Edinburgh Police Officers Remembered at Annual Service of Remembrance Edinburgh 2025

Key Points

• Families, senior officials, and serving officers gathered at Police Scotland Headquarters at Tulliallan Castle, Fife, for the 21st annual Scottish Police Memorial Trust Service of Remembrance.
• Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell, trust co-founder Christine Fulton MBE, and Justice Secretary Angela Constance led tributes at the ceremony.
• Six officers who died in service were added to the roll of honour and memorial stones, bringing the total number of commemorated officers since 1812 to 350.
• Archival research led to the inclusion of two Edinburgh City Police officers: PC James Doran, who died in 1868, and PC John McDonald, who died in 1909.
• The remaining officers added to the memorial served with the Roxburghshire Constabulary, North British Railway Police, and Admiralty Constabulary.
• Representatives from Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, British Transport Police, and the Scottish Police Memorial Trust laid wreaths during the service.

EDINBURGH(Edinburgh Daily) September 3, 2026 — As reported by Paul Jacques of Police Professional, the lives of police officers who died while serving the public across Scotland, including those who patrolled the streets of historic Edinburgh, were honoured at the 21st annual Scottish Police Memorial Trust Service of Remembrance.

Gathering at the Police Scotland Headquarters at Tulliallan Castle, Fife, serving personnel, surviving relatives, and dignitary delegations met to pay respect to fallen colleagues. The solemn ceremony resulted in the formal addition of six officers to the national roll of honour and the permanent memorial stones, bringing the total number of commemorated officers to 350. The names inscribed span centuries, stretching from the inception of modern policing in 1812 to present-day service.

Among those added this year were historical Edinburgh officers whose sacrifices were uncovered through dedicated archive research. These included Constable James Doran, aged 33, of Edinburgh City Police, who died on 30 August 1868, and Constable John McDonald, aged 54, also of Edinburgh City Police, who died on 24 April 1909 after taking ill shortly after reporting for duty.

What Was Said at the Service of Remembrance?

During the commemoration, Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell welcomed the families, loved ones, and colleagues of the deceased. Addressing the assembly, Chief Constable Farrell highlighted the enduring bond within the service:

“The Scottish Police Memorial Trust’s Annual Service of Remembrance is an essential date in the calendar for all members of the policing family. Each year, we come together and reaffirm our commitment, as a policing family, to support our colleagues, friends, and loved ones. To lift each other up and offer strength and comfort.”

Chief Constable Farrell expressed gratitude to Christine Fulton MBE for her long-standing work driving the trust’s mission to preserve the memory of fallen personnel.

As reported by Paul Jacques of Police Professional, Christine Fulton MBE, who co-founded the Scottish Police Memorial Trust after her husband Constable Lewis Fulton was killed on duty in Glasgow in 1994, spoke of the importance of maintaining the physical memorial:

“The annual service of remembrance is an important and poignant event, for the loved ones of the officers we honour, and for the police family as a whole. By adding the names of officers who have passed to our roll of honour and memorial stones, we are helping to ensure they will be remembered, and respected, for generations to come.”

Political leadership was represented by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance, who offered condolences and paid tribute to the broader workforce:

“I recognise the bravery and commitment of our police officers and staff who work tirelessly to keep Scotland’s communities safe. I am deeply grateful for their service. It is important to remember those who have lost their lives whilst serving their communities. I pay tribute to them and send condolences to their families – their courage and dedication to policing will not be forgotten.”

Who Were the Officers Added to the Roll of Honour?

The six officers added to the memorial wall during the ceremony belonged to several historic and antecedent police forces across Scotland. The Scottish Police Memorial Trust identified the following individuals:

• Constable James Doran (33) — Edinburgh City Police: Died on 30 August 1868.
• Detective Officer James Forbes (59) — North British Railway Police: Collapsed and died while on duty late at night at Tay Bridge Station on 31 October 1894.
• Constable John McDonald (54) — Edinburgh City Police: Died on 24 April 1909 after reporting for duty and subsequently being transferred to hospital.
• Constable Thomas Hutchison (39) — Roxburghshire Constabulary: Died on 14 April 1944 after his motorcycle collided with a military lorry while he was on duty.
• Constable Stanley Baker (45) — Admiralty Constabulary: Collapsed and died on duty at the Greenock Royal Naval Torpedo Experimental Establishment on 26 July 1959.

Formal wreath-laying proceedings were led by Chief Constable Jo Farrell, alongside David Garbutt QPM representing the Scottish Police Memorial Trust, Fiona McQueen CBE, Chair of the Scottish Police Authority, and Chief Superintendent Lorna McEwan of the British Transport Police.

Background to the Scottish Police Memorial Trust

Established in January 2003, the Scottish Police Memorial Trust was formed to ensure that every police officer who loses their life while serving in Scotland is permanently remembered. The physical memorial site at Tulliallan Castle was officially dedicated on 7 September 2004 by HRH The Princess Royal.

The trust maintains a dynamic historical research programme. Because early Victorian and early 20th-century police records were decentralized across various burgh and county constabularies, historical officers who died in the line of duty were occasionally omitted from modern records. The trust works to identify unrecorded fallen officers, retroactively inscribing their details onto the memorial wall. In addition to physical preservation, the charity provides peer support and welfare networks for the surviving families of fallen personnel.

Prediction: How Will This Development Affect the Policing Community and Surviving Families?

The annual continuation of the Service of Remembrance and the active restoration of historical casualty records have distinct ongoing impacts for serving officers, bereaved families, and the wider institution:

1. Long-Term Support for Bereaved Families: The public acknowledgement provided by the service reinforces an ongoing institutional safety net for surviving relatives. The commitment that a loved one’s name will remain permanently engraved on national stones offers psychological comfort, assuring families that their personal loss is acknowledged as a permanent public sacrifice.
2. Impact on Serving Officer Morale and Recruitment: For active officers working in high-risk environments, visible institutional remembrance serves as a foundational commitment. Demonstrating that the service honors its members—even across a century-long horizon—fosters institutional trust and reinforces professional duty among current serving personnel.
3. Continued Historical Discovery: The inclusion of officers from the 1800s sets a precedent for ongoing historical audits. Archives across Scotland will continue to be reviewed, meaning additional historical officers from legacy forces in Edinburgh and other regions are likely to be identified and added to the roll of honour in future years.