WW1 Naval Casualties
Discover if your ancestor served in the British Royal Navy in WW1. Search the records of more than 43,000 sailors who died between 1914 – 1920 and find out their place of birth, the ship they served on and the name and whereabouts of their next of kin.
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Discover if your ancestor served in the British Royal Navy in WW1. Search the records of more than 43,000 sailors who died between 1914 – 1920 and find out their place of birth, the ship they served on and the name and whereabouts of their next of kin.
Learn about these records
Each record contains a transcript of the original entry. The amount of information varies but you can find out the following about your ancestor:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Date of death
- Service number
- Rating
- Service
- Name of ship or unit
- Cause of death
- Where buried
- Next of kin notified of death
There are 43,930 records.
While the majority of WW1 casualties were military there was still significant loss of life among those at sea, forming a valuable source for anyone tracing their family history. The bodies of half of those who died at sea were never recovered and disease still accounted for around one fifth of the fatalities.
The greatest naval engagement of the First World War, the Battle of Jutland, from May 31st to June 1st 1916 off the coast of Denmark. More than 6,000 men lost their lives, as well as six cruisers and eight destroyers.
The records show the cause of death for each sailor and also note who was notified and where the grave was.