England Ship Master and Ship Captain Records - International Institute

Certificates of Competency and Service
Certificates of Competency and Service for Masters, Mates and Engineers The earliest masters’ and mates’ certificates date from 1845 but since registration only applied then to foreign-going vessels and did not become compulsory for all vessels until 1850 there are few before this date. The chart below shows the details of what is available, but they have not yet been microfilmed.

Masters' and Mates' Certificates
CHART: Masters’ and Mates’ Certificates

The Home Trade included the coasts of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, and the Continent of Europe between the River Elbe (on which Hamburg is situated, west of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany) and Brest on the NW tip of France.

The rest of the world was divided into Foreign and Colonial. Cooks could obtain certification by examination (Competency) or by long service (Service) from 1906. These records are at the National Maritime Museum for 1915-1958. Certificates for Engineers are at The National Archives (TNA) and are shown below.

Engineers' Certificates
CHART: Engineers’ Certificates

Below is what is recorded on an application for a Master Mariner’s Certificate, and on the certificate itself. Masters’ and mates’ certificates contain less personal information than corresponding registers for ordinary seamen. However, most masters and mates held a register ticket before applying for their certificate so this should also be sought.

Master Mariner's Certificate
CHART: Application for Master Mariner’s Certificate Page 1

Page 2

Master Mariner’s Certificate 

Lloyd’s Captains’ Register
Contains names, birth date and place, certificate number, examination date and place, and services on different ships of those certified masters and mates active at the time.


 * Index for the period 1850-1868 on * or *
 * Originals for the period 1851-1947 are *

CHART: Extract from Lloyd’s Captains’ Registers 1901-1948 John McCALLUM Born Glasgow 1878, passed Glasgow 1900 certificate # 029751. Each appointment and reappointment to each vessel is listed as well as the class of the voyage, summarized here for convenience:

* Collision 17 Jun 1918 with Wandle, the latter being to blame. #Bombed by aircraft and sunk 19 May 1941

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