What is the meaning of the word maru in the names of Japanese boats? What is the meaning of the word maru in the names of Japanese boats? "Maru" in a ship's name Photo credit: Ciro Cattuto Used under a Creative Commons licence . The names of many Japanese merchant vessels such as Nippon maru ( 日本丸 ) end in maru ( 丸 ), a Japanese word meaning "round". The earliest recorded instance of a ship with this name ending is the Bandou-maru ( 坂東丸 ) recorded in a document of the Niwaji ( 仁和寺 ) temple in 1187, during the Heian era (794-1185). The word maru was also used in infant names of boys, yōmyō, yōmei ( 幼名 ), the infant name of Miyamoto no Yoshitsune ( 源義経 ), in the names of swords, such as Onimaru ( 鬼丸 ), one of the Imperial treasures, and parts of Japanese castles called kuruwa.

The origin of the maru in the names of boys is said by some to have come from a Japanese word for excrement, maro, or from potty, o-maru, in an effort to ward off demons by giving the child an unpleasant name. Another explanation is that it came from the similar maro ( 麻呂,麿 ), as in the name of the famous Ukiyo-e artist Utamaro ( 歌麿 ). For the names of boats, multiple explanations have been proposed since the Edo period (1603-1867), including that it comes from the boy's name ending maru, or from the name ending maro ( 麿 ) used for objects of affection, from the logs, maruta ( 丸太 ), used to build the boats, from the round, tub-like shape of early vessels, from the name of a Chinese figure, Hakudoumaru ( 白童丸 ), said to have descended from heaven and taught shipbuilding, from the name of wholesalers, once known as monmaru ( 問丸 ), the maru of whose name was then transferred to the boats, or from the castle-like nature of the ships.

Names ending in maru were popular during the Edo period (1603-1867), and a Japanese shipping law of 1900 (Meiji 33) said "船舶ノ名称ニハ成ルベク 其ノ末尾ニ丸ノ字ヲ附セシムルベシ" (As far as possible, ships should be given names ending in the character "maru".) Jim Breen's original answer In the 1905 edition of Basil Hall Chamberlain's "Things Japanese" he says of maru "It is often asked: what does the word Maru mean in the names of ships ...?" His answer is: the real meaning is obscure it is probably merging of two words: maru and maro, which was a term of endearment. it used to be used for swords, armour, parts of castles, etc. too.

Noah and Human Etymology | The Institute for Creation Research Noah and Human Etymology Evidence for Creation As traditions of the universal flood spread around the world with the post-Ararat migrations, the venerable name of Noah traveled with them.1 This seems especially evident by way of the ancient Sanskrit language and the name Manu. The Sanskrit term may in turn have come from an equivalent word in the so-called "Proto-Indo-European" language. Manu was the name of the flood hero in the traditions of India. He, like Noah, is said to have built an ark in which eight people were saved. It is highly probable that Noah and Manu were thus the same individual. "Ma" is an ancient word for "water," so that Manu could mean "Noah of the waters." In the Hebrew Old Testament, the words "water" and "waters" are both translations of mayim, with the syllable yim being the standard Hebrew plural ending.

The "ma" prefix could well be the original form of mar and mer (Spanish and French for, "sea," both from the Latin mare) and thus of such English words as "marine." In Sanskrit, the name Manu appropriately came to mean "man" or "mankind" (since Manu, or Noah, was the father of all post-flood mankind). The word is related to the Germanic Mannus,2 the founder of the West Germanic peoples. Mannus was mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus in his book Germania.3 Mannus is also the name of the Lithuanian Noah.4 Another Sanskrit form, manusa is closely related to the Swedish manniska,5 both words meaning "human being." The same name may even be reflected in the Egyptian Menes (founder of the first dynasty of Egypt) and Minos (founder and first king of Crete). Minos was also said in Greek mythology to be the son of Zeus and ruler of the sea.6 The English word "man" is thus also related to the Sanskrit manu, as well as its equivalents in other Germanic languages.

Gothic, the oldest known Germanic language, used the form Manna, and also gaman ("fellow man"). The name Anu appears in Sumerian as the god of the firmament, and the rainbow was called "the great bow of Anu,"7 which seems a clear reference to Noah (note Genesis 9:13). In Egyptian mythology Nu was the god of waters who sent an inundation to destroy mankind.8 Nu and his consort Nut were deities of the firmament and the rain. Nu was identified with the primeval watery mass of heaven, his name also meaning "sky."9 In Africa, the king of the Congo (the Congo Empire once included the entire Congo basin, now incorporating the territories of Angola, Zaire, Cabinda and the Congo Republic) was called Mani Congo. "Mani" was a noble rank given to great chiefs, ministers, governors, priests and the king himself.

This empire, in fact, was once called the Manikongo Empire.10 In Europe, the prefix "ma" seems often to have taken the form da, which is an old word for "water" or "river." This led to the name "Don" in England and Russia and "Danube" in the Balkans. The first Greeks living in the coastal regions were called Danaoi, or "water people."11 Variants of the name Danube have included Donau, Dunaj, Duna, Dunau, and Dunay. The root of all of these names is danu, which means "river" or "flowing."12 The Latvian river Dvina was formerly called Duna, so it also is from the same Indo-European root word danu. The similarity of danu to manu is evident.13 From India, the Sanskrit "manu" also traveled east. In Japan, "manu" became "maru," a word which is included in the name of most Japanese ships. In ancient Chinese mythology, the god Hakudo Maru came down from heaven to teach people how to make ships. This name could well relate to Noah, the first shipbuilder.

The custom of including "maru" in the names of Japanese ships seems to have started between the 12th and 14th centuries. In the late 16th century, the warlord Hideyoshi built Japan's first really large ship, calling it "Nippon Maru." In Japanese "maru" also seems to mean a round enclosure, or circle of refuge, so that the circle is considered to be a sign of good fortune. Noah's ark, of course, had been the first great enclosure of refuge. The aboriginals of Japan are called Ainu, a word which means "man."14 The word mai denotes "aboriginal man" in some of the Australian aboriginal languages. In Hawaii, mano is the word for "shark," as well as the name for the shark god.

