Captain X RN

[Kit]

I'm asking this quickly for a friend.

His relative is a called Captain T__ W__ RN.

He is looking in naval records as RN means royal navy.

I know RN also means registered nurse nowdays but back in the 1800's did RN mean anything but the navy?

If the man was in India would RN mean the British navy or would it refer to an Indian navy?

I don't know where the man was born.

I'll be back later. Thanks for looking.

[Janet]

Some general Wikipedia references suggest that you're on the right track with Royal Navy, Toni, but it might be more obvious to someone with better knowledge than myself. You might try some artful Google searches using the real name, though, because as you say RN might mean more than one thing, and in the end it's a specific question: what does RN mean in connection with that particular person?

[Merry]

I wouldn't profess to know a great deal about this, but I'm pretty sure, unlike the army, there was only one Royal Navy.

Officers promotions are listed in The Times newspaper for the Victorian period (and copied into other papers, but I've always had more success looking in The Times). The column heading is "Naval And Military Intelligence" and as long as the person's name isn't Smith searching for

Naval AND theirsurname

gives good results. Once you have done the search, click "people" under "Articles by catagory" as this is where you will find the promotion listings (I think they instead come under "News" for the Gale 19thCentury Newspaper collection)

[annswabey]

It would be worth looking here for a service record - £3-50 to download, if found

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/navy.asp

[Kit]

ooh thanks Ann. I'll have a look and let him know if there is anything there.

[Kit]

oops I missed Janet and Merry.

Janet I have googled his name without success, google keeps wanting to drop the surname. lol

Merry I'll try the papers as you suggested. That is a good idea.

[Uncle John]

There are some Navy Lists on Ancestry. I've found a couple of mine (early 1800s).

[bidston]

hi all, as a registered nurse i can confirm that in the 1800's there were no registered nurses, registration only came in about 1920 if my memory serves me right, i think they were called nurse probationers before that, royal navy sounds right

[Kit]

Thanks UJ, I'll look, I can't remember if I saw them and the dates were wrong or I missed them.

Thanks Bidston, that is useful to know.

[Mary from Italy]

India wasn't independent till the 1940s, so it'd be the British Royal Navy.

[Kit]

Thanks Mary.

I haven't looked at the papers yet but I had tried the ancestry records. Thanks UJ.

I'm beginning to think this man just appeared in India like some of my own rellies. It would make sense as one of his children married one of my family and they just appeared from no where too. :)

[JessBow]

Thanks Mary.

......one of his children married one of my family and they just appeared from no where too. :)

So what is the surname? ....or am i missing something obvious here?

[kiterunner]

I think she's keeping it secret, Jess.

[Kit]

I haven't asked the man if he minds if I put the details online. I can't see why he wouldn't but I haven't heard from him.

I'll email him again and check he doesn't mind, he might even join up, and I'll come back.