SCOTTISH
POLICE FEDERATION
5 Woodside Place, Glasgow, G3 7QF
MEDIA
RELEASE
The Scottish Police Federation represents all police officers in the
ranks of chief inspector and below, about 15,000 people, over 98%
of all police officers in Scotland.
To:
Date:
Subject: |
News
Editors
1
September 2004
Scottish
Police Memorial Trust |
The
Scottish Police Federation has for many years been deliberating on
how best to provide a fitting memorial to colleagues who have lost
their lives in the line of duty, and to their families.
Some
three years ago the Federation was instrumental in pulling together
parties with a similar view which included our colleagues in the Association
of Scottish Police Superintendents, the Association of Chief Police
Officers in Scotland , The Scottish Police College and the charity
set up specifically for this purpose The Scottish Police Memorial
Trust.
From
these beginnings, the project grew from being an idea to what will
now become a reality on 7 September 2004 .
The
Memorial will be erected within the grounds of The Scottish Police
College, Tulliallan, Fife . The college is uniquely positioned
to site this Memorial as every police officer, irrespective of the
Scottish Police Force they belong to, will have passed through there
at some stage during their career.
The
Memorial will commemorate the death on duty of all sworn constables
and regular or auxiliary officers serving as members of a police force
(including the former police fire brigades). Included will
be retired officers who succumb to injuries which were received as
a result of their police service.
Also
included will be civilian support staff members, for example, explosives
officers, traffic wardens and police cadets who lose their live under
similar circumstances
Police
work by its very nature is a dangerous and hazardous occupation.
The list of Officers killed on duty is varied and different.
For
example, the memorial will contain Officers' names from the inception
of policing in Scotland during the 18 th Century to the present day.
Some
examples include:
Constable
John
Buchan, Aberdeen City Watch was killed in 1770 when he was
stabbed by a thief he was trying to arrest at Stonehaven market.
Constable
Robert Stirrat, Dundee
City Police was killed in May 1941 while investigating the
report of a suspicious object, as reported by a member of the public.
It exploded as he was examining it, blowing off his arm and
legs.
Constable
Thomas King, Inverness-shire Constabulary
was killed on 20 December 1898 as he lay in wait for a poacher at
a house in Tulloch near Nethybridge, in order to execute a warrant.
When the suspect returned he entered the house to arrest him
and was fatally wounded by a shotgun blast .
Constable
Alexander Lamond, Kirkcaldy Burgh Police died
on 26 May 1883 while dealing with a disturbance at a house at Kirkcaldy
Harbour . He was repeatedly bludgeoned by three men, including
being struck with his own truncheon, and died from skull fractures
early next morning. He had only joined the force two months earlier.
Constable
George Taylor, Strathclyde Police was
killed on 30 November 1976 , the first officer to be killed on duty
since the formation of Strathclyde Police. He was on routine patrol
with another officer, near the State Hospital in Carstairs, when they
noticed two men dressed as Prison Officers acting suspiciously. On
approaching them he was attacked and hacked to death. The men escaped
in the Police vehicle, leaving PC Taylor to die, by the roadside.
His colleague escaped uninjured. Once their breakout was discovered
both men were later caught as they fled to England . At the High Court
they were convicted of the murder of PC Taylor and were the first
people to be committed to a ‘true' life sentence by the Scottish Judicial
system.
These
are just a few examples of more than 180 officers that currently appear
on the Memorial. Details and circumstances surrounding all
their deaths will be recorded and kept in a Memorial book housed near
the monument at the college in Tulliallan castle.
The
Memorial itself will be officially unveiled by The Princess Royal,
Princess Anne on 7 September 2004 and will stand as a fitting and
lasting tribute to each and every one of them.
