Historical & Genealogy Research
Also, further down on this page: Frequently Asked Questions and Links to Other Useful Sites
The Royal Scots Regimental Museum is happy to receive historical and genealogical enquiries. However, researchers should note that we are not a record office and, as with other Regimental museums, do not hold the personal or service records of individual soldiers, see Frequently Asked Questions below for further details.
Enquiries and Charges
In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of genealogical and historical enquiries, which incurs costs in both time and manpower. A search fee of £15 is charged and while all is done to answer these enquiries as fully as our archive permits by our small staff of one, a successful search cannot be guaranteed, in this instance the search fee is not refundable.
The cheque should be made payable to Regimental Museum Fund and forwarded along with your research enquiries to: Historical Enquiries, RHQ, The Royal Scots, The Castle, Edinburgh, EHI 2YT, Scotland, U.K.
Alternatively, you can email your enquiry to:
...but your payment must follow by post before any work is carried out. Before rushing to complete your cheque, we have listed below five of the most Frequently Asked Questions we cannot answer and the reasons why. However, links or addresses to other sources that may provide the information you are seeking are also listed below. It is a sad fact of research that it is easier to provide information on a soldier killed during conflict than it is to provide information about those that survived. What we can provide from our archive once you have identified the battalion your relative served with, (for example, there were over 100,000 Royal Scots serving in 35 battalions during World War 1), are the details of that battalion's movements and actions. In some cases it is possible to provide much more but we cannot guarantee this. The details we do provide are in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
Researchers should also note we have no connection with either the Royal Scots Fusiliers, The Royal Scots Greys or the Royal Scots Guards. The latter is a figment of the Tabloid imagination and the former regiments have both amalgamated; the Royal Scots Fusiliers with the Highland Light Infantry to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers www.rhf.org.uk and the Royal Scots Greys with the Carabiniers to form The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who can be contacted at hhgscotsdg@yahoo.co.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
My grandfather served in The Royal Scots, can you send me his service history?
We cannot provide an individual's service record for the reasons mentioned above. Service records for the period up to the end of the First World War are held by Public Record Office, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU, England. www.pro.gov.uk
The P.R.O. does not have the resources to undertake searches for the general public, you will have to visit and do the research yourself with their assistance, or see their website for list of professional researchers who may undertake research for a fee. One word of caution, about 60% of First War service records were destroyed or badly burnt in air raids during World War 2, so a successful search is not guaranteed.
The service records of soldiers serving from the 1920's are still held by the Ministry of Defence and are only available to the individual concerned or their next of kin from Army Personnel Centre, Historic Disclosures, Mailpoint 400, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow, G2 8EX, Scotland. The paper search can take several months and in most cases a search fee, currently; £25, is charged.
My relative was killed while serving with The Royal Scots, can you tell me where he is buried?
Yes we can provide that information, but it is from a source you can also use, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website www.cwgc.org Fill in the details of surname, initials etc in the box on their home page to search the database. This will provide your ancestor's number, rank, name, which Royal Scot battalion he served with, date of death and the details of the cemetery and location of the grave. It may also give age and next of kin.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for marking and maintaining the graves of members of the armed forces of the Commonwealth who died between 4th August 1914 to 31st August 1919 and from September 1939 to 31st December 1947 as a result of the two world wars. Some casualties who died before 1948, (excluding the First and Second World War periods) and all graves in India/Pakistan and casualties who died after 31st December 1947, e.g. Korea/Falklands etc., contact:
Ministry of Defence,
PS4(A) Non War Graves,
Building 43,
Trenchard Lines,
Upavon,
Pewsey,
Wiltshire, SN9 6BE,
England.
Tel: 01980 615559
Medal Entitlement, Replacement Medals & Gallantry Awards
Medal entitlement is listed on a soldier's service record, see above. There are a number of firms which can provide replacements for lost or stolen medals but we cannot recommend one over another. These firms advertise in magazines such as Soldier Magazine, available from newsagents or at www.soldiermagazine.co.uk
Gallantry awards are accompanied by a Citation which appeared in the London Gazette and which will give the circumstances behind the award. www.gazettesonline.co.uk
Researchers please note that most Military Medals awarded during the First World War were not accompanied with a citation, so finding the details behind a gallantry award is unlikely. We have access to the First War Medal Rolls held by the National War Museum of Scotland, these may give some clues but a successful search, once again, cannot be guaranteed.
Can I have a photograph of my ancestor?
Although we have a large photographic archive of varied types stretching back to the 19th century, the majority of photographs are unnamed so we cannot identify the individuals. The "mug shot" type of photographs used on identity documents are not available.
I served in The Royal Scots and would like to be reunited with my old pals.
See the Regimental Association page for details. There are also a number of websites which assist in tracking down old comrades:
www.forcesreunited.org.uk
www.comradesandcolleagues.com
www.friendsreunited.co.uk
www.servicepals.com
Links to Other Useful Sites
Army Museums Ogilby Trust www.armymuseums.org.uk
National Army Museum www.national-army-museum.ac.uk
First World War www.1914-1918.net
Photographs on this page
Top: Born in 1794, General Sir George Bell commanded the 1st Batallion in the Crimea, and was Colonel of the Regiment 1868-1877.
Second: Piper leading the 1st Batallion in Burma 1944.
Third: Captain Login 1887.
Fourth: DSO, Queens and Kings South African Medals 1903.
Fifth: Holland 1944.
Above: Kenya 1997
