During 1957 the Inverness-shire Constabulary took delivery of these three brand-new Vauxhall motor cars. The two on the left, both Vauxhall Velox models LST923 and LST 879, were Traffic patrol cars and the Vauxhall Victor on the right LST961 was for "General Purpose" patrol work.

Quick policing geography l(and history) esson - the North West Highlands is virtually an island, split from the rest of Scotland by the geological fault which is the Great Glen (Gaelic: An Gleann Mor) a.k.a. Glen Albyn (Gleann Albainn - meaning the "Glen of Scotland"), which lies entirely within the former County of Inverness-shire. The Glen is filled by 4 lochs, Linnhe (sea-loch), Lochy, Oich and Ness, and at its north end the Beauly Firth arm of the North Sea. These lochs are chain-joined to each other and to the sea at either end by the Caledonian Canal. Effectively there are only 3 points of crossing from the NW Highlands to the rest of Scotland, namely Fort William, Inverness and Fort Augustus. Hence the reason that, in the aftermath of the Jacobite Rebellions, Marshall Wade built three forts:  Fort George, on the sea near Inverness  Fort Augustus, and  Fort William - to cover the Great glen, and linked them with military roads over which to move large numbers of soldiers at speed to address any potential unrest/uprising. He also built another fort at Ruthven (near today's A9) to cover the road from Inverness to Perth, and its offshoot down the Spey Valley. Thus Inverness-shire Constabulary paid particular attention to the Inverness, Fort Augustus and Fort William potential crossing points. Inverness Burgh Police covered Inverness itself, but Carr Bridge (20 miles south) was a strategic location to cover the A9 road south of Inverness, in case any criminal heading south evaded the Burgh force. (End of lesson!!)

Velox LST923 would be deployed on the A9 (Inverness-Perth) road and be based at Carr Bridge, where Constable Hugh MacLennan was stationed. The A9 was literally at the bottom of his garden, as Carr Bridge Police Station (and house) was right along the side of the A9 which in those days went right through his village, and every other village between Inverness and Perth. PC MacLennan, who joined the Inverness-shire force on 23/11/1935, moved to Carr Bridge in 1952 and remained there for the rest of his service, retiring on pension in 1965. He passed away in 1974.

Velox LST879 would be based at Fort William, the biggest town in Inverness-shire (the Burgh of Inverness was outwith the county, in that it was a separate entity and had its own Police force until 1968). The A82 passed right through the centre of Fort William, and Lochaber Division covered that part from Invergarry (south of Fort Augustus) in the north to the County boundaries with Argyllshire along the shores of Loch Leven.

PC Alexander "Sandy" Ross had joined the force in June 1955 and would move from Fort William to Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye during 1957, before returning to Inverness Traffic in 1961. He later served at Kingussie in both uniform and CID ,retiring in 1985 in the rank of Sergeant.

Victor LST961 was in the care of PC Malcolm "Calum" MacKinnon, then stationed at Fort Augustus. Although “the wee Fort” was only a Section Station, it covered the A82 which passed through its village as well as junctions to Skye and Wester Ross through the Cluanie (Glenshiel) mountain pass to Kintail which was reached via Glen Garry (Invergarry) (south of Fort Augustus) and Glen Moriston (Invermoriston)(north). It also covered the east side of Loch Ness, the area around (and above) Foyers - the huge plateau what I call "the Roof of Scotland). So that pivotal station also needed an effective patrol vehicle.

"Calum", a native of the Isle of Harris, had joined the County Police in 1954 and after some 18 months in Traffic at Fort William, moved to Fort Augustus. He would later serve at Glenelg, Aviemore and Carr Bridge before being promoted to Sergeant at Broadford on the Isle of Skye. Calum was a really good skipper, and very patient with me! Sadly he passed away aged only 47 in 1976 while still at Broadford. - a great loss, as he was a truly nice bloke as well as a very good copper.

Although I have managed to establish from retired officers who the officers are in the photograph, nobody can recall the significance of the photograph. I wondered if it was to commemorate a particularly commendable capture, or alternatively, the Annual Inspection by HM Inspector of Constabulary. It appears NOT to have been either of these, but possibly simply an opportunity for the supplying Vauxhall garage to obtain some publicity material. Certainly Vauxhall Motors has a copy of this photograph in their archives.

What better place for such a publicity photograph than the front lawn of that most photogenic of buildings, Inverness Castle, which of course just happened to house the Headquarters of Inverness-shire constabulary!

(Many thanks to the person who supplied me with a copy of this photo)

NOTE: There do not appear to be ANY identification insignia or signs to show that they are police cars. They are most definitely what we would nowadays term MARKED in that they are NO WAY "STEALTH" or "COVERT". Back in those halcyon days, big black car = cop car!