Cromarty Archive

Four men

Four men

Date Added: 01 January 2003 Contributor: Unknown Year: 1920 Picture No: 173

This picture shows four men posing for a picture. The man on the left is the local policeman for whom we have no name. Second on the left is Mr Marks, the harbour master. Third from the left is the Ex Provost, Mr Reed. Judging by his uniform, the final man is probably the coastguard or perhaps the Lighthouse keeper. Notice the policeman is wearing Breaches which was standard at the time.

Albums: People

4 Comments

Mr Wilson Marks was a Customs and Exise officer. Comment left on 29 November 2004 at 12:13 by Vairi Anderson
I think the policeman could well have been Sergeant Donald Hume, who was stationed at Cromarty from 1912 (when promoted Sgt) until 1928 when he was moved to Invergordon. Seems as though he received a lot of young recruits for brief periods of training/relief duty over his time in Cromarty, but he was the 'main man' for the area. Although chevrons are conspicious by their absence, the presence of gold braid around the collar and epaulettes (and the hint of brading on the cuffs) does suggest a higher rank than Constable.

Sgt Hume was commended by both HM Govt and the Royal Navy for "rendering valuable service" during the war. Incidentally, his opposite number at Invergordon, Sgt John Campbell was awarded the King's Police Medal (KPM) (such award being almost unheard of for such a low rank, except in cases of Extreme Gallantry) for his similarly "rendering valuable service" to Govt and to RN.

Sgt Hume (native of Caithness, and who served 4 years up there before transferring to Ross & Cromarty Force in 1902) did receive the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935 for "Long Service combined with good character and merit during the reign of HM King George V" - nice but not in the same league as a KPM.

If anyone has any photographs or information pertaining to police officers in Highlands (especially Cromarty-shire and Ross & Cromarty, but also Inverness, Nairn, Caithness, Sutherland), I would be glad to hear from them.

Dave Conner (Retired Police Sgt)
(Force Historian, Northern Constabulary)
Comment left on 01 December 2005 at 20:40 by Dave Conner
Dave,
will send you an E-mail with information regarding a late relative William J MacDonald who spent a couple of years locally as a police constable in the early 1900's, prior to enlisting in 5 Bn Seaforth Highlanders at the outbreak of WW1
Comment left on 31 March 2007 at 15:55 by Jean Bell
My grandfather, Sergeant John Macdonald, was stationed at Cromarty from around 1928 until his retirement in 1934 Comment left on 18 March 2015 at 19:02 by Jacquie Tosh
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