A hill on the island of Molokai is named Puu Mano ("hill of the shark god").15 The word for "mountain" is mauna, and it may also be that Hawaii's great volcanic mountains (Mauna Loa, for example, is the largest and most active volcano in the world) reminded its first settlers of Mount Ararat, also a great volcanic mountain, so that they named such mountains after the name of their ancestor Manu or Noah. Ararat, by the way, is the same as Armenia in the Bible. The prefix "Ar" means "Mountain," so that "Armenia" probably means "the mountain of Meni." On the American continent, "manu" seems to have been modified into several forms. In the Sioux language, it took the form minne, meaning "water." Thus, Minneapolis means "city of water," Minnesota means "sky blue water," etc. In the Assiniboine language, "minnetoba" meant "water prairie." This name is preserved in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

However, this word may also have been derived from the Cree and Ojibiva-Saulteaux languages, in which "manitoba" meant "the place of the Great Spirit." Manitou ("the Great Spirit") was the chief god among Algonquins.16 Even in South America can be found traces of the ancient name Manu. The name of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, comes from the Nahuatl managuac, which means "surrounded by ponds." Francisco Lopez de Gomara, secretary to the Conqueror Cortez, has given an account of the fabled city of Manoa, supposed to be the capital of El Dorado, the city of gold. Manoa (meaning "Noah's water") was said to be a dead city high in the Sierra Parina between Brazil and Venezuela.17 The Brazilian city Manaus on the Amazon River was named after the aboriginal Indian tribe Manau which once dominated the region. In Bolivia there is a town of Manoa and a river called Manu in Peru. In fact, several rivers include "manu" in their names—Muymanu, Tahuamanu, Pariamanu, Tacuatimanu, etc.

In the Department of Madre de Dios, where all these rivers are located, "manu" is understood to mean "river" or "water." One of the provinces of this department is, in fact, named Manu and another Tahuamanu. The Egyptian hieroglyph for "water" was written as a wavy line. When the alphabet was invented, this symbol became the letter "m," representing mayim, the Semitic word for "water." In the Phoenician of 1300-1000 B.C. it was called Mem, which was later called Mu in Greek and finally Em among the Romans."18,19 Another reflection of the name Noah may have been the Assyrian word for "rain," zunnu.20 Janus, the two-headed god (from which the name of our month of January is derived) was regarded by the earliest inhabitants of Italy as both the father of the world and the inventor of ships, later as the god of portals. All of these concepts would be appropriate for Noah.

It is not impossible that the name Janus could originally have been a combination of "Jah" and "Noah," thus meaning "Noah's Lord." In Norse mythology, Njord was the god of ships, living at Noatun, the harbor of ships. In this language, the syllable "noa" is related to the Icelandic nor, meaning "ship."21 Similarly the original Sanskrit word for "ship" is nau. This root has developed even in English into such words as "navy," "nautical," "nausea," etc.22 This word could very well be still another variant of "Noah," the first master shipbuilder. Further, there is Ino, a sea-goddess in Greek mythology, and the Greek word naiade, meaning "river nymph."23 Many other examples might be cited. Thus, Noah and the waters of the great Flood are not only recalled in the ancient traditions of all nations, but their names have also become incorporated in many and varied ways into the very languages of his descendants.

The trails are tenuous and often almost obliterated, so that some of the inferred connections are speculative and possibly mistaken, but the correlations are too numerous to be only coincidental, thus adding yet one more evidence for the historicity of the worldwide Flood. References 1 This study is necessarily exploratory and somewhat speculative. Nevertheless, it is fascinating, and the etymological correlations seem too numerous and detailed to be coincidental. 2 See the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 3 Tacitus, The Agricula and the Germania, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1970, p. 102. 4 Kolosimo, Peter, Not of This World, London, England: Sphere Books, Ltd., 1975, p. 171. 5 See the Syensk Etymologisk Ordbok. 6 Ceram, C. W., Gods, Graves and Scholars, Middlesex, England: Penguin Pelican Books, 1974, pp. 79-83. 7 Sandars, N. K, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Middlesex, England: Penguin Classics, 1960.

8 Tomas, Andrew, Atlantis from Legend to Discovery, London: Sphere Books, Ltd., 1972, p. 25. 9 Spence, Lewis, Myths and Legends of Egypt, London: George C. Haffap & Co., Ltd., 1915. 10 Hall, Richard, Discovery of Africa, Melbourne, Australia: Sun Books, Ltd., 1970, p. 67. 11 See article on El Correo, published by Unesco, April 1960, p. 27. 12 See National Geographic Magazine, October 1977, p. 458. 13 There is no actual documentation of a phonetic change from "ma" to "da," although such would have been quite possible, especially in view of the similar meanings of derivatives. 14 Furneaux, Rupert, Ancient Mysteries, London: Futura Publications, Ltd., 1976. 15 Pukui, Mary Kawens, and Elbert, Samuel H., Place Names of Hawaii, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1966. 16 See brochure published by Manitoba Historical Society in Winnipeg, Canada.

17 Kolosimo, Peter, Timeless Earth, London: Sphere Books, Ltd., 1974, pp. 136, 215. 18 Laird, Charlton, The Miracle of Language, New York: Fawcett World Library, 1967, p. 177. 19 Pei, Mario, Language for Everybody, New York: Pocket Books, Inc., 1958, p. 182. 20 Cleator, P.E., Lost Languages, New York: New American Library of World Literature, 1962, p. 105. 21 Filby, Frederick A., The Flood Reconsidered, London: Pickering and Inglis, 1970, pp. 55-57. 22 Hellquist, Elof, Svensk Etymologisk Ordbok, Lund, Sweden: C.W.K. Gleerups Forlag, 1966, p.701. 23 Cuerber, H. A., The Myths of Greece and Rome, London: George G.

