Bengal Pilot Service

According to Massey [1],

"THE UNITED SERVICE CLUB Was formerly styled the Bengal Military Club, the members of which were limited to the I.C.S. and military services. As time, however, moved on and things changed they found that this particular form of exclusiveness was rather an expensive luxury, and very wisely threw open wide the heavenly portals and admitted within their celestial and sacred precincts members of other government services, save and except those of the Bengal pilots. Why the club ever made this invidious distinction, of course I cannot say, but at a later period, recognising possibly the injustice of their action, they rescinded their prohibition, and now the pilots sit in the seats of the mighty amongst the members of the other services. "

The following comprises extracts are from my own unpublished manuscript of records for Genealgists interested in India

1. National Maritime Museum (Greenwich).

1a. An unpublished history of the Bengal Pilot Service in the Historical Manuscripts Collection of the National Maritime Museum: THS 12 ‘The History of the Bengal Pilot Service’ by Brice & Labey. Appendix G ‘Obituaries’ comprises information from various sources for men of the Pilot service and their families.

1b. The Percy-Smith Collection (MS 88/006)

Item (18) Bengal Marine ‘Particulars of certificates granted by the Government of Calcutta up to December 1902 to Masters, Mates and Engineers in Mercantile Marine’. These records are of particular interest to persons looking for River Pilots who were born in India who were in service in the 1890’s and at the turn of the twentieth century. The entries inlcude the person’s name, date and place of birth , class of certificate, certificate number and its date of granting.

These records divide into:

Colonial Certificates of competency; Local (Foreign Trade) Certificates of competency; Local (Home Trade) Certificates of competency; Local Certificates of Service; Local (Inland) Certificates of Service; Local (Inland) Certificates of Competency

Item (29) Index Cards : Bengal Medical (1740-1914, surnames A-H only); Bengal Orphans (1780-1840); Bengal Marine and Bengal Pilots (1700-1914)

The Percy-Smith Collection is not held in the main Caird Library of the Museum you need to request access to the items a week or so in advance of your vist.

2. Asia, Pacific and Africa Collection British Library (India Office)

Bengal Marine and Bengal Pilot Service

Records marked (#) should appear on LDS microfilms: 2028922 - 25; 2029155

L/AG/20 & 21 1814 -Post 1947 Includes records of leave and service pensions

L/E/6-7 1880-1924 Pilot service recruitment information for this period contained within these papers.

L/MAR/8/1-20 1793-1880 Various lists of employees and volunteers in the Bengal Marine and Pilot Service

L/MAR/C/689 1794-1830 Appointments to Bengal Pilot Service

L/MAR/C/704# 1858-61 Indian Navy, Bengal pilots

L/MAR/C/755-756# 1848-60 Europeans in the service of the Bengal marine

L/MAR/C/760-761# 1824-64 Bengal marine civil and marine casualties

L/MAR/C/762-763 Bengal Marine records of service

L/MAR/C/855# 1821 Seamen in the Bengal marine who have claims on the company for wages, see L/E/6-7 for later recruitment’s V/12 1896-1926 Covenanted pilots are included in the Bengal Histories of Service.

References

1. Recollections of Calcutta for over Half a Century by Montague Massey
2. On The Hooghly. Malcolm H Beattie, Philip Allan & Co. Ltd. (1935)