Alfred Charles Trotter - Royal Scots Regiment

[nhclark]

Alfred Charles Trotter, a dental student at Edinburgh University, originally enlisted in the 1/9th Battalion, Royal Scots Regiment as Private 2013, and went to France with his battalion on 24th February 1915.

In September 1915 he was back in Edinburgh to get married, and then on 31st October 1915 was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots.

I know quite a bit about him from a family history perspective, including his later involvement with the Straits Settlements Volunteer Forces, but I would like to know more about his activities as an officer in the First World War.

There's probably a simple answer to this question...but why cannot I find him in TNA file WO 338/19, the part of the index to 'officers' long numbers' covering the surname Trotter?

Thank you,

Noel

[spof]

Noel

If he was in the SSVF, thqt is very much after the 1920 cut off for releasing service records and his papers are probably still held by the MoD. These records are obtainable here https://www.gov.uk/requests-for-personal-data-and-service-records

Glen

[nhclark]

Glen,

Many thanks for your reply.

He left the army at or shortly after the end of the war and went into private practice in the U.K. as a dentist. Then between 1923 and 1935 he spent two years in southern Africa and over eight years in Penang, where he was a Captain in the Penang and Province Wellesley Volunteer Corps (P&PWVC). I would have thought that this would have been in a voluntary capacity? During the Second World War he was in the Army Dental Corps on a Temporary Commission from 1940 to at least 1947, reaching the rank of Major on 1st November 1947. Between 1940 and 1047 his number was 101151.

Does this fit in with his papers being at MoD?

Noel

[PPCLI]

Hi Noel,

In many cases, a territorial soldier would take up a commission with a territorial unit. Alfred was commissioned as an officer to the 4th Royal Scots (see link below), a Territorial Force battalion, so his file would not be part of the WO 339 collection (so no entry in WO 338 index). As a TF officer, his file should be held within the WO 374 collection but I have checked and it isn't. His WW2 temporary commission does suggest that an enquiry to the MoD may be worthwhile.

The following link to the London Gazette shows that he relinquished his commission from the 4th Royal Scots on 30 Sep 1921 and retained the rank of Lieutenant.

Cheers,

Stuart