Harrap and Co., Ltd., 1948, p.235. * The Author: Bengt Sage is an Australian businessman whose avocation is the study of languages and etymology. He was born in Sweden and, in his younger days, traveled to every continent in the merchant navy. He received a diploma in Bible through correspondence studies in the Spanish language, and became committed to creationism as a result of reading The Bible and Modern Science in its Spanish translation. Cite this article: Bengt Sage. 1980. Noah and Human Etymology . Acts & Facts. 9 (5). Naming Convention of Japanese Navy Ships | World War II Database World War II Database » Naming Convention of Japanese Navy Ships Naming Convention of Japanese Navy Ships Contributor: C. Peter Chen Pre-WW2 In the early days of Japanese naval forces, the Minister of the Navy determined the name of every major naval vessel built for naval service, which was submitted to the Emperor for approval. For the ships given to the Japanese Navy by the local Shogun, the original names were retained. Two names were usually given to the Emperor, and the Emperor chose the one that appealed to him more.

Starting on 23 Mar 1867, the task of naming torpedo boats was entrusted to the Minister of the Navy. In 1891, the system was altered slightly so that the suggested names were submitted to the Lord Chamberlain first, who in turn passed them on to the Emperor. On 23 Apr 1895, Minister of the Navy Gonbei Yamamoto proposed a system in which battleships and heavy cruisers were to be named as provinces and national shrines. On 16 May 1902, the naming of destroyers was similarly given to the minister. On 16 Jan 1921, all ships except for battleships, battlecruisers, and cruisers were named by the Minister of the Navy without the need for Emperor's approval. During the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, captured Chinese ships in many cases retained their names, although the pronunciations of the ships' names were changed from their original Chinese pronunciations to the Japanese kanji pronunciations. For example, the Chinese battleship Chen Yuan became Chin'en when she was put into Japanese Navy service.

Captured Russian ships during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 were renamed to Japanese names. There was no strict convention for the naming of the captured Russian ships. Some were phonetically renamed, while others were renamed based on the location or date of the battles in which the ships were captured. Some captured Chinese ships were renamed similarly. Beginning in 1904, the Japanese Navy began adopting an official naming convention that was based on Yamamoto's proposal of 1895. Names of provinces, mountains, rivers, etc. began to appear. WW2 By the time of WW2, the Japanese Navy had standardized the convention of ship naming to the following, based on ship type: Ship Type Itsukushima , an island in the Inland Sea Torpedo boats Birds In regards to the various names of Japan noted for battleships above, they were typically elegant or mythical names of the country. For example, Yamato referred to the Yamato Period of ancient Japan (250-710 AD). Foreign ships captured were sometimes pressed into Japanese service. Much like earlier practices, captured ships were renamed into Japanese names.

The Chinese cruiser Ning Hai, for example, was sunk in Sep 1937, towed back to Japan, and recommissioned as the light cruiser Ioshima . Japanese civilian ships of the era, even those commandeered for military use, did not follow a strict naming convention. However, most civilian ships had the suffix Maru. Meaning "circle", Maru was often attached to Japanese ships, with the first being 16th century Daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ship Nippon Maru. The origin of this name is unknown today, though it is popularly believed that it originated from the concept of the circle of defenses (moats, castle walls, etc.) that were often found around important cities, with ships often regarded as floating cities, a notion shared by western mariners as well. Other theories for the suffix also exist, some mythical in origin and others philosophical. Today, most Japanese civilian ships still follow this naming convention. The diesel-powered freighter Kinai Maru was an example of a ship having the suffix.

Post-WW2 While WW2-era ship names were often written in kanji, which was the Japanese adaptation of Chinese characters, the post-war Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force uses hiragana characters to write the ship names. This change displeased many older naval personnel, but the change was considered a critical symbolism reflecting the change of philosophy from the aggressive WW2-era navy to that of the defensively-minded post-war one. Many of the WW2-era ship names were re-used for the ships of the post-WW2 naval force, although there was no naming convention in terms of ship type, unlike the system used during WW2. Romanization and Pronunciation Romanization of Japanese ship names was done only to aid non-Japanese speakers; Romanized names carry no legal or official validity in the Japanese Navy. Most English printed material used the Hepburn system to Romanize the names. With the Hepburn system, the pronunciation is typically close to what is perceived by English speakers. A common pitfall for English speakers is the failure to differentiate "e" and "i" in Romanized Japanese words.

For example, the "e" and "i" in the word kamikaze are often both mistakenly pronounced with the "i" sound; it should be read as "kah-mee-kah-zeh". The battleship Hiei also causes some frustration; in this specific case, it is pronounced "hee-eh-ee". One additional item to keep in mind with pronunciation is that the Japanese language does not place stress in the same way as English. It is tempting to stress the second-to-last syllable, such as in Musashi where the "sa" syllable is incorrectly accented, when in actuality all four syllables should be pronounced with the same weight. One thing that may help is to slightly stress the first syllable of a word, and then read the remaining syllables with equal weight. With this technique, Musashi may be read as "MU-sa-shi". The pronunciation of Romanized Japanese words is beyond the scope of this article.

Below are several guides of the Japanese language, with particular focus on pronunciation, should there be further interest: Wikipedia: Table of Japanese kana Misconceptions The British Royal Navy and the United States Navy place prefixes before ship names, with the prefixes being HMS for "His/Her Majesty's Ship" and USS for "United States Ship", respectively. Sometimes Western authors extend this practice when referring to WW2-era Japanese ships, with IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) and HIJMS (His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Ship) being the most popular prefixes used. This practice is entirely western and has no equivalent in the WW2-era Japanese Navy. Since most Japanese heavy capital ships in the WW2 period were named after names of provinces, mountains, rivers, etc., the origins of these names were proper names in nature. However, in western publications, they are sometimes translated by the meanings of the words when they were meant to be understood only by the locations they refer to.

