Our new exhibition at General Register House, Edinburgh, reveals previously untold stories of Scottish soldiers who were captured on the battlefields of World War I and imprisoned in Germany. On display for the first time from Monday 22 October, soldiers' personal letters and photographs tell their stories from "behind the wire" in their own words, including … Continue reading For You The War Is Over
Voices From Our Archives – Corporal James McPhie VC (1894 – 1918)
Corporal James McPhie is one of 74 Scots who was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the presence of the enemy during the First World War. James McPhie was born in Edinburgh on 18 December 1894, the son of Allan McPhie, commission agent, and Elizabeth McPhie. Eight members of the McPhie family – … Continue reading Voices From Our Archives – Corporal James McPhie VC (1894 – 1918)
The Wallace Letter, November 1300
Last Saturday, as part of Doors Open Day 2018, National Records of Scotland displayed the Wallace letter - a 700-year-old message from the King of France, one of only two surviving documents with a personal connection to Scottish historical icon William Wallace. Discovered in the Tower of London in the mid-1800s and now part of the … Continue reading The Wallace Letter, November 1300
Reading Scotland’s Records
Calling all budding palaeographers! Scottish Handwriting, 1500-1700 Tuesdays from 5.30 pm to 7 pm, from 25 September Archival records are amazing. They document the lives of our ancestors; they allow us to peer into past societies and they're a record of the events, big and small, that shaped our country into what it is today. Reading … Continue reading Reading Scotland’s Records
No Vote, No Census – Ruth Boreham on the 1911 Census suffrage protests
…I begged her not to interfere with me in the performance of my duty and told her I would listen only to her father, and that I would go whenever he asked me. Then she ran off to another room and almost instantly returned with a large brass bell which she kept constantly clanging … Continue reading No Vote, No Census – Ruth Boreham on the 1911 Census suffrage protests
The Hundred Days – Tank Campaign Scotland, 1918
Callander, Perthshire, 7 August 1918 #NRS100Days One hundred years ago today, the people of Callander were treated to a surprising sight as a new and frightening machine arrived on the high street of the Trossachs town. On 7 August 1918, crowds gathered for a look at “Julian” – a Mark IV British Army tank. Men, women and … Continue reading The Hundred Days – Tank Campaign Scotland, 1918
The Hundred Days
Over the next few months, National Records of Scotland will mark the centenary of the end of the First World War by delving into our archives for revealing documents and photographs from the closing phase of the conflict. The Hundred Days Offensive of 1918 was the last major campaign on the Western Front – a series … Continue reading The Hundred Days
Our Smallest Will
This tiny photograph is both the smallest and one of the most unusual items in our extensive collection of soldiers’ wills and testaments. The photograph belonged to Thomas Walker, who had been an Edinburgh wood machinist living at his brother’s residence before he enlisted to fight in World War I. Walker was killed in action … Continue reading Our Smallest Will
A Private Matter? Robert Burns, Agnes Maclehose & the Court of Session, by Professor Hector MacQueen
We head back to the law courts this week for a nineteenth century court case with some surprisingly modern themes about privacy and the public interest. On Valentine’s Day this year, Professor Hector MacQueen of the University of Edinburgh joined us at General Register House to share his observations about a court case arising from … Continue reading A Private Matter? Robert Burns, Agnes Maclehose & the Court of Session, by Professor Hector MacQueen
Voices from our Archives: Oscar Slater (1872-1948)
Crime writer Denise Mina recently joined NRS archivist Bruno Longmore at General Register House to research the 1909 trial of Oscar Slater, who was charged with the murder of an elderly woman in Glasgow. Slater’s trial was highly controversial at the time, attracting critical comments from across the United Kingdom including from Sir Arthur … Continue reading Voices from our Archives: Oscar Slater (1872-1948)
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