Continuous Certificate of Discharge of John Freeman (b.1899)

Description

This item is the Continuous Certificate of Discharge of John Freeman. The book records his engagement on ships, beginning on 28 June 1918 on the BARON POLWORTH and terminating on 19 April 1951 with his final service on the steamship ASHGATE. Almost all his voyages took him to foreign ports and his character references for ability and general conduct are consistently praised as 'VERY GOOD'.

John Freeman was born in Port Royal/Kingstown, Jamaica, in 1899. This booklet also contains an inlaid Certificate of Discharge from an earlier date. This certificate shows that on 9 December 1916, he entered into his first engagement as Second Steward in the Liverpool-owned ship LUCERNA, which sailed from London at the time. This is evidence that John Freeman served in the Merchant Navy during the First World War.

On 6 March 1937, Cardiff Police added in red ink 'Nationality and Identity [...] British Subject'. The statement by the officer references the number of John Freeman's Certificate of Nationality and Identity Issued to a British Colonial Seaman that was issued to him on 18 January 1937 from Kingstown, Jamaica.

The final page in this booklet contains a photograph of John Freeman holding an plate that displays his identification number in the Merchant Navy.

This document was brought to the attention of the U-Boat Project 1914-18 by John Freeman's daughter, Beryl Makkers (née Freeman), who kindly allowed us to scan it.