The week beginning 2nd of June was Volunteers Week and we decided to ask one of our long-term volunteers a few questions about his time with us and his work with the Scottish Rifles (Cameronians) regimental collection. Volunteering has a very special place in our regiment’s history as it had a long tradition of brave men who joined the Territorial Army and Volunteer Reserve.
Brandon is a military history enthusiast who is currently studying Social Sciences at New College Lanarkshire. He has done some amazing work for our blog, researching the men behind the medals and it is always a very bright and pleasant day when he comes to our museum.
Our volunteer, Brandon, holding the finished cabinet medal index which he helped create. The display next to him was also created with his help.
Interview:
How long have you been volunteering with us, Brandon?
A year and 3-4 months.
Is this the first time you have volunteered?
Yes.
Why did you decide to volunteer at our museum?
I was on a course, a RISE course, where you get help finding your future plans and, because I was always interested in history, I wanted to look into working with libraries or museums. In the end, I thought museums were the better fit for me.
Had you visited this museum when you were young?
Yes, but when I was very little.
Why did you decide museums were better than libraries?
They have a closer link with military history.
What did you expect volunteering would be like? Was it different than what you thought?
I didn’t really have expectations when I started. It was better than I thought, certainly. The work environment is very good and everyone is very nice. It’s a combination of the collection material and the people who support me that made it a successful experience.
Did you know of the Cameronians (Scottish Riffles) regiment before you began your time with us?
No, but I was always fascinated by military history and knew of other Scottish regiments.
What is your favourite fact about our regiment?
I really like how it is more linked with the working class of Scotland and that the soldiers were often everyday Scottish people who volunteered to take part.
What is your favourite object from the regimental collection?
I really like the military medals. They tell the stories of people who often weren’t officers, but their brave actions granted them the recognition they deserved.
I know that you have always liked military history. Has your perspective on this side of history changed after helping us at the museum for over a year?
I am a lot more appreciative of what the soldiers did. It is a lot more than I ever knew from their beginning. It makes me proud to be Scottish when I learn of all they did and the part they played.
What is your favourite era of our regimental collection?
World war 2 is the most interesting part of the collection. It’s the freshest in my mind. Everything that happened in the western front. You think of all the sacrifices and the people who died and how we have records that commemorate this. And you get to see the changes of the medals from WW1 to WW2. For example, for WW1 medals, the soldiers names were on them but for WW2, this wasn’t the case. I am just fascinated by this change and the possible reasons behind it.
You really find an interesting strand of social history in our collection?
Yes, it is a lot about class. I am fascinated how the same actions would grant different medals to officers and to private soldiers or volunteer soldiers. Class is a big part of medals, in my opinion. Social class is something that I was always interested in because it can divide and separate very easily.
What do you do as part of your volunteering?
Helping with inventory and writing blog posts.
Which is your favourite?
I can’t choose. They go hand in hand for me.
What is the most memorable part of research you did for the collection?
The story of Thomas Scott. His story is really good, and we have letters of him being given the military medal, but he wasn’t alive to receive it. While he was dying, he gave his servant his pocket watch and then the servant possibly returned it because we have it in the museum collection along with other items that relate to Thomas Scott. I just really like that we can see a story through the various objects.
Why do you continue to volunteer?
Because it never gets boring. I am always learning something new about a person or the museum in general. You might do the same thing at times but it never gets boring.
How would you pitch the interest of a regimental/military collection to someone who doesn’t know a lot about this kind of history? What makes it very interesting to you?
The uniqueness of the regimental collection is that we get to examined the people within the regiment in depth. It is almost like a movie and the stuff you read feel unreal, but we know they happened.
What are your future plans?
To work in a museum! Study until I have enough qualifications for a museum to accept me.
Brandon has contributed the following articles for our blog:
This Cameronian is an example of a soldier that served in the First World War with 1st Battalion, but continued as regular beyond 1918 and is an example of a senior soldier, who remained in the Regiment, in this case with 2nd Battalion, in which he rose to the rank of Company Sergeant Major. His long career came to an abrupt end when he died of encephalitis when with the Battalion in Quetta.
