THE last wishes of more than 30,000 Scottish soldiers who died in conflict are being published online as part of the centenary of the First World War.

They include the ancestors of Paisley-born musician Paolo Nutini and actor Brian Cox.

The National Records of Scotland database includes the wills of soldiers from the First and Second World Wars, the Boer War, Korean War and other battles between 1857 and 1964.

The First World War makes up the majority of the records with 26,000 wills from Scottish soldiers, including some with famous relatives.

One of the wills is of Private John Feeley who served in the ­Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and died during the Battle of ­Arras in April 1917.

Researchers discovered he is the great-great-grandfather of Paolo Nutini. He left all of his property and effects to his wife, Annie, who lived until 1964.

His will reads: "In the event of my death, I give the whole of my property and effects to my wife Mrs Annie Feeley, 12 Barr St, Paisley."

The team at the ­National Records also found the will of Andrew Cox, the uncle of Dundee-born actor Brian Cox.

He was killed in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 aged 22. His body was never identified and like many unmarried soldiers, all of his belongings were passed to his mother, Elizabeth.

The records are drawn from all the Scottish infantry and cavalry regiments, as well as the Royal Artillery, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, the Machine Gun Corps and other units, and a few who served in the Royal Flying Corps and the RAF.

The soldiers' wills are available at www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, at the ScotlandsPeople Centre in Edinburgh, and at local family history centres in Glasgow, Kilmarnock, Hawick and Inverness.