Royal Naval Division (1914 - 1919)

You can now search and download 50,000 records of those who served in the Royal Naval Division during the First World War. Until now these records have only been available on microfiche at The National Archives.

We have outlined some points to help you understand more about the Royal Naval Division service records. Use the links below to jump to the topics you are interested in.

Introduction

Leading Seaman Stirling - by kind permission of University of Glasgow Roll of Honour

When the First World War began, the Reserves of the Royal Navy were found to have a surplus of thousands of sailors even though the warships were fully crewed. This war would be conducted mainly on land so there was an obvious solution.

Reserves, reserve personnel from the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Fleet Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and a brigade of Royal Marines, Royal Navy and army personnel were brought together at Crystal Palace to form the Royal Naval Division (RND) in September 1914.

The RND was commonly known as "Winston's Little Army" because it was founded by Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty.

The Royal Naval Division fought alongside the army but at first the Admiralty retained control. This contributed to tensions around the RND, as did their observance of naval traditions; for example, the RND used naval ranks, they flew the White Ensign, they were allowed to grow beards and they remained seated during the toast to the King's health.

The names of the battalions reflected naval history. Initially they were:

The RND transferred to France in May 1916. The following month the Division was transferred to Army control. From this time they were known as the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division and they were supplemented by army battalions:

The Royal Naval Division was demobilised in France in April 1919 after an inspection and an address by the Prince of Wales. In June 1919 the Division took part in its final parade and was disbanded.

Searching the service records

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The original records of men who served in the Royal Naval Division were grouped in the series ADM 339/1-2 ( ADM 339/2 lists the Ratings/Other Ranks who were "discharged dead"). Officers' records were grouped in ADM 339/3. Now you can search on details from all the surviving records by entering any or all of the following:

Where no date of birth was recorded in the original document, a date range appears in the search results.

What could RND service records help me to discover?

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You will find surviving service records for anyone who joined between 1914 and 1919. The files hold enormous detail and can reveal:

There is yet more detail in the ratings' service records which also required a physical description:

Some of these records include other details such as place of birth and their swimming ability .

How to interpret a record

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The majority of these records were typed which makes them very easy to read. Some abbreviations are obvious ("V.G." for "very good", "NOK" for "next of kin" etc.). Others are less clear but often these will refer to administrative forms or offices and they do not obscure the personal details.

There are slight variations in the layout. You can see examples below from the service records of a rating and of an officer. The first two images have been extracted from the service record of Able Seaman Harry Haynes.

The first page gives us an idea of his physical appearance and reveals the names and addresses of his mother and of his wife. Although there are no details, this service record indicates that he married after 27 November 1915 and before 23 February 1919. His record also shows that he was a Prisoner of War and the third page gives more detail about this time.

The second example is taken from the service record of the poet, Rupert Brooke, who served as a Lieutenant.

The first page includes the battalions Brooke served in, Anson and Hood, and his mother's name and address, while another page features the report of his death which appeared in "The Times" and the official cause of death. Elsewhere in the record you can find details of his burial place.

Ratings/Other Ranks who died in service were officially recorded as "discharged dead". You can find these two pages in the service record of Leading Seaman Charles Edgar Stirling.

In addition to a physical description and family information, the first page shows that he had been a student when he entered at the age of 18. The second extract from this service record shows that he was reported as having been killed in action in France on 13 November 1916. He was 19 years old. Elsewhere in the record there are details of where he was buried initially, when the body was exhumed and where he was finally laid to rest.

Why can't I find an entry?

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Continuing your research

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It's worth remembering that many of the men who served in the RND had served in another military service. Therefore it might be possible to find service information for an individual, for example, in both the Royal Marines and the RND papers.

The service numbers allocated to ratings joining the RND are:

See the Research guides and further information for more on other service records.

Correspondence between Lord Kitchener and Winston Churchill, and others, has been deposited with The National Archives. These papers are held in PRO 30/57/72 and you can view them on microfilm at The National Archives. You can see samples below.

Diaries

Selected official War Diaries are available from DocumentsOnline, including :

Further RND unit war diaries and operational orders are to be found in WO 95/4290-4291 and ADM 137/3063-3088d. And you can find the private diary of the Rev HC Foster who had been the Chaplain to the 2nd Royal Naval Brigade (Catalogue reference CAB 45/252).

Medals

If you want to search for records about the campaign medals awarded to the Officers and men of the RND start with the Medal Card Index.

If you are researching Gallantry awards see the Research guides and further information. Almost all gallantry awards are published in the official Government newspaper, the London Gazette which you can find in Gazettes on Line

Research guides and further information

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You can search and download Royal Navy service records and research guides.

For information on the records of the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), Royal Marines and the Merchant Navy please click on the links below to see the research guides (these service records are not available from DocumentsOnline).

For information on Gallantry medals see these research guides:

If you would like to read more on using World War One records, these books are available from The National Archives bookshop:

You might be interested in the National Archives First World War online exhibition. And you might find these other websites useful:

The University of Glasgow Roll of Honour

The portrait of Leading Seaman Stirling appears by kind permission of the University of Glasgow Roll of Honour . This website commemorates alumni, staff and Officers Training Corps members who are known to have served in the First World War. In addition to searching the records you can also browse portraits and biographies.