SS Aegean 1914

[Doc Vernon]

There is a

Reference:	BT 389/28/32
Description:	Ship Name: St. Aidan Gross Tonnage: 362
Date:	1939-1946
Held by:	The National Archives, Kew

Is this the same sip, as i cannot find trace of just Aidan??

The NA also has Records on the Aegaeon.
Cheers

Ship Aegaeon , official number: 163308. When built: 1910. Registry closed: 1936. | The National Archives

[Mark Smith]

Thinking about it in the cold light of day it's unlikely that he had anything to do with the SS Aidan, I got overexcited seeing Galveston, Texas and the date. I also had a brief sense of elation when I came across the Aegaeon, but that subsided when I found out it was only renamed in 1949 having sailed as the Princess Alice since 1911.
The ship Aegean will remain a mystery I'm sure, to go with other maritime mysteries.

The other thing I can't grasp from the official documents are the movements of the SS Blairhall in January and February 1915 as mentioned a few posts back; Hull, Glasgow, Marsaille none of it seems logical to me. So I'm going to be a cheeky *** and ask if anyone is going to Kew and they have a spare hour could they look up the log of the Blairhall ref BT165/1311 giving details of its voyage 13 Jan to 19 August 1915, I'm only interested in its movements up to 8 February when G H Taylor was discharged at Glasgow.
If this is beyond the Pale I apologize.

[Doc Vernon]

You can get that Copy for quite a good price as i see it ??
Cheers

1. Page check request

Title: Extracted Logs: Ship's name CLAN OGILVY Official Number 137782 Date of Voyage 25...
Catalogue reference: BT 165/1311
Covering dates: 1915
Certified copy: No
Instructions: Reference: BT 165/1311 Description: Extracted Logs: Ship's name BLAIRHALL Official Number 137783 Dates of Voyages 13 January 1915 - 19 August 1915 and 23 August 1915 - 18 November 1915.
Price: £8.40
Remove

Total: £8.40

[Mark Smith]

Against his name in the register when he signed on to the Aegean in December 1913 it says "dis A not produced". I assume that means he had no discharge papers from his previous ship. This gives me further reason to believe that the Aegean didn't exist, he and the two who joined with him, made it up to allow themselves to be signed on giving the impression they had maritime experience.
I know that less than five months earlier Taylor was a farm boy from Texas living in Oklahoma.

[Mark Smith]

Sorry, that should be signed on to the Oslo in December 1914.

[Doc Vernon]

I know how frustrating this is for you and many of us trying to help Mark, however i dont think that you are correct in surmising that there was no ship called the Agean that he served on, as those Ship Registers that are Posted with the names of the Ships People served on, were done by as i have said either the Captain, or someone in authority to do it!
Crew Members could not just give a fictitious name of a Ship to be entered , the names were taken from all previous Logs!
Well that is as far as i have been told, and seen on the Ships entries! So ????
Cheers

[j.sabourn]

If going back to the 19th. And early 20th century’s I would imagine bookkeeping would not be of the best. And as computers weren’t even invented and most of the population were illiterate mistakes were inevitable. Even names on birth certificates were spelt wrong at times even my own name was spelt wrong by some older members of the family. Just a small tip for the many who are not seafarers looking for ancestors, gross and net tonnages are not titles of weight , they are symbols of cubic capacity of 100 cubic feet to a ton. Roughly for your purposes to give an idea of size gross is total cubic and net is minus engine room , this is only roughly as there are other addittions and exceptions. JS.

[Mark Smith]

Hypothetically could you back in 1914 sign on to a ship without papers? If "dis A not produced" means he had no discharge book/papers from his previous vessel could he have simply said he'd served on a fictional ship and been taken on that way without any checks? I wartime especially I'm guessing ship owners weren't too fussy about getting a full crew no questions asked.

[j.sabourn]

I would say yes. Most on this site refer to British Federated ships a much later shipping act for British Ships. There were in 1914 plenty of other maritime flags who had different rules of engagement , it would in many cases be up to the master if he thought the person looking for employment had sufficient descriptive documents to satisfy an immigration officer, he would be signed on the ships articles as sailor , a rank which is very common on at least some of the foreign flags I sailed on. That is my view , satisfactory or not, others may have a more solid answer. But unless they have experienced foreign flagged vessels they will quote you what they know the custom regarding British vessels of a much later date. JS

[Mark Smith]

Your reference to the position of "sailor" is interesting. I'm seen several crew lists from a century and more ago with the usual fireman, donkeyman, trimmer etc while some are simply listed as sailor, I've often wondered why.