Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Archives hold records relating to the militia, WW1 and WW2 in the North East.
Aberdeenshire Militia Records
Scotland did not furnish any regular militia until 1797, though there had been areas where local militias had existed at an earlier date, such as Perthshire, and there was a programme of impressment in 1756 to provide troops for the Seven Years War. Enlistment into the militia was first raised by a ballot among men aged between 19 and 30, though in 1802 an act was passed which provided for the organisation of the militia on a similar basis to that of England.
A full list of the militia records (including commissions, testimonials and bounty certificates) held can be found on our Online Catalogue under the reference AS/AMil.
List of Appeals before the Aberdeenshire Commission for Military Impressment, 1757-58
This list comes from two volumes of minutes of meetings of a Commission formed to provide troops for the British Armed Forces at the start of the Seven Years War between Great Britain and France in 1756. In that same year an Act was passed through Parliament to allow a quick recruitment campaign to be started throughout the country for raising the necessary number of troops to fight the war in Europe. The Act appointed various bodies in the counties and cities of the land to administer and oversee the recruitment process within their subdivided districts, and in Aberdeenshire, this consisted of the Justices of the Peace and the Commissioners of Supply (collectors of tax throughout the County).
The main business of these newly formed Commissions under the Act was to recruit able-bodied unemployed men of 17-45 years of age from within the County boundary that had no form of monetary support or maintenance. The business of finding the recruits was delegated to Parish Officers or Constables who had powers to search their areas for potential candidates, and apprehend them for service in the army. As an extra inducement for their trouble in finding these men, the Act allowed for the Officers to be given 20 shillings (£1) for each man recruited.
Understandably this also provided encouragement for the process to be abused, and the Commission heard petitions from men appealing against their impressment and the behaviour of the constables in apprehending them.
The list is fairly short and provides basic details of the cases heard, including the names of the petitioners, their place of residence, and the date they appeared before the Commission. Our thanks go to volunteer Sandy Riddell for compiling it.
Muster Books
Muster books for the Aberdeenshire militia force raised in 1798 as a result of the Militia (Scotland) Act, 1797 are available to consult (ref. AS/Amil/3/1-3) . They cover 1798 - 1801. A transcription of two of these books are available below:
Enrolment Books
Enrolment books for four districts of the the Aberdeenshire militia have survived and are being transcribed. The first three are available below. Name abbreviations have been expanded e.g. Wm to William. Spellings have been left as they are in the original document, any other expansions are noted in square brackets. You may find this list of fencible units useful for researching the men's former service.
There is also a volume for 10th (Newmachar) District which will be transcribed soon.
Records of Certificates Granted for the Relief of the Wives and Families of Militia Men
These records detail the relief given to the wives of militia men between 1803 and 1816. The wives and families of militiamen were entitled to relief from their parish during their husband/father’s absence, and the certificates would have enabled them to apply for that relief.
Indexes give information inbcluding the name of the wife (including maiden name), the name of the husband, and the number of children they had on a given date. The same people often appear more than once, so it is worth looking through the whole document, which is electronically searchable.
Volunteers Muster Rolls, 1803-4
The muster rolls provided here note names of those that joined local militia forces during the anti-invasion preparations of 1802-4 at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. Although the information noted varies a little, in most cases the rolls give the names of those joining militia forces, the parish they were from, and the date that they enrolled.
Names have been provided in full, and expanded where abbreviated.
Accounts of Prisoner's Aliments
Account of the money paid to poor prisoners kept in the Tolbooth in Aberdeen in 1776 - 1777, giving each prisoner's name, crime accused of, committing officer, entry and length of stay in the Tolbooth, the number of days they have been there, how much has been paid for them, and how they were disposed of.
Aberdeen City Militia Records
List of men 16 and over in Aberdeen, 1759
The list of all men aged sixteen and above within the burgh of Aberdeen was compiled between 27 and 29 August 1759 as part of the preparations for the defence of the town against an invasion by the French. On 3 August 1759, the Council noted that the town was "defenceless ... for want of cannon, small arms and soldiers", and resolved to arm the Block House (Council Register, Volume 62, folio 258 verso); William Kennedy records that, in addition, a force of 500 defence volunteers was enrolled (Annals of Aberdeen, London, 1818, Volume 1, page 318). Twenty-seven sections of the list survive and have been transcribed:
General Band of Relief 1639
This document lists the names of the subscribers and non-subscribers to the General Band of Relief in Aberdeen in 1639 and gives the occupations of individuals. The payments were to be used to help pay for the efforts expended ensuring that Aberdeen would join the Covenant. This is a fascinating list as not only does it give a glimpse into those who were living in Aberdeen at the time, there are also notes regarding those who were away, where they were, and why. This is held at our Town House office.
