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Letters and Diaries

Personal letters and diaries provide a valuable and interesting insight into the lives of people in the past. In reading the writer's own words, we gain access to their first-hand views and opinions of contemporary personalities and events, and can discover how language and expression have changed over time.

We have selected the following extracts from the archives held in the National Records of Scotland to provide you with a taste of the rich and varied stories that we hold.

 The image shows the signature of the young Mary, Queen of Scots c.1550. National Records of Scotland reference: SP13/71The young Mary, Queen of Scots, writes to her mother, c.1550

A handwritten letter from the young Mary in France to her mother, Mary of Guise in Scotland, introducing Monsieur de Brieze and recommending him to her mother.

Woodcut of someone writing with a quill pen. James Melville's school days, 1569

An extract from the diary of Mr Andrew Melville, describing his school days in Montrose. This diary was edited and published by the Bannatyne Club in the nineteenth century.

Detail from letter written by William Knox who emigrated to Canada in 1838. National Records of Scotland reference: GD1/813/15The emigrant's letter home, 1838

A letter written by William Knox, a Scot who emigrated to Canada in 1838. The letter describes his journey from Annan to Canada via New York.

Engraving showing an arch built to celebrate the visit of Queen Victoria in 1842. National Records of Scotland reference: BR/PER(S) 34/13 Queen Victoria visits Taymouth Castle, 1842

An extract from the diary of Mrs Maule, the wife of the Liberal MP for Perthshire, who was invited to Taymouth Castle for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1842.

Detail from George Blyth's diary. National Records of Scotland reference: GD1/615 George Blyth's diary, 1850

An extract from the diary of George Blyth, schoolteacher in Charlestown, Fife, and clerk of Limekilns Church in the mid-nineteenth century.

Detail from a page of Henry Paton's holiday diary. National Records of Scotland reference: GD1/1126/5 A holiday in the Highlands, 1871

Entries from Henry Paton's diary, recording his ‘First Grand Tour of the Western Highlands’ in 1871. Henry's diary entries describe where and how he travelled, and what he saw.

Detail of a page of Rev Robert Thomson's letter to Lady Clementine Waring. National Records of Scotland reference: GD372/87/12 The sights of war, October 1915

An extract from a letter sent by the Rev Robert J Thomson to Lady Clementina Waring, describing his experiences in the trenches whilst serving with the Black Watch in 1915.

Detail from Cecile Victor's letter to Lady Clementine Waring. National Records of Scotland reference: GD372/57/30 Helping with the war effort, 1915

The Great War involved the whole country in the war effort - men, women and even children, as this letter from Cecile Victor demonstrates.

Photograph of cannon armed spitfires of East India Squadrons in flight. National Records of Scotland reference: NSC1/394/9 Outbreak of war, 1939

William Paton was a Scottish miner who kept a diary throughout the Second World War. He often described how international events impacted on his life in Stoneyburn, West Lothian.

Detail from William Paton's diary. National Records of Scotland reference: NRAS 4107/10 Victory in Europe celebrations, 1945

William Paton's detailed description of V.E. Day celebrations in Stoneyburn, West Lothian.

 

 

 

 
 
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