Arthur enlisted on 14th June 1905 and above are the two pages of his record; hand -written, not only showing his times home and abroad, but attestation location and personal details, such as occupation at enlistment, family members, address etc. In other words, a synopsis of a career., You will see his line fifth down on both pages. Unlike other soldiers’ records, there are blank columns in the ‘discharge’ section which would prove a mystery, if we didn’t know that Arthur died while serving abroad, and we can look at that later.
This record shows that McMullins was 18 years and two months old when he signed up. This he did in Stratford in London, and in occupation as a labourer. An interesting point to note is that the Cameronians recruited from far afield and not always locally, as some may think.
This valuable document also records he was married to a Martha Elizabeth Darnell and had three children, living in Shoreditch. The date of the marriage was 2nd August 1914 and it is safe to surmise that they decided to wed before Arthur was sent abroad. We can read that he embarked for France on 14th.
Finally, there are details campaigns, awards and any wounds received. We can list McMullins’ campaigns and times at home:
Home 14/6/05 to 18/9/07
India 19/09/07 to 14/12/09
S Africa 15/12/09 to 11/3/12
Home 12/3/12 to 13/8/14
France 14/8/14 to 10/9/16
Home 11/9/16 to 30/7/18
India 10/19 to 1922
Quetta 1922
Kurdistan/ Bagdad Iraq 1923
Quetta 1924
Arthur John McMullins served with the 1st Battalion in WW1, and published in the London Gazette on 10th October 1916 is the announcement of his award of a Military Medal. Usually, the Gazette entries were published two or three months after the relative action. (It took time for the process of recommendation and signatures). We can safely say that his act of gallantry occurred around July/August 1916. Without being too presumptuous, his brave deed could have been during the 1st Battalion involvement in the battle at High Wood. (Citations for bravery are on record for WW2 awards, but most of the citations relating to WW1 actions were destroyed by fire in the 1940s).
What about MucMullins’ previous career pre-WW1?
We know that he joined up in June 1905 and we know that the 1st Battalion was in India at that time and Arthur must have been sent out in 1907 to spend some time before the battalion left India for South Africa in late 1909. The 1st returned to Scotland in March 1912 ( In the1911 census he shows up travelling back with what would be his brother -in -law Edward Darnell, himself in the 1st) and left for war in France in August 1914. What we can’t explain is why Arthur McMullins was home in September 1916. We know that the 1st Battalion moved into trenches at Foncquevilliers on 11th and was deployed with the attacks on the enemy in October. It may be surmised that McMullins had been wounded in the summer and was sent home to recover. There is no evidence for this, but it seems he had little to contribute to the Battalion for the rest of the war.
Looking at the award for Military Medal, it seems that by that time Arthur was a corporal, with 10-11 years’ service. Compared with many of the men he was serving with, he would have been an experienced member of the battalion.
Lieutenant Colonel Richard Oakley was asked to reform the 2nd Battalion in 1919 as they were wanted for service in India then into Quetta 1922.
In 1923 a rebellion took place against Iraq by Kurdish Sheikh Mahmoud with help from Turkey and, as Britain felt responsible for the independence of Iraq a force was mobilised, and the 2nd Battalion joined an expedition to Kurdistan . An extensive account of this appears in The Covenanter in September 1923. They marched 475 miles to Bagdad by 15th May. Soldiers on this campaign received a KURDISTAN clasp to their General Service Medal.
The Battalion returned to Quetta where they spent the next years. There are quite a few references in the Covenanter to sports and shooting matches. A photograph of the ‘C’ Company 1923 boxing team in Bagdad with what is now Company Sergeant Major A. J. McMullins at the front in uniform. Arthur is regularly mentioned in the Covenanter through the 1920s and had become a popular and important figure in the Battalion.
We have in the collection a selection of caricatures of figures of NCO’s and other ranks from 2nd Battalion in 1927. McMullins is shown top right corner.
Arthur John McMullins died in Quetta of encephalitis, a rare condition of the brain, on 18th October 1927 aged just 40. He is buried in Baleli Road Cemetery, Quetta
In The Covenanter of January 1928
‘We regret to announce the death on the 18th October of C.S.M A, ], M’Mullins, from encephalitis, after serving since 1906 with the Regiment and always being exceptionally fit he was noted cross-country runner in his younger days in South Africa. It is sad that he should have succumbed so soon before his time to go home had come. All ‘ B’ Company mourns a most gallant Sergeant Major, and the sympathy of the whole Battalion is extended to his widow and three children in their loss.’
