William Watt 1896-1965 born Morayshire

[Stephen Laing]

Could the uniform from ww1 be identified, I’m sure it’s a Scottish regiment,
Please.

[MaxD]

Scottish yes but as the cap badge is almost completely obscured, it could be any one of a number who wore the Tam O Shanter.

Do you have any other related information, address in the war years, parents/wife etc  did he survive the war?

MaxD

[Stephen Laing]

My Grandfather survived the war , died 1965 in Glasgow, have searched on Ancestry but cannot locate his military records, we think he enlisted in Glasgow. Have attached his birth , marriage and death certificates, hope that helps

[MaxD]

Unfortunately not.

You may not know that some 60% or so of Great War records were destroyed by bombing and fire in WW2 so the odds are always against finding any one man.    There are many medal records in the name of William Watt in Scottish regiments but these records do not have distinguishing personal information.  In addition, if a man did not serve in one of the theatres of war, he would have no medal record which, if his record was lost, makes him pretty much invisible.

A possible source of clues is the absent voters list 1918.  These often, although not always, give a soldier's regiment.  However, the information from Glasgow City Council https://www.glasgowfamilyhistory.org.uk/ExploreRecords/Pages/Voters-Rolls.aspx seems to say there wasn't one there until 1920 when he may have left the services.

Sorry to be gloomy but no records is frustratingly familiar.

MaxD

[Stephen Laing]

Thanks for trying to source military records for my Grandfather’s records .
One of his daughters is still alive ,I’m going to make contact with her , hopefully she will have information about her father.

[GR2]

Medals help if they are still in the family. Any old letters/postcards could be useful. If he served abroad and received a New Testament (these often survive), his regiment and service number will be written inside. Failing that, it is always worth looking at newspapers, which can record enlistment, wounds received etc.