London, England, TS Exmouth Training Ship Records, 1876-1918

Source Information

Ancestry.com. London, England, TS Exmouth Training Ship Records, 1876-1918 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
Original data: Images produced by permission of The London Archives (City of London Corporation). The City of London gives no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for the purpose of the information provided. Images may be used only for purposes of research, private study or education. Applications for any other use should be made to The London Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB via – www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma. Infringement of the above condition may result in legal action.

About London, England, TS Exmouth Training Ship Records, 1876-1918

This Collection

Training ships were used to train boys in all aspects of seamanship preparing them for a career at sea. The Metropolitan Asylums Board borrowed the Exmouth from the Royal Navy in 1877. Previously the ship had seen active service in the Baltic and had been converted from sail to steam in 1854. The Board moored the Exmouth off Grays in Essex and used it as a way to provide vocational training to boys in their care. In 1929 the London County Council took over the Exmouth and continued taking in boys until 1941.

What can be found in the records?

For each boy that joined the ship, the record books log the following:

  • Name
  • Age (and sometimes “supposed age”)
  • Date of admission and discharge
  • The parish or Poor Law Union from which they originated
  • What the boy did on discharge

While the vital statistics of the boys (height, weight and chest circumference) provide a glimpse of the physical appearance of the Exmouth’s inmates, the career record provides a picture of life on-board.

Parts of this description have been taken from the The London Archives website. You can find out more about their collections on this page.

These records are numbered MAB/2512/00001-12644 at The London Archives.