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The location of the original drill hall for the 1st Midlothian Rifle Volunteers is unclear - they probably met at the most suitable location they could find as no purpose built accomodation would have been available. However, in 1877 a headquarters and drill hall had been built in Steads Place...

Following the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901, her son Edward VII became King. Accordingly, this required a change in the crown design on the helmet plates etc from a queens to a kings pattern. Pictured is an example from my collection of a kings crown helmet for an officer in the 5th...

The Other Ranks (OR's) helmet was of a plainer style with the fittings in white metal rather than silvered as this example below:

In 1884, the establishment of the 1st Midlthian Rifle Volunteer Corps was reduced to 10 companies and on 1st April 1888 it assumed its new designation as the 5th Volunteer Battalion Royal Scots. Accordingly in 1890 the uniform of the Royal Scots was adopted along with the blue cloth covered home...

On 6th August 1859, 153 gentlemen from Leith (then a seperate town on the coast adjacent to Edinburgh) offered to form two rifle companies which were to pay all their own expenses and provide their own arms. This was quickly followed by the further offer of two companies of Leith artisans who...

The Royal Scots are my local infantry unit which recruited (mainly) from Edinburgh and the Lothians. The history of the regular battalions is well known, from their formation in 1633 by Sir John Hepburn under a Royal Warrant granted by King Charles I through to the formation of the Royal...

Hi David, I saw your 4th VB helmet on your other thread - its another fine item and very rare. You summarise the battalions history there but you might be interested to know that the 3rd City of Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Corps were initially raised in 1867 as a corp of total abstainers...

The officers 2nd Midlothian & Peebles RV's helmet is an outstanding example and is extremely rare. The battalion was consolidated in 1880 (from a number of smaller units which dated from 1860 / 1861) with its headquarters in Penicuik and eleven companies spread over the Midlothian and Peebles...