TOPIC:

Hi, I am finding it very difficult to find which regiment my Grandpapa Donald McLean, was in, during the Boer War, I don't know if he was maybe a volunteer at the time. He was born 20/10/1880 in Glasgow, and was Acting Corporal in WW1 where he had died. I would love to find out which medals he may have got for the Boer War but I am going round in circles trying to find an easy way to find the information about him. Can anyone help? Ive found about 3 possibles, but without knowing their date of birth, Ive no way of knowing if its him or not

HeatherMc,

This is a difficult one.

Looking at the medal rolls, there are quire a few potential matches:

D Mclean 1st Battalion The Royal Scots
D Mclean 2nd Scottish Horse
D Mclean Royal Army Medical Corps
D Mclean 3rd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
D Mclean 9th Company Army Service Corps
D Mclean 2nd Battalion R F A
D Mclean 3rd Div Amm Col
D Mclean 4th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
D Mclean 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers
D Mclean 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders
D Mclean 3rd Scottish Rifles
D Mclean 1st Cameron Highlanders
D Mclean 8th Field Hospital 5th Division Royal Army Medical Corps
D Mclean 2nd Battalion The Royal Scots
D Mclean 141th Company 31st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

The only way I know to answer your question would be to use Ancestry to go through each potential match, identifying the regiment and service number and then to search FindMyPast to see whether there are any service records available for these men (to verify their date of birth).

It is not possible to work backwards from the service records because we know these are not complete.

Where does the 1901 census say he was?

I am presuming there are no papers for his Great War service?

Best wishes
David

djb wrote: HeatherMc,

This is a difficult one.

Looking at the medal rolls, there are quire a few potential matches:

D Mclean 1st Battalion The Royal Scots
D Mclean 2nd Scottish Horse
D Mclean Royal Army Medical Corps
D Mclean 3rd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
D Mclean 9th Company Army Service Corps
D Mclean 2nd Battalion R F A
D Mclean 3rd Div Amm Col
D Mclean 4th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
D Mclean 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers
D Mclean 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders
D Mclean 3rd Scottish Rifles
D Mclean 1st Cameron Highlanders
D Mclean 8th Field Hospital 5th Division Royal Army Medical Corps
D Mclean 2nd Battalion The Royal Scots
D Mclean 141th Company 31st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

The only way I know to answer your question would be to use Ancestry to go through each potential match, identifying the regiment and service number and then to search FindMyPast to see whether there are any service records available for these men (to verify their date of birth).

It is not possible to work backwards from the service records because we know these are not complete.

Where does the 1901 census say he was?

I am presuming there are no papers for his Great War service?

Best wishes
David

Hi David, thanks so much for getting back to me, I didn't see any of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders info on Ancestry or Findmypast. I couldn't find him on the 1901 census, so I think he must have been away in the Boer War at that time. When he was in WW1 he was promoted to Corporal from Lance Corporal of the 2nd battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Did they ever change battalion? When I went into Findmypast and Ancestry, none of the Argyll and Sutherlands came up , just about 8 Donald McLeans. I have his medal index for WW1 but that's all I have. I searched the WO100/206 file on National Archives for his name, but there were only 2 sergeants D.McLean, and he must have been a Private or Lance Corporal at the time. I searched the full roll of all of the Argylls in the Boer War so I don't think he was in the regiment at that time. I wish I could find out more, its quite frustrating!

I found information that said volunteers from Glasgow were made burgesses of the city if they volunteered for the Boer War, but I cant find his name in that or in the W100/206 lists of Argylls. He must have been in another regiment and not a volunteer. Was it normal in those days to change regiment?

djb wrote: HeatherMc,

This is a difficult one.

Looking at the medal rolls, there are quire a few potential matches:

D Mclean 1st Battalion The Royal Scots
D Mclean 2nd Scottish Horse
D Mclean Royal Army Medical Corps
D Mclean 3rd Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
D Mclean 9th Company Army Service Corps
D Mclean 2nd Battalion R F A
D Mclean 3rd Div Amm Col
D Mclean 4th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
D Mclean 1st Battalion Royal Fusiliers
D Mclean 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders
D Mclean 3rd Scottish Rifles
D Mclean 1st Cameron Highlanders
D Mclean 8th Field Hospital 5th Division Royal Army Medical Corps
D Mclean 2nd Battalion The Royal Scots
D Mclean 141th Company 31st Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

The only way I know to answer your question would be to use Ancestry to go through each potential match, identifying the regiment and service number and then to search FindMyPast to see whether there are any service records available for these men (to verify their date of birth).

It is not possible to work backwards from the service records because we know these are not complete.

Where does the 1901 census say he was?

I am presuming there are no papers for his Great War service?

Best wishes
David

Hi David,
The list above has a D McLean 1st Cameron Highlanders. I cant find that one when I search for it, but I do know that he had enlisted in the Cameron Highlanders just after his 18th birthday in 1898, and there was a discharge 46 days later! Then money returned to his mother in July 1902!! I don't know what that means, does it mean he could have re-enlisted? I found another 2 D.McLeans on Ancestry, their service numbers are 1694 and 1926, but I cant find them on Findmypast or National Archives. Theres a 6293 aswell,, I could find his service record and it wasn't him.