Charles Ian Fraser of Reelig (1903 – 1963) was a Scottish

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer, historian and

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or Sovereign state, state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate coat of arms, armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremo ...

. Fraser was a commissioned officer in the

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916 formally became the British ...

. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and in 1942 he was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the Auxiliary Military Forces, was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time officers after twe ...

. In 1944 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in populatio ...

. He was confirmed in the honorary rank of Major in 1951. He was later granted the honorary rank of Colonel. He was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 1962 New Year Honours for his work as Chairman of the

Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Association The Territorial Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve Associations were formed in 1908 under the provisions of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 to provide local support to the Territorial Force in the United Kingdom. There were originally 104 ...

of the County of Inverness. In 1939, Fraser was made

Dingwall Pursuivant Dingwall Pursuivant of Arms is a current Scottish pursuivant of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon. Dingwall Pursuivant was formerly a private officer of arms in the service of the Lord of the Isles, but along with Kintyre Pursuivant, Ross Hera ...

herald in the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All A ...

. In 1953 he was promoted to

Albany Herald Albany Herald of Arms is a Scottish herald of arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The office was first mentioned in a diplomatic mission from Scotland to England in 1401. The office was probably instituted on the creation of Robert Stewart, s ...

.Albany Herald
Court of the Lord Lyon. Retrieved 28 November 2022. An expert on Scottish clan history, heraldry and genealogy, he contributed two books to Johnston & Bacon's Clan Histories series: ''The Clan Cameron, A Patriarchy Beset'' (1953) and ''The Clan Munro'' (1954). In 1929 he married Mary Charity Campbell-Preston and together they had four children. He was

Laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

of Reelig.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Charles Ian 1903 births 1963 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Inverness-shire Lairds Lovat Scouts officers Scottish officers of arms Scottish genealogists