Search the range of research guides produced by the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum to help you carry out your own research on a wide range of topics.

The guides provide information about the Museum's collections and also signpost to other sources for research into maritime history. 

Search our research guides

Research guide B1: The Royal Navy: Tracing people
This guide explains some of the material available in the Museum's Archive and Library collections which can be used to research people who have served in the Royal Navy
Research guide B3: The Royal Navy: Sources for enquiries
The Museum has extensive collections of books, photographs, paintings, prints and manuscripts about the Royal Navy to help in your research. The official records for the Royal Navy are held at the National Archives
Research guide B5: Royal Naval Dockyards
This guide is a brief introduction to Royal Naval Dockyards and the records of each dockyard held by the National Maritime Museum, followed by a selected bibliography of books in the Museum Library
Research guide B6: The Royal Navy: Administrative records
The National Maritime Museum and Caird Library have interesting material and many books relating to the central administration of the Navy - Reference: ADM for Admiralty
Research guide B7: Royal Navy: Ship records
This guide outlines the National Maritime Museum's resources for researching ships of the Royal Navy
Research guide B8: The Spithead and Nore mutinies of 1797
This guide lists some of the Museum's books, manuscripts and plans that will help you research the Spithead and Nore Mutinies of 1797
Research guide B9: The Royal Navy: HMS 'King George V'
This guide outlines the history of the ship HMS King George V, and the National Maritime Museum's resources relating to this ship

About the guides

The guides are broken up into 17 categories and each has links to other guides which may be relevant to your research. The first four guides (A1, A2, A3 and A4) give comprehensive information about the Museum's main collections and records, and include specific help for those tracing family history from maritime records.

The information in the guides was produced by the staff of the museum, with additional contributions from researchers. The guides are the copyright of the National Maritime Museum. Whilst you are welcome to print copies for your own use, you may not copy them for commercial purposes or republish them in any form. Although care has been taken in preparing the information contained in this document, anyone using it shall be deemed to indemnify the National Maritime Museum from any and all injury or damage arising from such use.