AUTHOR ON THE FEARLESS
He mayma have been nicknamed the “QuietQ Man of the Force” but GilbertG McIlwrick’s police careercare was anything but peaceful.peace
In a seven- day period in July 1955, the DeDetective Chief Superintendent had to deal with five grisly murders and onone of Glasgow’s most infamous bank robberies.ro This was a typical week for the top officer, who also oversaw the return of the stolenst Stone of Dest iny to WestmWestminster Abbey in 1951 and led the investiinvestigation into the murder of Betty AlexanAlexander, four, whose death sparked one of SScotland’s biggest manhunts. McIlMcIlwrick is one of eight fearless CID chiefs anda deputy chiefs who feature in new bobook The Real Taggarts – Glasgow’s Post-WWar Crimebusters, by author Andrew Ralston. UsUs i n g previously unpubunpubl ished mater ial , includincluding personal papers and ccase notebooks, the formformer Engl ish teacher sheds light on the lives of the crimec f ighters who kept Glasgow’s mean streetsstree safe. MMany of these officers, like McIlwrick, became legendslege of the Force – men suchsuc as Tom Goodal l, Glasgow’sGla Maigret, who workedwo on the Peter Manuel case, and Joe Beattie, who took the lead in the hunhunt for Bible John. MuchMuc has been written about the crooks,crooks murderers and vi l lains of post-warw Glasgow but this is the first timei theh detectives who relentlessly pursued these criminals have been celebrated in their own right.