William Lise posed a good example in his article "Naming of Warships in the Imperial Japanese Navy": The cruiser Aoba might be glossed as "green leaf" but the Japanese wouldn't think of doing so, because Aoba is treated as a unit, without regard to the individual meanings of the constituent characters.... With noted exceptions, this is similar to many city names in the US, for example. Upon encountering the name Indianapolis, few people need to think of this as an "Indian city" to understand the city being referred to. Note of Interest Unlike other contemporary navies, the WW2-era Japanese Navy did not have any ships named after people. Sources: Naming of Warships in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Wikipedia. Share this article with your friends: 12 Feb 2008 06:52:24 PM "Note of Interest Unlike other contemporary navies, the WW2-era Japanese Navy did not have any ships named after people." So what about the Musashi? :S 2. 13 Feb 2008 05:01:38 AM Battleship Musashi was named after the Musashi Province. 3.

Anonymous says: 13 Jul 2008 04:43:11 PM what about japanese frieghters during ww2? 4. Anonymous says: 20 Oct 2008 01:10:57 PM what kind of japanese ships are there in ww2 5. Tom Warm says: 12 Nov 2011 12:24:08 PM Hi! Nice site!! I am looking for information about a 2nd class Japanese destroyer. As I understand it, it was commissioned in 1924 as Guardship Kikyo, and renamed in 1928 as Destroyer Wakatake. It was sunk in 1944 near Palau. I don't find Kikyo nor Wakatake in your list of destroyers. I have 1943 US Navy binoculars with Guardship Kikyo (in Japanese) painted on the waterproof case. My brother-in-law confiscated the binoculars from a Japanese marine in 1946 in Tokyo.

I am trying to find out how the Japanese got hold of the binoculars, and why they painted Guardship Kikyo on it. Anything you can suggest would be appreciated. Thanx, 9 Sep 2012 04:57:32 AM Great informative site and nice to see.thanks. 7. David L says: 28 Jan 2013 04:39:03 PM Why do some IJN WWII ships appear to have a western style hull number on the bow, and most do not. Thank you! 8. JAY E. WICHMANN says: 4 Aug 2014 02:26:31 PM Whatever the ancient origins of the word "maru" are, when used as an identifier for non-warship vessels, it should be thought of simply a word that came to stand for "merchant" (ship): i.e., "round bellied.") Hence the famous "Hikawa Maru" stood for "Fiery-River Merchant." 9. N.

Chab says: 14 May 2016 04:36:53 PM In the book, THE CACTUS AIR FORCE the author mentions the sinking of 3 Japanese transport ships (troop?). They are named: Arizona Maru, Niagra Maru, and Brisbane Maru. Why the western names on Japanese troop transports? Were any other Japanese ships with western names? 10. Nicholas says: 19 Oct 2016 04:14:44 AM Hi , I am trying to research a ship called "Hiyei" or at least thats how it appears to be. It is hand written on a painting on sllk. Dated 1902. It May be "hiyii" or similar as it is hand writing & difficult to decipher. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks Research guide C10: The Merchant Navy: World War Two | Royal Museums Greenwich | UNESCO World Heritage Site In London Research guide C10: The Merchant Navy: World War Two Research guide C10: Merchant Navy Find out about merchant ships involved in World War Two You are here: Home Discover Researchers Research guides Research guide C10: The Merchant Navy: World War Two Research guide C10: The Merchant Navy: World War Two Share This guide outlines the main sources for researching the activities of merchant ships and their crews during the Second World War, 1939 to 1945. There is a wide range of material both in printed and manuscript form. This is distributed across a number of libraries and archives and the researcher should be prepared to seek out material that addresses the particulars of the research problem. The National Maritime Museum holds some key works that give basic information, such as owners of ships, a ships’ official number, port of registry, size, date and place of build, etc. The journals below are likely to assist with most research problems.

Lloyd's Register of Shipping for the years 1939–1945 and the Mercantile Navy List (British ships) for 1939–1940 only, as it was not published again until 1947. Because both are produced annually, some ships were too short-lived to be included, and some foreign-registered vessels were omitted from the Register because of the difficulty of gathering information in wartime. Some indexing to Lloyd’s Register has been undertaken at the Register of Ships . The Registre Veritas of the French shipping registration agency, Bureau Veritas . The Record of American Shipping produced by the American Bureau of Shipping . Merchant Ships used by the Government Some British merchant ships were bought into the Royal Navy and commissioned as warships. Details of these can be found in: Jane's Fighting Ships, an illustrated guide to classes of Royal Navy vessels, annual editions for 1939–1945. 623.82'1939/1945' Colledge, J J, Ships of the Royal Navy (London: Greenhill Books, volumes 1 and 2, revised edition 1987–89).

623.82(42) Other ships employed on Government service are shown in the Admiralty service lists, printed by the Ministry of Transport, 1946–49, which give dates and type of ships' duties: Service List: British and foreign merchant ships in the service of HM Government at any time since 3 September 1939 Small Craft Service List. Admiralty Movement Books record the movements of vessels in use as armed merchant cruisers or commissioned for other types of service, including vessels such as trawlers, in use as patrol vessels or minesweepers. Other records of commissioned ships and naval operations involving merchant ships can be found in the Admiralty archives in The National Archives especially in series ADM 199. Records of commissioned ships and naval operations involving merchant ships are at The National Archives. The National Archives' Research Guide Royal Navy: Operational Records Second World War, 1939–1945 provides fuller details.

Details of merchant ships can also be found in books on specific operations, such as: Ruegg, Bob, and Hague, Arnold, Convoys to Russia: Allied Convoys and Naval Surface Operations in Arctic Waters 1941–1945 (Kendal: World Ship Society, 1992). 940.542.1(47) Winser, John de S, The D-Day Ships (Kendal: World Ship Society, 1994). 940.542.1'1944' The Dunkirk List, compiled by Lt. Col. G P Orde as the official history of the evacuation, named 'Operation Dynamo'. Though never published, copies are available in several places including the National Maritime Museum (there is a separate information sheet on the List, see next steps below). The Merchant Ships series of books, compiled, drawn and edited by E C Talbot-Booth (London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co. Ltd). Issues for 1936, 1940, 1942 and 1949 are in the National Maritime Museum and other specialist libraries.