WW1 - Prisoner of War Bureau Indexes
The Bureau was formed during the First World War to provide support for the families of soldiers from the North East of Scotland that had been taken prisoner during the conflict. Initially it only covered the Gordon Highlanders, but later individuals from other Regiments and other services were covered, including the Merchant Navy. The coverage of the Bureau therefore extended from Aberdeen City to the counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Kincardineshire.
Working via mutual acquaintances and a well developed postal system across Western Europe the Bureau was able to build up a register of prisoners that included their next of kin and where possible, their state of health. The Bureau acted as a point of contact for the next of kin providing news of the prisoners, or providing advice on what to send their soldier or how. It also co-ordinated benefactors to send parcels of supplies and letters of comfort to prisoners of war.
This index was compiled by volunteer Sandy Weir from Registers of Prisoners and Letter Books created by the Aberdeen and District Prisoner of War Bureau during World War 1 (1914-1919).
The list provided here has been compiled from volumes:
- ADPWB/1 Men's Ledger 1915 - 1919
- ADPWB/2 Men's Ledger 1915 - 1919
- ADPWB/4 List of Names of Prisoners of War serving with the Gordon Highlanders 1915 - 1919
- ADPWB/5 Copy Out-Letter Book 1915 - 1916
- ADPWB/6 Copy Out-Letter Book 1916, and
- ADPWB/7 Copy Out-Letter Book 1916 - 1917.
It is in alphabetical order, giving information where known. This includes names, serial numbers, Regiment / Ship / or organisation of origin, volume and page number where the reference occurs, and the date of reference. Please note that there are other volumes in this series which have not been indexed, but are available to view in the search room.
WW1 - Incident Registers
The Archives hold Incident Registers for World War Two. These registers recorded all incidents which took place during World War Two in the North East. We have plotted the information from these onto two maps:
Aberdeen City Air Raid Map 1940-1943
Aberdeenshire Air Raid Map 1940-1944
Please note that an accurate location may have been challenging to plot, as locations are often simply described as a place, such as 'Turriff' or 'North East of Buchanhaven'. Every effort has been made to ensure the maps are as accurate as possible.
Rolls of Honour
We have a number of Rolls of Honour for those who served or were killed in the First or Second World War in our collections. These include:
- City Roll of Honour, First World War (Town House Library & Old Aberdeen )
- Bon Record (Abredeen Grammar School former pupils killed in World War Two (Town House Library)
- St George in the West Parish, First World War (Town House Library)
- Auxiliary Air Force Squadron, Second World War (DD226, Town House)
- Scottish Agricultural College, Craibstone Campus, First World War (DD1239, Old Aberdeen - see below for index)
- Auchindoir and Lumsden, First World War (DD1878, Old Aberdeen - see below for index)
- Eddieston School Roll of Honour, First World War (ED/AC5/128/3/2, Old Aberdeen)
- Norco Drapery Salesmen killed in Great War (NORCO/11/28, off site)
Indexes are available for the following Rolls:
War Memorials
We have compiled a list of the names on the interior Nigg Church War Memorial, using the list given in a newspaper at the memorial's unveiling in 1921. This memorial has been removed, although the memorial in the kirkyard remains.
We also have records relating to the following War Memorials:
- ED/GR6S/A58/12 Aberdeen Grammar School War Memorial Committee, 1918-1926.
- AS/Aphd/4/7 Peterhead Burgh War Memorial Committee, 1918-1928.
- AS/AP/new/24 Newhills Parish Council: Parish of Newhills War Memorial Book, 1914 - 1919.
Other Sources
You may also be interested in the City Council's guide to City War Memorials.
NHS Grampian Archives have minutes relating to the Torphins and Kincardine O'Neil War Memorial Committee (reference GRHB 27/1).
Aberdeenshire Libraries hold the Strichen Comforts Committee minute book, 1941-1946, which includes information about the 1939-1945 roll of honour.