THE Royal British Legion (Scotland) distanced itself from its English counterpart over trips to Germany, including one to Dachau concentration camp, to foster close relations with Nazi Germany before the second world war.

The fiercely independent Scots were appalled at the ''naivety'' of the English and totally rejected any involvement in the trips, it was revealed yesterday.

Details of the trips, which included meeting Hitler and dining with SS head Heinrich Himmler, have been revealed in a book just published to mark the 80th anniversary of the Royal British Legion, founded after the Scottish organisation.

The Scots voted overwhelmingly to reject any contact with German ex-servicemen's organisations because they would have to shake hands with Nazis, abandoning the principles of democracy they held dear.

It was in Edinburgh, the city of his birth, that Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig and a group of others established ''The British Legion'' in June 1921 to give practical help and companionship to ex-service people and their dependants.

Weeks later, the same group set up an English organisation of the same name which prompted the Scots to add ''Scotland'' to their title with both receiving the royal charter in 1971.

Several suggestions of amalgamation have been overwhelmingly rejected and the Scots say they are glad to be distanced from the English body.

The book, Keeping Faith: The History of the Royal British Legion by Brian Harding, a former controller of membership at the legion, tells how in 1935 the leaders of the ex-servicemen's organisation made several trips to Germany to improve Anglo-German relations and help maintain peace. The first visit was prompted by an invitation from four German ex-service organisations, two of which carried the words ''national socialist'' in their titles.

The following month, the visit was strongly endorsed by the Prince of Wales, the organisation's patron, who told the annual delegate meeting: ''I feel that there could be no more suitable body or organisation of men to stretch forth the hand of friendship to the Germans than we ex-servicemen who fought them in the great war and have now forgotten about all that.''

In July 1935, thousands lined the streets of Berlin in a ''sponteaneous'' welcome orchestrated by Hitler to greet the six representatives, led by Major Francis Fetherston-Godley, the legion's chairman. Two days later, they met Hitler and spent a day at Dachau where they were told two thirds of the 1500 inmates were political prisoners. It has been claimed that SS men acted as prisoners to dupe the delegation about conditions. That evening, they were dinner guests of Himmler and are said to have found him ''an unassuming man, anxious to do the best for his country''.

The delegation was apparently aware it was being used and every move was filmed by Nazi news camera crews, but that did not stop them making further visits and inviting Germans to Britain.

In 1937, a German delegation visiting London was entertained at Buckingham Palace by the new King Edward VIII who had earlier promoted the visits.

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion (Scotland) said yesterday it had made a clear stand against the visits.

''There was a vote taken at one of our annual conferences in the 1930s on whether we should liase with ex-service communities in Germany,'' he said. ''Naturally that would have meant going through one of the Nazi hierarchy and our boys refused to have any truck with the Nazis at all. That wasn't the case in the London-based British Legion.

''The Scots must have been more perspicacious and decided that this would be going a step too far - associating with a fascist government. The whole basis of the legion is democracy and it contravened all the principles the legion held dear. They absolutely refused because they knew it would involve shaking hands with Nazi hierarchy and they were not prepared to do that.''

In his book, Mr Harding points out that the events have to be put in the context of the time.

''There was a desperate desire in the 1920s and 1930s that the great war must never be repeated, and the veterans believed they had a role to play,'' he said. ''There was a tremendous sense among them of being men apart.''

He suggests those who took part in the visits may have been naive but honourable.