Although this post is over a month old, I'll take a chance and offer two suggestions; The National Archives and the Royal Museums Greenwich have some useful information on looking up relatives in the archives held in the PRO at Kew. It may be possible to check some of the documents on line on the internet as there is an on-going digital project going on. Hope this helps. It is a fascinating period.(2nd Boer War/ Relief of the Legations, Peking)
The National Archives
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/details/C1897-admiralty-royal-navy-registers-of-seamen-s-details
The Royal Museums Greenwich
http://www.rmg.co.uk/researchers/library/research-guides/the-royal-navy/research-guide-b1-the-royal-navy-tracing-people
