Even if your forebears were not particularly associated with the sea, bear in mind that the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy employed people with all sorts of skills from civilian life including carpenters, engineers, clerks, stewards, cooks, doctors and accountants amongst many others. The Royal Navy also enlisted many civilians from various walks of life via press gangs in the 18th century, and by voluntary and compulsory enlistment during the two world wars.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, large numbers of crewmen in the Merchant Navy were British subjects from Empire nations outside the UK such as India, Hong Kong and the Caribbean as well as non-British subjects. Contemporary accounts note that there were some roles that were more likely to be filled by men from certain regions for reasons that are not entirely clear.
For example, engine room crews known as firemen and trimmers were often recruited from the Chattogram area (formerly Chittagong) in modern Bangladesh, or the Punjab regions of Pakistan and India. Stewards were often sought from Goa and Kolcata (Calcutta) in India and from parts of Indonesia. Similarly, in the 19th
