Myths of Identification

Did they really identify sailors by their Ganseys?

Hello,

Apologies for the radio silence, I have had quite a few things going on healthwise and this missive kept being put to the bottom of the pile. I apologise. No excuses and from here on out I will post every fortnight on a Friday to update you on my progress and share anything Gansey-related that I come across in my travels.

This time I thought I would consider the myth that the fishermen were identified by the patterns on their Ganseys… Next time I will update you on the progress of the RNLI Gansey currently on my needles.

Identification by Design?

It is a common idea that fishermen were or could be identified by the designs on their Ganseys. This is a little bit of a myth. It does sound plausible and certain families would have had their own distinct pattern/design combinations, not forgetting that some may have had their initials inserted into the underarm gusset, but, in reality, it is not true.

Family Designs

Many of the motifs knitted into the Ganseys were family patterns passed on from generation to generation, and these would have blended when families married into other fishing families. Often the motifs were only knitted on the top half of the Gansey, probably mostly to save yarn. It takes much more yarn to work patterns, and cables can be especially greedy with the yarn. Also, I wonder if the plain bottom half of a Gansey was easier when the fishermen were working, hauling in nets, etc. What are your thoughts on this? I would love to know.

On Jersey, it was slightly different - the emblems of the different parishes were knitted into the fronts of the sweaters, while the rest was knitted plain. So the Jersey fishermen could technically be identified by their parish emblem if no other means were available. The Ganseys knitted down the East Coast of Scotland and England also had some distinctive patterns which could be found from village to village. Sometimes, as I mentioned earlier, the initials of the wearer would be knitted into the design in the underarm gusset.

Why was this needed?

Boat Records

It was needed because there was no registration of boats and crews. Before the registration of boats and crew became compulsory in 1835, scant records were kept of the fishermen out at sea, and before 1747, no real records were kept at all, in 1747 Muster Rolls began to be kept by merchant ships.

Muster Books (1747-1834)

In 1747, following an Act of Parliament, a fund for the relief of disabled seamen was set up, using money taken from seamen’s wages. To administer this fund, masters or owners of merchant ships had to keep a muster book, also known as a muster roll, which was filed at the port of arrival with the Seamen’s Fund Receivers.

Muster rolls for this period did not usually record the names of the whole crew but did provide:

• name of the owner of the ship

• name of the master of the ship

• total number of crew members

• very brief details of the ship’s voyage

However, some lists, appearing randomly during this period, also show:

• a full list of the names of the crew

• the amount of money invested in the fund by each crew member (this was calculated on a pro rata basis at 6d per month)

From the NationalArchives.gov.uk

It is hard to comprehend nowadays that there were no records kept of the fishermen who went out to sea and risked their lives, and that the first record keeping was following an Act of Parliament, and even then it didn’t really name them all the time. It is so sad that there was no record of these brave men.

Doing Your Own Research?

The following are some locations where you can look up boats and fishermen from around the UK.

Merchant Navy Ships’ Records: Crew Lists, Musters and Log Books

The Lettering and Numbering of Fishing Boats

Historical Research Service, Heritage and Education Centre

Take care, everyone, until next time, keep knitting, may your stitches always be the right way round and may your yarn never tangle.

Yours in stitches,

Tracy x

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Order Your Own Gansey

I will be shortly opening up my order book again for commissions if you would like me to design and knit a Gansey for you, please either watch out for the announcement or drop me a line for details.

Links:

*Cornish Ganseys and Knit Frocks by Mary Wright

*Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys, and Arans: Fisherman’s Sweaters from the British Isles

*Knitting Ganseys - Revised and Updated by Beth Brown-Reinsel

*The Gansey Knitting Source Book: 150 Stitch Patterns and 10 Projects for Gansey Knits, by Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell

*Traditional Dutch Ganseys for children: 40 Sweaters to Knit by Stella Ruhe

Anything in bold and underlined is a link to the relevant article or web page. None are affiliate links, just things I hope to benefit you, or people that I admire and have worked with previously.

Note: If there is a * these are affiliate links and may earn me a few pennies without adding to your cost. Disclosure: If you buy books linked here, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops