Service Returns

This guide will help you trace deaths of Scots at military bases abroad

​What do I need to know before I start?  

Try to find out:

  • name(s)

  • year of death

  • where death occurred

​

What records can I find in the Mitchell: Registrars?

The returns of Scots who died in military stations abroad have been digitally imaged as part of the Statutory Records of Scotland. Copies of these images, together with a full index, are one of the many resources available as part of the ScotlandsPeople network which you access in the Registrars within the Mitchell on payment of a daily fee. 

 

The Service Returns include records of deaths of:

  • army returns of deaths of Scottish persons at military stations abroad (1881-1959)

  • service departments registers of deaths outside the United Kingdom of persons ordinarily resident in Scotland who are serving in or employed by HM Forces, including families of members of the Forces (1959 to present)

​What records can I see online?

Images of the Service Returns for: births up to 1913, marriages up to 1938, and deaths up to 1963, can be purchased on ScotlandsPeople website.