Is this a World War Two dogtag? Royal Scots

Discussion in 'Weapons, Technology & Equipment' started by nemesis, Dec 17, 2019.

  1. nemesis

    nemesis Senior Member

    Not sure about the service number for WW2. Can anyone advise on its content.thanks for looking
    72FDDC91-37BF-462A-877B-990D7E1F8637.jpeg
     
  2. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    WW2 tags don't have the unit, this looks more like WW1, I've had a look and cant see him listed on the WW1 Medal Index Cards but he may not have seen overseas service or enlisted late War
     
    dbf likes this.
  3. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    The below taken from the Long Long Trail website, the 2/9th didn't see action in WW1 - there wasn't a 2/9th in WW2, so it dates from WW1 - he may have moved to a different unit and got new tags

    2/9th (Highlanders) Battalion
    Formed at Edinburgh in September 1914. Moved to Peebles in May 1915.
    November 1915 : attached to 195th Brigade, 65th Division at Tillicoultry. Renamed 20th Bn until January 1916
    Moved to Essex in March 1916, going on to Tralee in January 1917. Moved to Limerick in July 1917.
    Disbanded near Fermoy in March 1918.
     
    Chris C likes this.
  4. nemesis

    nemesis Senior Member

    Thanks for the reply. I couldnt find him on the medal index card system. The disc came with a WW1 pair to a Lieut Alexander Burgess ,his MIC said Royal Highlanders. He wrote a book about his memoirs “ Passport from China “ will make enquires about that.
     
  5. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    There is stuff in here about the Provisional Battalions The 10 Provisional Brigades it has the following

    7th Provisional Battalion (connected to 7th, 8th & 9th Royal Scots) at Kinghorn in August 1915 to April 1916, merged into 5th Provisional Battalion*
     
  6. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    This is odd for me to say BUT I would lay money on that bring WW1 - and you all know how tight I am with money

    TD
     
  7. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    I would say they are his tags from before his Commission and moving on to the Black Watch by the sound of it - WW1 with Regimental numbers and having the unit details meant you could go through a few discs as you got moved about unlike WW2 where it was name/number/religion so you only needed to change if you were commissioned and got a new number
     
  8. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Have searched Ancestry for WW1 records on just that number and no Burgess appears
    Also checked/searched against that name, and again no results
    So would guess it’s just post WW1 and before the new numbering system arrived in the 1920’s

    TD
     
  9. nemesis

    nemesis Senior Member

    Thanks To all for helping , i will follow it up with details from his book. and publish what I find out
     
    AB64 likes this.
  10. nemesis

    nemesis Senior Member

    The dogtag is for a home service battalion . Burgess was commissioned in the Black Watch.
    Alexander Burgess wrote a book “Passport from China” . In the book he writes that he joined the Army as a private in the Royal Scots in 1915 but gets a commission in the Black Watch when he went to France as a Black Watch Lt , he served with the depleted Second Gordons . He was de mobbed in 1919.
    As a private he didn't get any medals and has no MIC .
    Thanks to all for the assistance with this.
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2019
    AB64 likes this.

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