Wartime marriage records released
Documents include a couple who died in the Clydebank Blitz
Marriage certificates from Scotland during the first half of the Second World War are among more than 200,000 records being released online.
Digital images of more than 47,000 marriage entries from 1941 are being made available on ScotlandsPeople, the family history website operated by the National Records of Scotland.
From 9.30am on Thursday, people around the world will also be able to search and view 110,000 birth entries from 1916 and 64,000 death entries from 1966.
Officials said the marriage records from wartime Scotland include one couple whose union was cut tragically short by the Clydebank blitz after just one month.
Alexander Clarkson and Margaret O'Donnell were married on February 12 1941 in a civil ceremony by the registrar in the district of Old Kilpatrick.
Ms O'Donnell was killed when the Benbow Hotel where they were both staying was hit by a bomb on the evening of March 13.
Other entries include the birth record of acclaimed author Jessie Grant Kesson (nee McDonald), who wrote The White Bird Passes. She was born in Inverness on October 29, 1916 and died in 1994.
Another entry details the birth of Scottish comedian Jack Milroy (1915-2001), who was born James Cruden on December 28 1915 in Govanhill, Glasgow. His birth was not registered by his father until January 17 1916.
The death record for monumental sculptor Alexander Carrick (1882-1966) is also included in the newly-released archives.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop encouraged people interested in finding out more about local history or genealogy to look at the "wealth of records" available on the website.
She said: "These records give us a richer understanding of Scotland's story and our people. The marriage certificates from the early 40s in particular provide further insight into the consequences of the Second World War, and how it affected the things we take for granted today."