Where a merchant vessel was part of an Admiralty-controlled convoy, then the Convoy Lists (ADM 199/2184 to ADM 199/2194) have been indexed both by convoy number and by ship name in The National Archives Catalogue . Shipping movements Day-to-day movements of merchant ships, excluding troopships and special operations, were recorded and published, for restricted circulation only, as a separate section of Lloyd's List entitled ‘Confidential Movements’. Copies are in the National Maritime Museum, Guildhall Library and other places with a special interest in maritime history. Please note that the indexes, known as the Voyage Record Cards, are only at Guildhall Library. Troopship movements were naturally kept secret at the time, and can be difficult to trace. Full records of ships which survived the war are in The National Archives, but equivalent records for vessels lost have not been traced. Partial records can be found in company archives; and in manuscript notebooks, known as Confidential Movements of Vessels on Government Service, which are being collated at Guildhall Library.

During the Second World War, the Admiralty instructed masters of merchant ships not to record in the log book the ports at which their ships called or details of their voyages, in case this information got into enemy hands. Instead, these details were recorded on movement cards held and maintained at the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. These are now to be found at The National Archives in series BT 389 and are available online at DocumentsOnline . In addition The National Archives holds in series BT 385, Index to Logbooks and Crew Agreements (1939–1950) that may incidentally give details of ship movements. Crews and gallantry awards Records of service of merchant seamen are covered by two sets of registers held by The National Archives; these are described in the Archives' Research Guide Merchant Seamen: Sea Service Records 1913–1972 . The first of these registers, the Fourth, or Central Indexed Register, which should cover those who saw no service after 1941 is in the process of digitization and will become available online shortly.

Crew agreements and official logs for all British-registered merchant ships, and some allied ships with British crew, for the period 1939–1950 are held by The National Archives : see the Archives' Research Guide: Merchant Seamen: Log Books, Agreements and Crew Lists after 1861 (NB. official logs are not a daily diary of ships' movements; that information was in deck logs, which rarely survive). Records of Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels should be found amongst those of the merchant navy described above. Sometimes though they may be amongst those for the Royal Navy. Many seafarers, both officers and ordinary seamen, saw service in the Royal Naval Reserve. Their records are to be found at The National Archives and details are to be found in their Research Guide Royal Naval Reserve . Some seamen saw service on Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS). No service details seem to have survived for these ships. However, the following resources may assist: The Unknown Navy by Robert G. Halford (Vanwell Publishing, St.

Catharines, Ontario, 1995) The Naval Service of Canada: Volume (Queens Printer, Ottawa 1952) Your Archives: D.E.M.S.: Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships Merchant seamen were entitled to campaign medals and many received gallantry awards. The National Archives' Research Guide Merchant Seamen: Medals and Honours provides more details on the subject. Campaign medals were not issued automatically but had to be applied for. Details of claims for, and issuing of these, are to be found in DocumentsOnline ; details from files referenced there need to be sought from the Registry of Shipping and Seamen . Merchant seamen also received a range of gallantry medals. Registers or rolls of honour have been published for most of the major gallantry awards and are available in many reference libraries. The London Gazette records awards to merchant seamen or other British citizens. Copies, together with indexes, are also available at the Guildhall Library . Seedie's roll of naval honours and awards 1939–1945 (Tisbury: Ripley Registers, 1989) gives a single alphabetical list by name, including merchant seamen.

Wherever possible entries give a man's name, the nature of the award, his rating, ship, an indication of the action for which the award was made, and the date of the London Gazette entry. It is available at the National Maritime Museum. Lloyd's List published citations for some medals awarded to merchant seamen. Lloyd's Medals 1876–1989: a history of medals awarded by the Corporation of Lloyd's, by Jim Gawler (Toronto: Hart Publishing Co., 1989) includes citations for many of the awards. 355.124.22 Under Hazardous Circumstances: A Register of Awards of Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea 1939–1945, compiled by R J Scarlett (Dallington: Naval & Military, 1992) 737.2. Citations for Lloyd's medals not given in these books can be obtained from the Manager's Secretarial Department, Lloyd's, 100 Leadenhall Street, London EC3A 3BP.

Lloyd's Captains Registers (Guildhall Mss.18567-71) include details of awards to some masters. Further information can sometimes be found in the series Treasury: Ceremonial Branch: Second World War Civil Defence Awards Files (GCD Series) T 336 at The National Archives. Ships sunk by war causes The most direct way into records of ship losses are the files and associated indexes held at The National Archives in Daily Casualty Registers and Index to Ships, War of 1939–1945 (BT 347). This series contains daily casualty registers, kept by the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, recording daily ship casualties mainly due to enemy action but also including other routine causes. Each incident is recorded naming the class of vessel, the ship's name, nationality of the ship, date and time, cause and approximate position, voyage details and cargo and latest information available. References are made in the index both to the Casualty Lists themselves and to Lloyd’s List.

Printed works that can assist are: The Admiralty's List: British Merchant Vessels Lost or Damaged by Enemy Action During the Second World War (London: HMSO, 1947) has been reprinted, though never revised, and has some errors and omissions. Lloyd's War Losses: the Second World War (London: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd, volumes 1 and 2, 1989) covers British, Allied and neutral merchant ships, including vessels missing or sunk by mines after the end of the war which are not covered by the Admiralty list. It was compiled principally from War Loss Cards, now in the Guildhall Library , which sometimes provide more detail. Axis Submarine Successes 1939–1945, by Jurgen Rohwer (Cambridge: Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1983, English edition) based on German Admiralty records, is a useful supplement to British lists, though neither is totally reliable. 940.545.1(43) Transcripts of interviews with masters or senior officers of merchant ships attacked or sunk by the enemy are now held by The National Archives in series ADM 199.

