On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 08:22:38 +1100, you wrote: >My grandfather apparently worked for a publishing company in the early 1900's called Rand R Clark. Does anyone know about this company? > >Also I have a medal awarded to him in 1888. On one side it says awarded to Sarg. Chas Craik. On the other is written 4th V.B.R.S. > >Does anyone know how I can find out about this medal? If it was awarded to him he would have only been 19. His father was James so not likely his. This is the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Scots, and it looks as though Charles Craik was a Sergeant in that unit. The Volunteers were part-time soldiers who trained regularly at Drill Halls and went away to camps at intervals. In 1907 the battalion was based in Gilmore Place. The Royal Scots was the local regiment for Edinburgh, and the 4th Volunteer Battalion existed from 1888 to 1908, at which point it had 928 all ranks. On the creation of the Territorial Force in 1908, it became the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots. Medals were awarded for many reasons, and those for shooting and sports were probably the most popular. Does the design of the medal indicate the reason for the award - perhaps a picture of a rifle or a running man or something like that? If he was 19 in say, 1905, then he'd be 29 in 1915, and probably fought in WW1. The Medal Index Card database at http://www.documentsonline.nationalarchives.gov.uk/medals.asp which is effectively a list of officers and men in the British Army who served overseas in WW1 has only one match for "Charles Craik": Medal card of Craik, Charles Corps Regiment No Rank King's Own Scottish Borderers 45453 Private You can download the Medal Index Card for 3.50 GBP, but there's no guarantee that it's for your man, who may be indexed under "C Craik" or a variant. Forrest -- Forrest Anderson - British Military Genealogical Researcher. E-mail: forrest@military-researcher.com Website: www.military-researcher.com