9th Royal Scots

[PPCLI]

Hi all,

 

This continues to be an interesting read - thanks to all the contributors. I had started the reply below before Ron's latest post:

 

Re Pipe-Major Thomas Porteous, Pipe-Major of the 2/9th Royal Scots and the 5th Scottish Provisional Battalion. My experience of researching Scottish lowland TF battalions leads me strongly to suggest that the card listed on the National Archives for a Sjt T Porteous, 1493 Royal Scots is indeed for this man.

 

You will note that this card is in a subset of the WO 372 MIC series i.e. WO 372/24 which represent 'Mentions in Despatches, Meritorious Service Medals and Territorial Force Efficiency Medals'. My research has shown that many experienced TF soldiers with low numbers within this series were recipients of the TFEM.

 

The MICs within WO 372/23 were not made available to Ancestry, so won't be found within its record set. This also appears to be the case with the WO 372/24 set.

 

 

Now continuing after Ron's post - my searches of men in the RSF 2651** and 2652** series indicate that they were all older home service TF men who were posted to the 11th Scottish Provisional Bn, so fits in with everything Ron states above.

 

Pre-war and early war #1493 9th Royal Scots and 5th and 11th Provisional Bns.

Latterly, 265222 11th Royal Scots Fusiliers

 

Cheers,

 

Stuart

Edited 18 April , 2017 by PPCLI

[Neill Gilhooley]

Thanks Stuart, great information and summary.

[Guest]

My father, John Anderson, submitted the photo of Pipe Major Thomas Porteous. T.P. had three children: Thomas Jr., William (Billy), and Mary Lina (Lina). My father, who was born in Edinburgh, starting seeing my mother Lina at age 14; they had a mutual friend Annie Potts. My mother was born in Dundee on December 18, 1915; T.P. was in France at that time. He managed to buy small lace envelope and on a small card wrote “For my darling daughter”; he also included a miniature St Nicholas ceramic (these are still in the family).

After WWI, T.P. became a warden in the Saughton Prison, they lived on Prison Cottages Lane. He still played the pipes in some formal capacity and I recall a newspaper article about him retiring from the position in 1940. When Cole Porter’s song “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” came on the radio in 1936, he was repulsed by the thought of having anything under your skin! My mother recalled that two or three weeks later her father was playing the tune on the pipes! I think T.P. died in the mid-1950’s.

My mother attended the Princess Louise School of Nursing after demonstrating that she could care for a young child for a year. I think it was the Gillen family and the little girl was named Yvonne. She became a preemie nurse and Scottish nurses were sought by the rich families both in Britain and the United States. My mother traveled across the Atlantic a number of times and even attended the 1939 World's Fair in New York City.

My parents would've married in 1940 if it hadn't been for Mr. Hitler. My mother made a crossing to the United States and then was stranded there when they shut down civilian traffic on the Atlantic. My father was the first of five brothers to enlist in the army in 1940 he joined the Royal Scots and at 24 was considered the "old man" in the barracks. He quickly rose to Corporal, Lance Corporal and Sergeant and was a successful applicant to Officer Candidate School. He served in the quartermaster corps and was in Iraq and India and then back to Iraq before he was able to leave the material of war and return to the British Isles. Upon his return he found that his old job at the Edinburgh Gasworks was gone as it was privatized. My mother was doing quite well as a sought after Scottish nurse in Manhattan. My mother visited Edinburgh when my father returned in 1948 and suggested that he come to the states because work was available there and she was going back to an excellent job. My father made his way to Canada and then down to New York and they were married in 1950 in the Little Church Around the Corner in New York City. I arrived in June 1951, probably 10 years late for the plans that they had.

William Porteous, Jr. served in WWII in the Signal Corps of the Royal Scots and was killed in China. I've seen his name in the register of the chapel at Edinburgh Castle. Tom had a wife, Jean, and a daughter; I think they moved to Australia in the 1960's. Billy Porteous was chronically ill and was a gardener for a small Edinburgh estate.

[Neill Gilhooley]

Garth,

Thank you very much for your contribution, excellent. You'll have seen Ron, Stuart and I have been guessing about T.P.! Great to read the family story too.

Neill

Edited 10 August , 2017 by Neill Gilhooley

[Ron Abbott]

Thanks Garth,

 

I found the birth record of Mary Lina White Porteous (b 18th Dec 1915 in Dundee) and it records her father's occupation as prison warder.....and as Pipe-Major of the 9th Royal Scots.  

 

It is recorded that her father, Thomas Hood Porteous married Mary Alexander Shiels on 26th Feb 1908 in Edinburgh.  He was 27 at the time and his occupation was recorded as coal miner.  Residence then was in Tranent.  

 

Pipe-Major Thomas Hood Porteous had been born in Tranent on 15th Dec 1880. 

He died on 8th June 1962 at Queensberry House (hospital) in the Canongate.  

 

(his wife, Mary Lina had passed away in Edinburgh aged 66 in 1942 at which time they had been living at 5 Glendevon Park......when Pipe-Major Porteous passed away in 1962, this was still the family residence).

 

You'll also find him in the various census records.  Father's name was also Thomas Porteous and his mother was Helen (a.k.a. Ellen) Porteous (nee Hood).

 

It looks like he may also have been the same man (regimental number 2775) whose militia attestation papers dated 1900 can be found on FMP.  He appears to have been serving in the 7th Volunteer Battalion, Royal Scots as of 1900 and then joined the Royal Garrison Artillery.

Of course it may not be the same man, but certainly the same name, age and town of residence. 

Edited 10 August , 2017 by Ron Abbott

[Neill Gilhooley]

Good work Ron.

It may be coincidence but, as you have already observed, Band Master Laubach was RGA early in the century, though admittedly in Edinburgh. It is possible they met in that organisation and were persuaded together to 9RS.

On 18/04/2017 at 11:31, Ron Abbott said:

Laubach's records can be viewed via Ancestry.  Apparently served in the Edinburgh City Royal Garrison Artillery

 

[Guest]

Hello,

 I would like to ask whether this Major Thomas Porteous is the descendant from Major Charles Porteous(1776-1816),20th Regiment of Bengal who married Elizabeth Rawstorne in India?.

They had seven children.

Please let me know.

 

Winson Saw

[robbie56]

Reference to Dudgeon. There's also a reference to a Private Porteus but not attached.

Edited 30 December , 2017 by robbie56

[Guest]

I can throw more light on the parentage of Pipe Major Thomas Hood Porteous. His great grandparents were Thomas Porteous (a seaman) and Jean/Jane Balleny who married on 16 October 1820 in Prestonpans, East Lothian. Their daughter (my great great grandmother) Margaret Porteous 1831-1895 married David Neill on 19 January 1863. However Margaret appears to have had an illegitimate child 8 years before her marriage – Thomas Porteous 1855-1900 (killed in a pit accident at Tranent). Thomas and Helen/Ellen Hood (I can’t find a marriage record) had three children, one of whom was Thomas Hood Porteous. I doubt very much if they are descendants of Major Charles Porteous.

[Neill Gilhooley]

On 4/1/2018 at 15:50, JACK L said:

I can throw more light on the parentage of Pipe Major Thomas Hood Porteous

Thank you Jack L. Perhaps you know Garth Anderson, above, or have the opportunity to contact him if you so wish.

[Neill Gilhooley]

On 21/08/2016 at 17:40, alistair_m said:

Hello,

Ive undertaken task of colourising a photograph of my Great Uncle Arthur Lawson, Reg No 1954.

 

Alistair, I see Arthur Lawson has started to appear on some book sellers sites, such as amazon.