9 weeks
MODULE 1
OCCUPATIONS - MILITARY & SERVICES
Defence Services
General Military Records
Army Organization
How to Determine the Regiment
Infantry Organization
Cavalry Organization
Royal Artillery Organization
Royal Engineers Organization
Army Ranks
MODULE 2
ARMY HISTORY
Army Records
Records of all Personnel
Medals & Awards
Prisoners of War
Transfer of Commissions
Service Records
Records of Other Ranks
First World War Records
Records After World War I
Records of Royal Artillery WO 69
Records of Royal Engineers
Records of Ancillary Services
Military Hospitals, Institutes & Schools
MODULE 3
ROYAL MARINES
Duties of the Royal Marines
History of the Royal Marines
Royal Marines Records
MILITIA
History of the Militia
Militia Records for Family History
Muster Rolls
Parish Poor Law Records
MODULE 4
EAST INDIA COMPANY & COLONIAL REGIMENTS
History of the East India Company
East India Company Records
Discharge List from Indian Army
Colonial Regiments
MODULE 5
ROYAL AIR FORCE
History of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force Records
ROYAL NAVY
History of Royal Navy
Organization of Royal Navy
Royal Navy Records
Lieutenants Passing Certificates
Trafalgar Ancestors
Commissioned Officers’ Service Registers
Records of Royal Navy Ratings
Ships’ Musters
Records Useful for all Sailors
Ship’s Logs
Navy Pensioners & Sailors’ Widows & Orphans
Trinity House Petitions
Royal Bounty
Naval Wills
Bringing Your Navy Ancestors to Life
Naval Museums & Libraries
Societies
Other Naval Records
MODULE 6
WATER TRANSPORT SERVICES
Introduction
Merchant Marine
Shipping
Civil Registration for Ships
Census Records for Ships
Officers
Certificates of Competency & Service for Masters, Mates & Engineers
Lloyd’s Captains’ Register
Registers of Seamen
Agreements, Crew Lists & Muster Rolls
Log Books
Pensions
Merchant Seamen in the World Wars
East India Company Merchant Records
Passenger Lists
Illustrating Your Seaman’s History
Inland Waterways
Definitions
Records of Watermen & Lightermen
History of Canals
Life & Records of Canal Boatmen
MODULE 7
COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
Road Transportation
Railways
Post Office
Post Office Archives
MODULE 8
LAW & ORDER, FIRE & RESCUE SERVICES
Police
History of Police
Fire Services
Customs, Excise, & Coastguard
History of Customs & Excise
History of the Coastguard
Lifeboats & Lighthouses
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