This site has in fact grown out of a similar project dealing with the war diaries of the 15th Scottish Infantry Division, which can be found at: https://www.15thscottishdivisionwardiaries.co.uk/. The idea, as with the 15th Scottish Division, is to make available online some of the war diaries of the various battalions of the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) and the King's Own Scottish Borderers (now The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 SCOTS)) as a "searchable", historical record and to provide access to this unique body of "war literature". The original war diaries are currently held at The National Archives in Kew, London and are only available to view in person by visiting their premises.
Generally compiled by the Intelligence Officer or Adjutant, the diaries are typed or handwritten on Army Form C.2118 with varying degrees of clarity and legibility and are accompanied in their original folders by the various appendices referred to, together with any other material considered worthy of inclusion.
In terms of historical context, the diaries speak for themselves and, although in no way providing a full picture of what was taking place, they do, for instance, offer very specific information about unit locations and movements, to the extent that the many map references given can still be used in conjunction with original maps to pinpoint exact locations on the ground.
The diaries transcribed here relate only to those periods when the battalions were actually in contact with the enemy or deployed on operations and do not cover periods spent in training or on garrison duty, for instance. Diaries do, of course, exist for those other periods and give an equally telling picture of the long road that eventually led to victory in the war but, for the moment, they are outside the scope of this project.
While transcribing the diaries, an attempt has been made to be as faithful as possible to the original, both in terms of content and format. Obvious typos and spelling mistakes have generally been corrected and punctuation added or omitted on occasion for the sake of clarity but otherwise the text is as it appears in the diaries.
Particular thanks must go to The National Archives in Kew for preserving these documents in the first place and then for allowing them to be made available online under the terms of the Open Government Licence. The National Archives' own references to the relevant war diaries can be found below: