Over 2,000 Scottish historical letters were stolen. They were found in Canada

Over two thousand Scottish historical letters have finally been returned to their rightful home at the National Records of Scotland after being missing for over three decades. Alan Borthwick, an archivist at the National Records of Scotland, played a crucial role in bringing them back and expressed a deep sense of satisfaction as they are now ready to be used by a new generation of historians.

The lost letters, which date back to the 1600s, include family, estate, and business correspondence. It was a surprising discovery for Borthwick when he realized that they had been stolen. The National Records of Scotland is responsible for preserving and maintaining the country’s public records, ensuring they are accessible for research, education, and legal purposes. In 1994, a total of 200 items from their collection surfaced at an auction in London, sparking an investigation.

Borthwick was tasked with cracking the case and was able to track down the stolen items by matching their reference numbers to their parent collection. It was discovered that the items had been stolen by David Stirling Macmillan, who had worked at the archive for a year starting in 1949. Despite having his access revoked in 1980 for removing a document from the archive, Macmillan continued to have access and had stolen a significant number of items.

In 2012, Borthwick was contacted by a researcher who had seen a reference to Scottish-origin items in an online catalogue at Trent University in Canada. Upon visiting the university, he was shocked to find around 2,000 stolen items that had been taken by Macmillan. In total, 3,100 stolen items were found, including documents from other institutions in the UK and items with unknown origins.

Macmillan, who had moved to Canada in 1968 and taught history at Trent University for 20 years, had bequeathed the stolen documents to the university upon his death in 1987. The now-retired archivist at the university was astonished by the revelation and had no reason to suspect that the documents had been stolen.

While the motive behind Macmillan’s actions remains unknown, Borthwick speculates that his interest in postal history, specifically postmarks on letters, may have led him to steal the items. The unique postmarks on the letters may have caught his eye, prompting him to take them for his collection.

The return of these stolen historical letters marks a significant moment for the National Records of Scotland, allowing them to be properly preserved and accessed by historians and researchers. The investigation and recovery of the stolen items highlight the importance of safeguarding and protecting historical documents for future generations.