Where to begin? So many people, knowingly or not, have assisted in the compilation of these pages that it is not practical to list them all. A large proportion of them were former police officers who generously shared their time and experiences with me and I am extremely grateful for their recollections. Among them was ex-Detective Inspector Bob Donaldson who helped me locate these invaluable people.
I am also deeply indebted to D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd for their considerable cooperation, not least of which was the unrestricted access they allowed me to their extensive cuttings and photographic libraries. Many of the photographs used belong to them. In particular, I would like to thank Gwen Kissock and Anne Swadel for their encyclopaedic knowledge and willingness to help. Others who assisted were Gordon Robbie, Gus Proctor, Colin Stewart, Jackie Laing and Susan Dailly.
Special thanks are due to respected sports journalist John Mann, who took a break from some of the violence of the football field to research a 19th century poisoning, the results of which he very kindly passed to me and which were central to the preparation of one of the chapters.
My gratitude also to the staff of Dundee Central Library and the Scottish Prison Service.
Thanks too – I think – to author Norman Watson, a journalistic colleague, who enthusiastically prodded me into this, but who neglected to inform me how much work would be involved.
Most of all, I would like to record how grateful I am to the countless journalists who contributed indirectly to this book through their reports of the crimes and coverage of the trials of those responsible.
Reporters are a much-maligned breed and they do not always receive the recognition they deserve. It is not generally appreciated that the words they write in today’s newspapers form the basis of tomorrow’s history books.
Alexander McGregor