‘2nd Battalion Notes’ and ‘Sergeant Mess Notes’ the following was written
‘ It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death of our very old friend C.S.M McMullins, who was one of our oldest members. Badly as we may feel his loss, there are others who feel it more so, and it is to them, Mrs. McMullins and her children and relatives to whom we extend our deep sympathy in their bereavement and trust their future burden will be in some way lightened’
(C.S.M McMullins is seated second from the left)
Interestingly –from the Covenanter Sept.1928… as a post-script:
C.M.S. McMullins’ eldest son was a pupil of the Queen Victoria School in Dunblane, a school which had, and still does have, links with the Cameronians.
QUEEN VICTORIA SCHOOL. List of boys in above School whose fathers served, or are serving in the Regiment. Bain, J., son of Sergt. A. Bain, 3rd Battalion. Barnes, G., son of C.S.M. G. Barnes. Black, A., son of Pte. A. Black, killed in action, 23/10/16. Brown, J., son of Corpl. J. Brown, 2nd Battalion. Burke, W., son of Sergt. Burke, 1st Battalion., Carroll, W., Carroll, V., sons of Sgt . W. Carroll.. Dunn, V., son of Capt. R. Dunn. . Fyfe, A., son of Pte. A. Fyfe, 2/5th Battalion, died while serving, 3/4/ 1 7. Heron, A., son of Pte. J. Heron, killed in action, 25/9/15. Kitson, W., son of Corpl. A. Kitson. M’Mullins, A., son of C.S.M. A. M’Mullins, 2nd Battalion. Pike, H., Pike R., sons of R.Q.M.S. H. Pike, late 2nd Battalion, Thomson, J., son of Srgt. R. Thomson, 2nd Battalion.
In 1953, National Service slid into a continued service of three and a half years with the Territorial Army. As a Cameronian, it was necessary to answer a call and attend “D Company” at a drill hall in Wishaw. Here, about twenty to thirty men assembled around a good-natured Sergeant who summarised our near future. As he handed out shoulder badges, he explained we were now one small unit of the 264 Scottish Beach Brigade. Somewhat stunned, we formed ranks for a talk by the Officer in Charge, who attempted to explain what it all meant.
Shoulder Badge of ‘264’
At the time, however, it was a bit of a puzzle but it was an attractive badge that had been distributed. The next meeting was to attend the barracks in Hamilton at 2pm, one Saturday. After a morning at work in uniform, the East Kilbride Chieftain bus dropped me off at Hamilton’s ‘top cross’, and a brisk march led to the barracks. This was the Cameronians ‘Head Office’ and seemed to be teeming with soldiers all asking the same question, “What are we doing here ?” Army trucks arrived and the troops clambered on board for a journey through Hamilton to the Chatelherhault High Parks. Recalling the occasion is not easy … it may have been shooting practice. Daylight was going and the trucks ferried everyone back to the barracks in Hamilton.
Life continued in this way with monthly meetings at the Drill Hall in Wishaw and the occasional muster in Hamilton. There was an obligatory summer camp held in the County of Moray; nearby, a convenient bus service travelled to Elgin. In a public house, the barman was shocked when he came to serve us … he remembered us from the Egypt days and was so overcome with emotion that the first round was on the house.
Back in Wishaw, we were briefed on the annual camp for 1954. It would take place in Belgium when the 264 Scottish Beach Brigade would be an important part of Exercise Winch. The journey started with a slow train journey south to a ship waiting in Harwich dock. One singular amusement occurred. During a brief pause at Newcastle station, a few soldiers left the train to search for a cuppa tea. All went well, until that the train departed … and they remained on the platform !
On arriving in Zeebrugge, Belgium, umpteen squads formed up and marched to camps for an allocation of tents … that is, six men to a tent & wait for more instructions. Of course, we waited.
There was activity the following days following a selection of men for duty on the beach, which was like a film set by now. A ship at anchor swarmed with men receiving bulky bundles that descended into amphibious craft, known as DUKWs.
