Annual police memorial service pays tribute to Scottish officers killed in the line of duty

Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell welcomed the families and friends of officers killed in the line of duty to an annual memorial service in their memory.

The Scottish Police Memorial Trust (SPMT) held its 20th commemorative ceremony at Tulliallan Police HQ on Wednesday (4 September) with seven new names added to the roll of honour.

Memorial stones set within the grounds of Tulliallan now record the names of 344 officers who have died in the line of duty since 1812.

This year’s additions to the wall feature former police forces from Glasgow, Perth and Kinrossshire, Argyllshire, Dunfermline and the Burgh of Leith in Edinburgh.

More than £500 was donated to SPMT at the ceremony, raised through the sale of Road Policing Challenge coins.

Tributes were also paid to Reverend Dr Georgie Baxendale, following her death in February this year. Dr Baxendale had previously led the memorial service each year since its inception.

Ms Farrell said: “This annual commemoration is a significant date in the policing calendar each year. It allows us to reflect on those who are no longer with us and the significant contribution they made – not only in uniform, but in their everyday lives.

“Those whose names are engraved on our memorial stones were not just police officers. They were beloved family members or friends, and it is important that we remember them here, together, today.

“We also reflect on the absence of our friend, the Reverend Dr Georgie Baxendale, who is still missed by all those associated with this commemoration. Georgie’s warmth and humour were always well received by all present and she, like all those named on the memorial, will be fondly remembered.”

Christine Fulton MBE, co-founder of SPMT, whose husband, police officer Lewis Fulton, was killed in the line of duty in Glasgow in 1994, said: “The annual commemoration is an important and moving event for the loved ones of the officers we honour, and for the wider police family.

“By adding the names of deceased officers to our roll of honour and memorial stones, we are helping to ensure that they are remembered and respected for generations to come.”