THE SEAFORTH MILITIA

[Crofter]

My grandfather, Donald MacIver, served with the Seaforth Militia around 1900.

Any ideas on where I could get more information on this. Over 20 men from my home village of North Tolsta volunteered for active service in South Africa and they were sent to Egypt.

I know only that they did Garrison Duty in Cairo, what did that entail? There was unrest in The Sudan at the time, would they have been involved in that?

I have drawn a blank in obtaining service records at TNA and at Ancestry.


Regards, Donald.

[Geoffers]

My grandfather, Donald MacIver, served with the Seaforth Militia around 1900. Any ideas on where I could get more information on this. I have drawn a blank in obtaining service records at TNA and at Ancestry.

I'm not surprised that Ancestry have nothing, but I'm surprised that that you haven't found anything at TNA. Did you look at the militia attestation papers in WO96? (Note that these are separate from the regualr army discharge documents in WO97). Anything at TNA in the Militia records in WO68?

[Geoffers]

.............further to my above message, I've just done a search of TNA's catalogue and it seems likely that his attestation papers shoud be contained within this file: 72nd foot (Seathforth Higlanders) BEA-YOU (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=1572&CATLN=6&Highlight=%2CSEAFORTH&accessmethod=0)

You could request an estimate for copying the record for you chap, if the record is found.

[Lesley Robertson]

My grandfather, Donald MacIver, served with the Seaforth Militia around 1900.

Any ideas on where I could get more information on this. Over 20 men from my home village of North Tolsta volunteered for active service in South Africa and they were sent to Egypt.

I know only that they did Garrison Duty in Cairo, what did that entail? There was unrest in The Sudan at the time, would they have been involved in that?

I have drawn a blank in obtaining service records at TNA and at Ancestry.


Regards, Donald.

Searching on Seaforth Militia as a phrase in the National Archives of Scotland catalogue delivered over 2500 hits... I don't have time to look at them. You might also get useful info from the Seaforth Highlanders Museum - see here :
http://www.armymuseums.org.uk/museums/0000000084-The-Highlanders-Regimental-Museum.htm

Lesley

[Crofter]

Thank you Geoffers and Lesley for your input.

I have tried and better tried searching TNA and NAS with no luck. Always the same answer - No Results.

The 72nd Foot linked with the 78th Foot in 1881 to become the 1st and 2nd Battalions, The Seaforth Highlanders.

The 3rd (Militia) Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, was formed at about this time also. As my grandfather served with this lot between 1898 - 1901, I would think it unlikely that any records of this period would be found among the records of units no longer in existance.

The NAS say that since the Union (1707) military records are held in London.

All the mentions of the phrase "Seaforth Militia" do not actually refer to records relating to the Seaforth Militia.

I have visited the Seaforth Highlanders Museum at Fort George, Inverness. Although this was indeed the 3rd Battalion's home base, they do not have individual service records. They refered me to the usual channels with which I have been having such little success.

Could it be that if those particular records were among those destroyed by bombing during WW2 the conventional avenues of research are closed to me. My only hope, in this case, is that someone might know of some unconventional channel of enquiry.

In the meantime, thanks again for your efforts on my behalf. I'll just have to KBO..

[Geoffers]

I have tried and better tried searching TNA and NAS with no luck. Always the same answer - No Results.

Okedoke, to know what to try and advise next; what have you searched at TNA?

If in person, what class records?

If using their online catalogue what searches have you carried out? Have you just been searching by a name, or have you tried the attestation papers in WO96 (In particular WO96/1118)?

There may be something else to suggest, but it depends on what you have checked so far.

[Crofter]

Thanks Geoffers.

I have been searching by the name. I'm afraid thats as far as my knowledge of navigating that site goes.