Researchers are hoping to find out more about the story of a police officer who died on duty nearly 50 years ago to ensure he is remembered on a national memorial.
Members of Lanarkshire Police Historical Society are working to learn more about Sergeant Daniel Perrie, who died in September 1973 while serving with the former Lanarkshire constabulary.
Fellow officers understand he collapsed while chasing suspects at a railway line near Larkhall and now want to confirm the details of his story so he can be permanently recognised by the Force.
Any officer who dies on duty is eligible to be honoured on the Scottish police memorial at the national officer training centre in Fife, and the researchers want to be able to tell his story and ensure he is included.
Society chairman, George Barnsley, has been searching online records and reports to find out more, and would like to hear from anyone who may have known Sergeant Perrie or remember the circumstances surrounding his passing.
He told Lanarkshire Live: “We have members who recall him and think he was chasing criminals on a railway near Larkhall when he collapsed and died, but are unsure about his story.
“I’m trying to establish if this is the case because if the circumstances are correct, Sergeant Perrie would qualify for an entry on the Scottish police memorial, but unfortunately there are no Lanarkshire constabulary records that we can check.
“He was only 47 years of age at the time and we always work to make sure any local officers we hear about who would qualify are remembered and that we uncover their story.”
Sergeant Perrie’s service came to the society’s attention after its supporters, who also volunteer by tending to the area’s war graves, noticed his headstone at Larkhall cemetery.
The Lanarkshire researchers then swing into action, as they have done for all officers whose stories they have become aware of since the local society was founded in 2013.
Since then they have succeeded in having nine officers’ names added to the national memorial, which was established in 2004 with the intention of commemorating “all officers known to have died on duty in Scotland since the dawn of modern policing”.
Among the names to have been added thanks to the work of Lanarkshire researchers are Special Constable John Stevenson, who was knocked down in a wartime blackout while serving with Airdrie Burgh police; former Hamilton Burgh chief constable John Clark, who died 99 years ago this month; and DS William Graham, who died in 1964 when chasing car thieves in Allanton.