A press cutting explains
Elsewhere, whenever there was space, DUKWs pitched up onto the beach and teams set about unloading the huge bundles for transport to lorries nearby. [Author’s note: Here my memory is hazy but I can recall using short lengths of narrow gauge rails which fitted together so that wheeled trolleys could whisk the heavy packages along the sandy beach. Can any reader verify this ? ]
Commanders meet the Naval Admiral who had overall charge
All went well for a few days. There was variety in the tasks being handed out. Some folks were sea-sick, some DUKWs lost their loads, which floated away until rescued by the Military Police operating from speed boats. Free afternoons that were allocated to Bren gun practice developed into speed challenges. Bets were exchanged but in each race, the duty sergeant failed to beat “Big Ned” who knew the Bren gun backwards.
Larger amphibious craft replaced the DUKWs for large loads
Local tram cars served the holiday resort of Blankenberg and it also was easy to visit the attractive city of Bruges. Our uniforms interested holiday makers … some girls claimed they wanted to practice their English. An ability to speak French also helped to clinch company for the evening.
It was a Thursday. Everything was functioning well. The Beach Brigade was working like a well-oiled machine until an announcement came over the loud speakers set up along the beach. “Return to barracks !”
Loading petered out just as a load was being rescued
In two and threes we walked back to camp while discussing the abrupt message. It was later in the day that the explanation was offered … “There will be no need for a beach brigade in future wars.” [Author’s note : Tell that to the men involved in the Falklands War!]
Back home in ‘Blighty’, good news followed. TA service was to be cut to two years. I had done my time. End of story !
At Question Time in the House of Commons on 2nd November 1954, a summary of our activities summarised the exercise as follows:
Mr. Swingler:
asked the Secretary of State for War to make a statement on the nature of Exercise “Winch”; how many men took part in it; the total cost; why it was held in Belgium; and whether similar exercises will be held in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Head:
This exercise trained 264 Scottish Beach Brigade, Territorial Army, in landing stores across beaches. About 5,000 men, of whom just over 4,000 came from this country, took part. By holding the exercise in Belgium, it was possible for them to handle the normal movement of stores to the British Army of the Rhine, which were diverted through the beaches, so that the exercise cost much less than if an artificial exercise on this scale had been held in this country. The brigade also got valuable experience in working with the Belgian authorities. No similar exercise is contemplated in the near future.
George Anderson, from Leith, was a Riflemen in the 9th Battalion of the Cameronians . He landed in Normandy on the 17th of June 1944. During his time in he was posted in a place called Kleve which is south of Arnhem. Right next to Kleve is the Moyland Forest. . Between the 15th-18th February 1945 his time was employed as a Company runner. This meant that Anderson’s job was to relay messages and information throughout the Company, facing severe danger as a result. The communications within the Company had been cut off due to heavy shelling, and the firing of the enemy automatic weapons, This is why Riflemen Anderson was employed as a runner, as this was the only way for the Company to send messages. There were high casualties and this meant that Anderson was the last remaining runner, therefore he took on all responsibilities that had to do with communication within the Company. Every message that Anderson was given to relay was successfully delivered, despite the heavy shelling from the enemy. Later in March 1945 Anderson would have a deadly encounter with a tank when he and four of his fellow comrades volunteered to try and destroy a German tank that was stopping the whole Battalion from moving forward. Anderson’s four fellows were killed by this tank and George was severely injured as he laid in a field in Germany for four days before he was found by a patrol. Anderson’s injuries were severe as he was missing one leg and had a badly damaged upper thigh on his other leg. For both his actions as a runner and his encounter with the tank ,Anderson was awarded the Military Medal as seen below.
Another responsibility that Anderson took on was that he performed all administration duties for the Company while he was still performing his own duties. The reason George took on these extra responsibilities was due to heavy casualties within Company Headquarters, one of the causalities included the Company Sergeant Major.
Anderson was also well aware of how dangerous his job as a runner was, this is why he handed over some of his personal belongings to his Company Commander just before he went on one of his missions, as he thought he may not return.