Interviews depended, of course, on an officer surviving an attack, and even they did not always reach home safely. Mortality among merchant seamen in the Second World War was higher than in any other armed forces. There is a two volume typescript, compiled by Bob Childs, of Survivors' Reports WWII. The reports were submitted by US Navy officers and cover British/American/Foreign Warships and Merchant ships. Some reports are very detailed. Information on enemy merchant vessels sunk by war causes is often difficult to trace, particularly Japanese ships whose names can be represented in various ways: The original typescript of Lloyd's War Losses: the Second World War, volume 3, is at the Guildhall Library and is particularly useful. It uses the Romaji system of transcription for Japanese names, officially adopted in 1937 and used during the war, though later abandoned. Japanese Naval and Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II by All Causes (Washington DC: United States Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee, 1947) is in the National Maritime Museum.

940.545.656.61.086.2(52) Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1938–39 may help with names, as its changes-of-name appendix gives both the Romaji spelling and earlier version (for example Yeijun Maru/Eizyun Maru). Record series BT 385 and BT 389, described above under Shipping movements are likely also to give details of losses. Ships sunk by marine causes The Daily Casualty Registers and Index to Ships, War of 1939–1945 (BT 347), held at The National Archives and described above, is the best way to start looking for such losses. Vessels sunk 1939–1946 by marine causes, i.e. by ordinary perils of the sea, such as foundering, stranding, collision, fire, etc., are not included in published lists of war losses. They are included in Lloyd's List: Confidential Movements and can be supplemented by files of Marine Loss Cards and Missing Vessels Cards at Guildhall Library.

A large number of vessels lost without trace, and fate unknown, were declared 'missing'. A Joint Arbitration Committee considered the evidence and assessed, for insurance purposes, whether a loss was likely to be due to war or marine causes. Record series BT 385 and BT 389, described above under Shipping movements are likely also to give details of losses. Prisoners of War There are extensive records of merchant seamen held as prisoners of war in the series BT 373 at The National Archives. These give the circumstances of capture and the eventual fate of UK and Allied Asian merchant seamen. Details of ships captured or lost due to enemy action are in to be found there also and are searchable in The National Archives Catalogue by ship's name. These contain miscellaneous papers relating to the circumstances of loss or capture. It is possible that some records of merchant seamen held as prisoners of war may be found amongst the archives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva. Deaths of seamen Many seamen died at sea either because of enemy action or the perils of their occupation. Those dying from enemy action should be recorded in the Debt of Honour database of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Records of death, whatever the reason, should be recorded in the ship’s official log: see above. Details would then have been copied into the registers of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen – series BT 334 at The National Archives. These should cover both deaths that actually occurred at sea as well as on board in port or in a local foreign hospital. Those where the death actually occurred at sea will then have been reported to the General Register Office for England and Wales, and where the seaman was Scottish or Irish, a copy sent to the General Register Offices in Edinburgh or Dublin. Each General Register Office maintains a Register of Marine Deaths with a separate index – most of these indexes are now online through several commercial organisations. The National Maritime Museum holds: Alphabetical Returns of Deaths of Merchant Seamen, July 1916–1989These consist of printed returns published monthly from the Registrar General's information. The information is alphabetical by deceased's name. Also listed are ship name, official number, date, place and cause of death. The return for 1946 also includes supplement of merchant seamen who died while prisoners of war, 1939–1946.

Deaths of Crewmen, January 1914–1960sThese contain forms giving personal details of the crewman and circumstances of death which sometimes includes a Coroner's report. They can also contain correspondence from UK consulates if a death occurred overseas. Death by Enemy Action, 1939–1945A card index arranged alphabetically by name of seaman, containing the person's address, rank, date, place and cause or supposed cause of death, ship's name and official number. Death by Natural Causes 1939–1945 A card index arranged alphabetically by name of seaman and gives the person's birthplace, rank and date and place of death and cause if known together with the ship's name and official number. Within the Returns of Births and Deaths of Passengers 1939–1963 there are for 1939–1945 also records of deaths of soldiers on hospital and troopships, but it is necessary to know the name of the ship.

Some useful printed works include: The Roll of Honour of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets 1939–1945, 3 vols (London: Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, c.1958) lists more than 33,000 merchant seamen who have no known grave but the sea and whose names are on the Merchant Navy memorial, Tower Hill, London, and other memorials, e.g. in Hong Kong. The list gives each seaman's ship, date of loss and memorial on which he is named. The Memorial Register, British Merchant Navy Officers Killed at Sea, 1939–1945 compiled by P.J. Barber. The Book of Remembrance: the Merchant Navy World War Two, researched by Ian Stockbridge/International Maritime Research and published by NUMAST, contains the names of 32,000 merchant seamen, 1,200 Maritime Royal Artillery gunners and as many RN personnel as possible, who lost their lives on British merchant ships. Includes those who died in Prisoner of War camps in Germany and Japan. It is arranged alphabetically by name of ship.

Cargo The Shipping Movement Cards, mentioned above, record the movements of both British registered and Allied vessels engaged in the war effort. Each set of cards records the name of the ship, any former name it had, its size (tonnage), to whom it was registered, the ship’s destination, date of arrival and sometimes ports of call. They also record any cargo carried on board. Importantly the cards also show if the ship was torpedoed, mined, damaged or sunk. These are now to be found at The National Archives in series BT 389 and are available online at DocumentsOnline . Records of the Government War Risks Insurance Scheme, now found at The National Archives in series BT 228, are particularly useful for researching a ship’s cargo. Lloyd's War Losses has brief information on cargo. Some extra details may be found in Lloyd's List: Confidential Movements if salvage work was carried out or wreckage was washed ashore. Cargo manifests sometimes survive in Custom House records at the vessel's last port of departure. The location of archives for specific British Custom Houses can be obtained from the Customs & Excise Departmental Records Unit. The central file of Bills of Entry, now held by Merseyside Maritime Museum, may be more comprehensive.

