The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Drugs squad’s Bobby Donaldson
Bobby Donaldson, who has died aged 77, started his career as one of the first police cadets in Dundee and rose to head Tayside’s drugs squad.
Under his leadership, the squad had major successes in curbing the emerging heroin threat of the 1980s and ’90s.
Bobby, an outstanding sportsman who could have played football at the highest level, went on to have a second career with transport firm PS Ridgway after he left the police.
Robert Campbell Donaldson was born in Dundee to Charlie and Johan Donaldson.
Bobby was educated at Clepington Primary School and then Morgan Academy where he excelled at football.
He also played basketball for the Jesters and represented Scotland at U21 level.
In 1961 he was one of two candidates accepted as the first cadets in the-then Dundee City Police.
He was soon playing for the police football team and his skill attracted offers from both Aberdeen and Sheffield Wednesday. However, his father did not believe he was good enough and persuaded him to remain in the police.
Bobby, like other officers at the time, began his career on the beat in Dundee city centre.
It was through the police he met his future wife, Moira, a shorthand typist in the force headquarters.
The couple married in Lochee Parish Church in 1965 and had one son, Campbell, now a solicitor in Dundee.
After a spell in CID he was promoted to uniform sergeant covering the east city centre and Dalfield.
Former colleague Norrie Robertson said Bobby took great satisfaction in developing new officers.
He later moved back to CID before promotion to detective inspector based in Dundee but heading the Tayside-wide drugs squad.
A dedicated Dundee United supporter, Bobby played five-a-side football in a backroom staff team of football figures featuring at times Jim McLean, Alex Ferguson, Gordon Wallace and Archie Knox.
His connection with Dundee United deepened when the police team began training at Tannadice.
Moira said: “He became good friends with Jim McLean and played for the backroom five-a-side team.
“I think Jim appreciated the way he could be a positive influence on young players.”
Bobby played golf at Downfield over four decades, ran race nights for the junior section and was an occasional bowler.
He had a love of cricket that started when he played in the police team and he went on to become an avid Australia cricket supporter.
According to his family, Bobby was just an ordinary Dundee laddie and liked nothing more than going to Ladbrokes on a Saturday to put on his football coupon and chat with the punters.
Often he and Moira would meet people in Kirkton Asda with whom he would chat away, and, when Moira asked who they were, he would say: “I jailed him for housebreaking (or whatever) 40 years ago.”
Matt Hamilton, president of the Retired Police Officers’ Association Scotland, said: “I went into the CID in 1983 and Bobby was a detective sergeant.
“He was a lovely guy and also a great mentor to any new police officer.
“He was active in the retired police officers’ association and his death is a great loss.”