Records of Scottish maritime deaths to go online

IT’S A litany of tragedy that features such names as Titanic, Lusitania, HMS Hood and hundreds of other Royal Navy and merchant vessels.

Thousands of Scottish crew members died on board such ill-fated ships in the 20th century and now their descendants and historians will be able to check the records of their deaths at sea.

The archive of recorded deaths of Scottish seafarers has gone online for the first time, with some 14,000 entries made available by National Records of Scotland through the ScotlandsPeople website.

They include deaths of Scots – and other crew members of all nationalities – who were serving on British-registered vessels from 1909 to 1974.

Also newly-released online are Returns of Deaths at Sea for the years 1902 to 1905, completing the record since 1855.

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

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.

Tim Ellis, Re g i s t r a r 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.”