The citation for Anderson’s Military Medal states; “He has more than once assumed responsibility far above his rank. His conduct and example through the campaign has been an inspiration to his comrades”
Below is Andersons Citation for the Military Medal he received, detailing his brave actions and diligent service:
Taken form @NationalArchivesTaken form @NationalArchives
After Andersons Military service he started off as a driving instructor; this was fairly shot lived, however, as he would then take on the role of a driver for an engineering company called Bruce Peebles. After his time as a driver, Anderson decided to renew his army links in order to lend his experience as a sergeant instructor at Hamilton Place. After several years of being a sergeant instructor Anderson was then promoted to a storeman in Redford Barracks, which is where he would spend the rest of his working life before retiring and spending time with his wife Betty, whom he married on Christmas Day in 1940. Here are some images of George Anderson:
Later in life Anderson would be presented to the Queen, this unique occasion was captured in a photo that was proudly presented in Georges home:
When one thinks of a military collection, their first thought is an assortment of weapons, medals, uniforms and photographs. Although these objects are an important aspect of a regimental collection, they are far from the only items and stories we preserve and celebrate within our walls and, by no means, the full picture of the Cameronians (Scottish Riffles) military life. Alongside the battles and the acts of heroism we proudly showcase, we are also hosts of hidden human-interest stories that we wish to share with our visitors and blog readers. Sometimes, the simplest items, like a handkerchief, hold the most fascinating tales.
Light-green silk handkerchief, square, with fringing on all edges. Embroidered crest of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in one corner.
When I was looking to update one of our small display cases for February 2025, senior staff members suggested I read in our system about a special handkerchief that was part of our regimental collection and create a display around it and Valentine’s Day. At first glance, this handkerchief appears unimportant and of little interest, but after reading the short description around its donation, I fell in love with it. Within its stiches and threads, a bittersweet teenage love story is woven.
I immediately asked if it would be acceptable to contact the donor, Isabella, and listen to her speak about it, wanting to capture in this post and for my display text a sense of authenticity that I feared was missing from the short description we had recorded before. I was so glad the donor agreed, and we arranged a phone-call. Although a bit hesitant at first, Isabella opened to me very quickly as she tried to sort her emotions and thoughts regarding this handkerchief and why she wished for it to be donated to us. The phrase that she often repeated and stayed with me was that she didn’t want it “to end up destroyed,” after she died.
Isabella received this handkerchief in the 1950s, when she was sixteen years old alongside her last – as far as she remembers – Valentine’s card from a young Cameronian soldier, named Frank. They met at their church’s youth group and soon became good friends allowing for a sweet friendship and innocent love to start between them. A couple of years older than her, Frank left to go to Germany alongside the regiment, but he and Isabella kept in touch and saw each other whenever he visited his family.
When I spoke with Isabella and she narrated to me her story, it was abundantly clear how much she treasured that precious time of her youth. She told me of her very happy memories with Frank and how much she respected and admired his family, who she described as very kind and loving to her.
Her words sounded like the beginning of a sweet love story, and one would expect that what followed this handkerchief was a marriage and happy family life. Isabella didn’t delve into too many details, but she admitted to me that this wasn’t the case for her and Frank. When I asked her why things didn’t progress between them, she told me that she felt she wasn’t “good enough for him” and distanced herself from him and his family. She eventually married a different man, had children and built her own family. But, she was never able to part from the handkerchief, keeping it safe in a pouch alongside other treasured mementos for decades.
She told me that she kept it folded in the pouch as a secret, always afraid that if her first husband found out about it, he would destroy it. A precious and well-guarded secret, she finally took it out of the pouch in her eighties, many years after her first husband’s death, and talked with a hitch in her voice of how afraid she was that it would tear while she handwashed it. She commissioned a frame for it and began to ponder what she wanted to do with it.
Her first thought was to find Frank and speak with him, to attempt to reconnect all these years later so they can reminisce about the past. She enlisted the help of one of her grandchildren and found out that Frank had his own family and was widowed, but she never found the courage to contact him and rekindle their old friendship because she felt “it wasn’t fair.” Unfortunately, she never got the chance to see him again as he died before she changed her mind. Afterwards, she tried to give the handkerchief to his children, but they refused it and she approached Low Parks Museum and offered it as a donation, alongside the frame she had kept it in for the last few years.
It was apparent from the very first time we met her how much she valued and loved this object. She wanted to find a new home for it, where it would continue to be cherished, like she did for over seventy years. She told me how happy she was that we would put the object on display for a few weeks during February and that she would have the chance to travel to Hamilton and see it once again.
