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A complete record of the deaths of Scottish seafarers from late Victorian times until 1974 is now available online for the first time.

Also newly-released online are records of emigrants who died at sea between 1902-1905, completing the series beginning in 1855 which is already online through ScotlandsPeople.

They list Scottish seamen, including many fishermen who drowned in Scottish waters, emigrants who did not reach their hoped-for destination and those who served in the Royal Navy.

Many of the deaths off the north-west coast of Scotland were of men who drowned after falling or being accidentally knocked overboard from fishing boats.

It includes John MacIver who was a deck hand from Swordale in Lewis. He drowned, aged 34 years, on 21 Nov 1905 some ten miles north-west of Gairloch Head in the Minch while working on the Stornoway-registered boat, the ‘Grateful.’

Recorded deaths of Scottish seafarers online for the first time

 

29 August 2015  

Over 14,000 new records are being made available by National Records of Scotland through the ScotlandsPeople website.

The records also contain hundreds of entries for Scottish sailors, engineers and other crewmen who died in every corner of the world, whether at sea, or in foreign ports or hospitals.

It includes Deaths of Seamen listing Scots along with other crew members of all nationalities who were serving on British-registered vessels, 1909-1974. This includes crewmen on the Titanic.

Tim Ellis, Registrar General and Keeper of the Records of Scotland, said: “The Returns of Deaths of Seamen and Deaths at Sea open a window into the lives of Scots seafarers in the first half of the twentieth century.

"They reveal the dangers experienced by seamen and passengers alike, and provide useful information for anyone wishing to discover more about their ancestors.

"Our commitment at National Records of Scotland is to continue to extend digital access to the key records that researchers want.”