The British Library Newspaper Library has a file for London Bills of entry only. Miscellaneous sources Shipping company archives may in a few cases include valuable information, and the National Register of Archives can help locate surviving archives for particular companies. A few shipping companies commissioned special wartime histories of their ships, some detailing honours awarded and seamen who died. A company's general or fleet history may also give information, either published separately or in journals such as Sea Breezes. There are a few books on individual ships, such as the City of Benares and the Queen Mary. Useful addresses Merchant Navy timeline - The Merchant Navy | NZHistory, New Zealand history online Page 7 – Merchant Navy timeline Timeline This outlines of some of the key events relating to the war at sea and merchant shipping in the Second World War, focussing on New Zealand involvement. 1939 26 August: Admiralty (United Kingdom) assumes control of all British merchant shipping in anticipation of war. 1 September: Following Germany's invasion of Poland, New Zealand government issues emergency regulations to assume control of shipping in local waters. 3 September: Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany; the Battle of the Atlantic begins.

The British liner Athenia is torpedoed by U-30 off Ireland, and over 100 lives are lost. 4 September: Admiralty orders the introduction of convoy system for merchant ships. 21 October: Union Steam Ship Co (USSCo) liner Monowai is taken over by the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy for conversion into an armed merchant cruiser (AMC). 14 December: British tanker Inverlane is mined in North Sea; among the victims is cook Leslie Yates – probably the first New Zealand merchant seafarer lost to enemy action during the war. 17 December: After sinking nine merchant ships in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean and fleeing an engagement with three British cruisers (including New Zealand-manned HMS Achilles), German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled in River Plate, South America. 1940 5 January: 1st Echelon of the 2 NZEF leaves New Zealand for the Middle East aboard the troop ships Empress of Canada, Strathaird, Orion, Rangitata, Dunera and Sobieski.

31 March: Atlantis, first of the nine German auxiliary cruisers or disguised merchant raiders, sails from Germany to harass Allied shipping. Over the next three and a half years raiders sink or capture over 140 merchant ships. 2 May: 2nd Echelon of the 2 NZEF sails from New Zealand aboard Aquitania, Empress of Britain, Empress of Japan and Andes. 26 May: Start of evacuation of troops from Dunkirk, northern France, involving numerous merchant ships; 338,000 personnel are evacuated by 4 June. 10 June: Italy joins the war against Britain and France, threatening Mediterranean and Suez shipping routes. 13–14 June: German raider Orion enters New Zealand waters undetected and lays 228 contact mines in northern and eastern approaches to the Hauraki Gulf. 17 June: British liner Lancastria, evacuating troops from St Nazaire, France, is sunk by German bombers. Around 3000 lives are lost, but over 200,000 Allied personnel are safely evacuated from Biscay ports.

19 June: Orion's mines sink the liner Niagara (owned by Canadian-Australasian Line, managed by the USSCo) off the Northland coast; all 349 passengers and crew are rescued. 25 June: The fall of France; German U-boats soon begin operating from bases on the French Atlantic coast, greatly enhancing their operational range and patrol duration. 10 July: Battle of Britain begins with German air attacks on English Channel convoys. 20 August: New Zealand Shipping Co (NZSCo) freighter Turakina sunk by German raider Orion in Tasman Sea, 260 miles west of Taranaki; 36 crew were killed, and 20 survivors were taken prisoner. 30 August: After a lengthy refit, the Monowai is commissioned as an AMC and is manned by a mixture of naval regulars, reservists and merchant seamen. 10 September: Following heavy German bombing, the Port of London is closed to ocean-going ships; traffic is diverted to Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff and other west-coast ports.

25 November: Holm Shipping Co steamer Holmwood is captured and sunk by raiders Orion and Komet near the Chatham Islands; 29 crew and passengers are taken prisoner. 27 November: NZSCo liner Rangitane is sunk by Orion and Komet 300 miles off New Zealand's East Cape; 15 passengers and crew are killed, and around 300 are taken prisoner. This is the largest ship sunk by German raiders in the Second World War. 8 December: USSCo freighter Komata is sunk by the Komet off Nauru Island; two crew are killed. 21 December: German Pacific raiders release about 500 captives on Emirau Island, Bismarck Archipelago, near New Guinea. 1941 10 January: USSCo liner Maunganui is taken over by the New Zealand government for conversion into a hospital ship. 16 January: Shaw Savill & Albion (SS&A) liner Zealandic is torpedoed by U-106 in the North Atlantic. All hands are lost, including at least six New Zealand seamen.

14 May: Orion's mines claim a second victim in the Hauraki Gulf – the minesweeper HMS Puriri, a former Anchor Co coaster, is sunk with the loss of five crew (all ex-merchant seamen reservists). 22 May: Maunganui arrives in Egypt to repatriate the first group of 2 NZEF patients. 12 August: First merchant convoy leaves the United Kingdom for the Russian Arctic via Iceland, and it arrives in Archangel on 31 August. 27 October: USSCo liner Awatea leaves Vancouver for Hong Kong with 2000 Canadian troops; later it evacuates women and children from Singapore. 19 November: German raider Kormoran and Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney are both sunk during an engagement off Western Australia; none of Sydney's 645 crew survive. 9 December: Panamanian-flagged MV Donerail is sunk by Japanese submarine I-10 near Hawaii. A total of 32 lives are lost, including purser John Rendle who was almost certainly the first New Zealander killed in the Pacific War.

10 December: Battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse are sunk by Japanese bombers in the South China Sea. 1942 11 January: German U-boats begin attacks along the United States' eastern seaboard and in the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico; almost 400 ships are sunk in six months, before an effective convoy system is established. 16 January: HMNZS Monowai, escorting Taroona, fights an inconclusive gunnery duel with Japanese submarine I-20 off Suva. 15 February: Singapore falls to the Japanese. 19 February: Japanese air raid on Darwin, northern Australia, sinks eight ships and kills about 250, including New Zealander Harold Humphrey, a steward on the hospital ship Mununda. 3 March: USSCo freighter Narbada evades attack by Japanese submarine I-3 off Fremantle. 4 July: Fearing an attack by the German battleship Tirpitz, Admiralty orders merchant ships of the Arctic convoy PQ17 to scatter; as a result, 24 out of 37 are sunk by U-boats and bombers.

