Fascinating tales from the history of Fife policing have been rooted out in a spring clean, including that of the real life PC Murdoch.
A photograph of the kingdom copper who inspired Oor Wullie’s nemesis has been dusted down, alongside that of the only Fife officer to be shot on duty and the story of the police who set sail for the Arctic Circle in pursuit of a murderer.
They were among a series of artefacts found during a clear-out of the museum in Police Scotland’s Fife headquarters in Glenrothes, formerly the HQ of Fife Constabulary.
The exhibits, also including a 120-year-old piano used for Sunday services, are now back on display to allow recruits to Fife’s Division to learn about the history of local policing.
Superintendent Sandy Brodie, who was among a team involved in restoring the archive, was delighted to find the picture of PC Sandy Marnoch with The Broons and Oor Wullie creator Dudley D Watkins, who based the comic constable on him.
He said: “It was sad that this stuff was all piled up and no one had the opportunity to have a look.
“It’s the history of policing in Fife and I think it’s right that some of the younger officers joining now have the opportunity to reflect on how it all started and how policing has developed into what it is now.”
Watkins was a reserve police officer in Kincardine during the Second World War and worked alongside PC – later Sergeant – Marnoch, a legendary character in the town, due to his no-nonsense approach. The pair are pictured in a group photograph of Kincardine police force.
Mr Brodie said: “You can actually see the likeness between him and PC Murdoch, he was a big guy, probably about 22, 23 stone.”
Also on show is the belt and buckle of Constable John Marshall.
On October 26, 1920, PC Marshall responded to a disturbance in a Dunfermline restaurant involving a man in possession of a revolver.
When he gave chase the assailant shot him in the groin before turning the gun on himself.
After just nine weeks recovering, Marshall, who lived to the age of 92, returned to duty.
Another photograph has links to the discovery of the body of a young woman in a bus terminal at Rosyth Dockyard in November 1974.
A NATO fleet anchored in the Forth was due to set sail for the Arctic Circle the next day and, fearing any potential suspect may be lost, officers from Fife Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police boarded several Royal Navy, Germany, Dutch and French ships.
By the time the net closed in on the 24-year-old murderer his ship, HMS Rhyl, had reached Orkney, where he was arrested. The seaman was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
A picture of Superintendent William Moodie, who led the operation, with the then Chief Constable Robert Murison and a representative of the Royal Navy is back on show. Mr Moodie later became Chief Constable.
The archive is back in place thanks Mr Brodie and colleagues Sgt Laura Piercy, PCs Davie Bell and Diane Ward, Detective Constable Nick Reville, Kirsten Driscoll, Amanda Garrie and Angela Tolley.
It is not open to the general public but special visits can be arranged.
