Passenger list query.

[meelymunch]

My gg cousins husband was travelling by ship from Liverpool to Portland ,Maine in Feb/March 1919.

In the column where it asks who paid for the passage it says Admiralty.
'
On all other passenger lists for my family it says 'self'
Does anyone know why it would say this ?

Cheers, Carole.

[SarahND]

Hi Carole,
Interesting question! What was his occupation? Sounds as if he worked for the Admiralty somehow... k That's all I can think of at the moment!

Regards,
Sarah

[meelymunch]

I'm not sure that he did.

He got married in Scotland in 1917 and he was a Railway porter.
On the 1919 passenger list i'm asking about, his occupation is Porter.

On the passenger list there are only 3 people - all separate, nothing to do with each other.

There's my bloke who says Admiralty paid his passage - he's English - his occupation is a Porter and his last perminant residence says with his wife in Keith,Banffshire.

Where it asks who paid their passage another one says Admiralty - he's Irish - his occupation is a Stoker and his last perminant residence says Royal Navy, Manchester and no family here (he's travelling to his wife in New York)

The other says British Government - he's British - his occupation is an Iron Moulder and his last perminant residence says Dundee,Scotland with his wife.

[SarahND]

Where it asks who paid their passage another one says Admiralty - he's Irish - his occupation is a Stoker and his last perminant residence says Royal Navy, Manchester and no family here (he's travelling to his wife in New York)

Now this one makes more sense, as his last permanent residence was Royal Navy, Manchester. They were sending him home after his service?

Is it possible that you gg cousin's husband had been in the Royal Navy before making a quick trip up to see his wife in Keith?

Regards,
Sarah

[meelymunch]

No he was on his way sailing from Liverpool to Portland having left his last residence in Keith where his wife was.

She actually sailed from Liverpool to Quebec later that year (August 1919) to join her husband)

He was a railway porter in December 1917 --- so unless he joined up 3 years into the war then i'm not sure if he was in the Navy or the forces at all.

[Currie]

Hello Carole,

Were there only three passengers on the ship and all had their fares paid by the British Government in some form or other? If so, it was probably primarily a cargo ship and perhaps the cargo had some relevance to the Admiralty. Perhaps their presence on the ship was employment related but they’re not officially crew. Otherwise why wouldn't he and his wife have travelled together?

What was the full name of the ship and is there any information about it on the list such as owners, official number, tonnage etc. What were the names of the passengers?

Was he in the USA in 1920? If so, what was his occupation on the census and his place of residence?

Alan

[meelymunch]

The ship was the SS Megantic and below is what i found out when i googled it.

He was in the 1920 census in Bridgeport,Conn and his occupation then was a checker (no idea what that is - keep thinking checkout at the supermarket !)

He travelled in the February and his wife travelled in the August - but she was returning her grandson to his parents in the US so maybe that's why they went at different times.

Carole



**************************

Built: 1908, Harland & Wolff, Belfast.
Yard No: 399
Funnels: 1 Masts: 2
Tonnage: 14,878 GRT
Dimensions: 172.2 x 20.5 m / 565 x 67.3 ft.
Engines: Quadruple Expansion by builders.
Twin Screw; 11,000 IHP; 16, max 16.5 kn.
Hull: Steel, 3 Decks.
Passengers: 260-1st Class, 430-2nd Class, 1,000-3rd Class
Crew: Not Listed

Originally laid down for Dominion Line, Liverpool as Albany, she was turned over to White Star Line before launching on December 10, 1909. She was delivered on June 3, 1909 as the Megantic and made her maiden voyage on June 17, 1909 from Liverpool to Montreal. From 1914 until 1917 she was used as a troop transport, and from 1917 until 1919 she operated under the Liner Requisition Scheme. On December 11, 1918 she made her first post-war voyage from Liverpool to New York. In 1919 she was back on the Liverpool to Montreal service again. Her passeneger accommodation had been changed to: 325-1st Class, 260-2nd Class, 550-3rd Class. On January 9, 1920 she made her first voyage for the British Government from Liverpool to Sydney. In 1924 her passenger accommodation was changed again: 452-Cabin Class, 260-2nd Class, 550-3rd Class. In 1927 the Megantic made one voyage to China as troop transport. Her route changed again when on March 22, 1928 she made her first voyage from London to New York via Halifax. On April 19, 1928 she went back on the London to Monteal service. In 1931 she moved to the Liverpool-Quebec-Montreal service. In July 1931 she was laid up in Rothesay Bay. In February 1933, the Megantic left for Osaka, Japan for breaking up.
*************************

[SarahND]

Hi all,
As I'm looking at the list for the Megantic, sailing from Liverpool to Portland, Maine in Feb/March (arriving March 6) I see 27 pages in the manifest, 17 pages of different people (aliens have a two-page form). Some of the pages only have 1 or 2 people listed on them; others are full. There are a total of 214 passengers: 93 US citizens; 73 In Transit; 48 Aliens

On the page you are speaking of, the iron moulder is a U.S. citizen.
Both the stoker and the porter, although not U.S. citizens, are exempt from the head-tax.
Stoker has PR 47 R.N.R.7 (dis) written above name
Porter has P.R. 44 Dis from R.N.R.7.

No one else has something like that above their name. Looks to me, as I ignorantly try to interpret the shorthand, that they were both in the Royal Navy and had both been discharged. Perhaps some of our military members will know exactly what it says.

All the best,
Sarah

[meelymunch]

Do you think R.N.R.7 means he was in the reserves and not the Navy proper ?

As i said before in Dec 1917 he stated on his marriage cert that he was a railway porter - no mention of being in the forces.

What did people do if they were in the reserves ? Surely being Naval it would have something to do with the sea ?

Carole.

[WilmaM]

What did people do if they were in the reserves ? Surely being Naval it would have something to do with the sea ?

I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but as I understand it those who were called up for militery service during the 1st and 2nd World Wars , and those who did thier National Service, were automaticaly placed in 'reserve' until they were 45 years of age.

They had no further dealings with the forces unless another conflict called them back up, so just resummed thier normal life and occupation again. Some may have continued to use the skills learned during thier time but most would not.

My Gfather fought in WWI but carried on as a farm labourer then dock labourer - he was 45 when WWII broke out but docking was a reserved occupaation anyway. His Demob card says "Transferred to Army Reserve"
My Dad was RAF National Service but knew he could be liable for call up again at any point until the 1980's.