11 July: Port Line freighter Port Hunter is torpedoed by U-582 off West Africa; 88 lives are lost, including at least seven New Zealand seamen, two of whom were aged 15. 12 July: USSCo freighter Hauraki, bound for Egypt, is captured in the Indian Ocean by Japanese AMCs Aikoku Maru and Hokuku Maru; 55 crew are taken prisoner. 15 August: Arrival in Valletta of the damaged tanker Ohio and other survivors of the Operation Pedestal convoy helps to ensure Malta's survival. Nine of the convoy's 14 merchant ships were sunk, including SS&A's Wairangi and Waimarama; four New Zealand seamen on the latter vessel are killed. 22 August: Awatea, loaded with Canadian troops, collides with the destroyer USS Buck in a convoy off Newfoundland; both ships are saved, but in the confusion, USS Ingraham collides with the navy tanker USS Chemung and sinks with the loss of about 250 lives.

30 August: Richardson & Co coaster Kopara, under charter to the United States Navy, survives a Japanese air raid off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; later commissioned as USS Kopara, the ship serves with American Pacific forces until 1945. 8 November: Awatea lands 3000 assault troops near Algiers during Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of Vichy-French North Africa. 11 November: Awatea is attacked and disabled by German bombers off Bougie (Bejaia), Algeria, but all 150 crew are rescued; the wreck is later sunk by Italian submarine Argo. 7 December: SS&A liner Ceramic is torpedoed in the North Atlantic by U-515, and 655 passengers and crew are lost (including at least four New Zealand seamen). 1943 18 January: USSCo freighter Kalingo is torpedoed by Japanese sub I-21, 60 miles east of Sydney; two crew are lost.

16–19 March: German wolf packs attack North Atlantic convoys HX229 and SC122 in the greatest convoy battle of war: 22 merchant ships are sunk, including Blue Star's Canadian Star, from which three New Zealand seamen are lost. 20 March: I-27 sinks British freighter Fort Mumford in the Indian Ocean and machine-guns lifeboats, killing 50 crew, including at least five New Zealand seamen. 26 April: USSCo freighter Limerick is torpedoed by I-177 off Cape Byron, NSW; two crew are lost. 14 May: Australian hospital ship Centaur is torpedoed by I-177 off the Queensland coast with the loss of 268 lives. This is the Tasman Sea's worst maritime disaster. 24 May: Turning point in Battle of the Atlantic: after suffering heavy losses against stronger Allied escort forces, Admiral Dönitz orders the temporary withdrawal of German wolf packs from the North Atlantic. A total of 41 U-boats are sunk in the month. 18 June: Monowai decommissioned from Royal NZ Navy; reverts to merchant service under control of the British Ministry of War Transport.

10 July: Allied invasion of Sicily begins, supported by a large fleet of merchant ships. 9 September: Allies land at Salerno on Italian mainland. 17 October: Last German raider still at sea, Michel, is sunk by a United States submarine off Japan. 26 November: Troop ship Rohna is sunk in the Mediterranean by a German glider bomb (radio-guided missile); over 1000 United States troops are killed. 2 December: German air raid on Bari, Italy, destroys 17 Allied merchant ships, and more than 1000 lives are lost. 26 December: Battle of North Cape: German battlecruiser Scharnhorst is sunk by Royal Navy warships covering Arctic convoy JW55. 1944 6 January: Underwood (built for the USSCo but requisitioned by the British Ministry of War Transport on completion in the United Kingdom in 1941) is sunk by an E-boat in the English Channel. 22 January: Allied amphibious landings occur behind German lines at Anzio, Italy.

12 February: British troop ship Khedive Ismail is sunk by I-27 in the Indian Ocean with the loss of 1300 lives. 17 February: Japanese transport Hoki Maru, formerly USSCo's Hauraki, is sunk by United States torpedo bombers at Truk, Caroline Islands. 14 April: Explosion of British ammunition ship Fort Stikine in Bombay Harbour destroys 11 ships and kills at least 800 people. 6 June: D-Day: over 800 merchant ships, including the Monowai, which lands 1800 troops at 'Gold' beach, are involved in the Normandy landings. This is the first of 45 English Channel crossings that the Monowai makes, carrying a total of 73,000 troops. 15 August: Allied landings are made in the south of France, supported by a large fleet of merchant ships. 1945 7 January: German submarine U-862 enters New Zealand waters and cruises, undetected, down the east coast of the North Island.

30 January: German liner Wilhelm Gustloff, evacuating refugees, military personnel and wounded from East Prussia, is sunk in the Baltic by Soviet submarine S-13. The estimated death toll is 8500. This is the worst shipping disaster in history. 17 March: Hospital ship Maunganui is sent to join the British Pacific fleet train at Manus Island, near New Guinea. It is later deployed to Leyte Gulf, the Philippines. 22 April: Monowai sails from the United Kingdom for Odessa on the Black Sea, carrying 1600 Soviet ex-POWs; other repatriation voyages between Odessa, Marseilles and Bombay follow. 7 May: U-2336 torpedoes a Norwegian and a Canadian merchant ship off Scotland. These are the last vessels sunk by U-boats during the war because German surrender signals the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. 12 May: Last Arctic convoy sails from the United Kingdom for the Soviet Union. 10 August: Hauraki POW William Brodie dies of injuries sustained during the Allied shelling of Kamaishi, northern Japan. He is the fifth of the ship's crew to die in Japanese captivity.

15 August: Japan surrenders. 13 September: Monowai sails from Singapore with 850 British ex-POWs, and arrives in Liverpool on 8 October. 23 November: Maunganui begins its last voyage as a hospital ship, repatriating POWs from the Far East to the United Kingdom and returning with the last 2 NZEF invalids. It arrives in New Zealand on 20 March 1946, having carried 5677 patients since 1941. Merchant Navy Day In Britain, New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries, 3 September is Merchant Navy Day. The date commemorates the sinking of the first British merchant ship in 1939, just hours after war was declared. Merchant seafarers were involved in the Second World War from the first day to the last. The Merchant Navy in the Second World War Merchant Navy timeline

Question: Which word appears in the name of all Japanese merchant ships?
Answer: MARU