Research
About our Research Service
The Black Watch Castle & Museum can provide access to our collections on-site or remotely via our research enquiry service. There are charges for these services, but we recommend you first contact our museum team to discuss your enquiry or research interests. More information about these services and contact details are provided below.
Archivist: research@theblackwatch.co.uk
Curator: curator@theblackwatch.co.uk
Research Enquiries
If you would prefer our team to undertake research on your behalf, then please submit a research enquiry. As we do not have the resources to participate in unfunded research, we ask for a £20 non-refundable donation at the time you submit your enquiry. Please note that we cannot guarantee that our research efforts will find the answers to your enquiry. For example, we do not hold individual service records in our collections unless these have been donated to the museum. For men who served after WW1 we have very little or no information. If you contact the archivist they can let you know what information we are likely to be able to help you find before you decide whether to proceed with your research request. We have also provided some general information about the records held in our collections further down this page.
If you would like to proceed to use our research enquiry service, please fill in and submit the form below. After submitting your request, you will be redirected to make an online payment.
Records in our Collection
We hold records from the 18th century up to 2006, however, the majority of our records cover the period from the Second Boer War up to World War Two (i.e. 1899 – 1945).
We hold both regimental records (e.g. order books, attestation lists, roll books) and soldiers’ personal records (e.g. letters, diaries, photographs, scrapbooks). Note that the records are not comprehensive and do not cover all date periods. The personal records have been privately donated to the museum and may also contain army forms/books which can provide details of service and family details. However, they only represent a very small number of soldiers who have served with The Black Watch.
Please note that the content of some records may be restricted and not available for public access (e.g. GDPR legislation).
Records Held Elsewhere
Service information may also be available in records held by other archives. However, not all records have survived so some information may not be available elsewhere. During WW2, the War Office Record Store was bombed resulting in the loss of many soldiers’ records.
Service records for soldiers and officers whose service ended after 1920 are held by either the Ministry of Defence or The National Archives. We have very limited information on individual soldiers from this time onwards. Contact our archivist for more information.
We have physical copies of some battalion war diaries, however, for WW1 most of these have been digitised and are available to view online at The National Archives.
You may also find digitised military records (or transcriptions) on family history subscription websites, such as Ancestry and Findmypast.
What You Can Expect From Our Research
The research will be carried out by the archivist, curator, or other museum staff and volunteers depending on the nature of the enquiry.
We will conduct research using our archive collections, reference library and online resources.
We aim to respond to enquiries as quickly as possible, however, please allow up to 6 weeks, from the time payment has been made, to receive research findings.
We will send the response via email unless advised otherwise. If you haven’t received a response please check your email junk/spam folder as it may have been wrongly directed there. Please contact us otherwise.
Research Visits
We have a dedicated space for visiting researchers who wish to access our collections on-site. To use this there is a charge of £12 for a half day, or, £24 for a full day. Researchers may visit Monday to Friday, although weekend appointments may be possible. Visits must be booked in advance, with details provided about the records required. To make a booking please contact the archivist at research@theblackwatch.co.uk
Catalogues
We have catalogued some of our archive collections, with each catalogue relating to an individual Black Watch servicemen. You can browse the catalogues on The National Archives website. Alternatively for a more detailed pdf copy of the catalogue please contact our archivist at research@theblackwatch.co.uk. This is an ongoing project therefore we advise you to keep checking for any newly catalogued collections.
Digital Collections
Following a 4-year project funded by a LIBOR grant from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Army Museums Ogilby Trust (AMOT) launched The Ogilby Muster (TOM).
TOM is an online platform that provides access to the First World War archives held in regimental museums across the UK. This includes some items from The Black Watch Museum’s archive collections which were digitised for the project.
Useful Links
For assistance in carrying out your own research, please see our Trace a Soldier page. This page includes information about where service records are held, other useful research sources, and a book list.
For information on medals: getting them issued, re-issued and citations contact the MOD medal office.
For more information on tracing your family history in Perthshire see the website for Culture Perth & Kinross.
For information on the Scottish Horse Regiment contact Dunkeld Community Archive.
