Scientific team
to justice, was that scientists and many of the police officers working on the case had served and survived the brutal and bloody years of the First World War.
He said: “The anatomists, as Glaister, Brash and Smith were known, and Robert Sloan had all served in the Great War. This united the scientists, Robert Sloan and indeed other police officers on the inquiry who had served on the Western Front and endured many hardships.
“Robert Sloan was as hard as nails, he served for two years in the Scots Guards and was hard physically and hard psychologically. Many people would have been freaked out by what he found by a quiet woodland in Moffat, but he had witnessed many horrific scenes in France and he was not phased by Dr Buck Ruxton’s evil work.
“He was the sergeant in charge of Moffat and he was going to do his job properly and I am convinced the discipline he learned in the Scots Guards and the sights he saw, shaped how he reacted on the day that the body parts were discovered by a young couple out for a Sunday morning walk.”
Tom’s research put him in touch with Robert Sloan’s family, who were unaware of the full contribution their grandfather and great grandfather made to one of England - and Scotland’s - most important criminal cases.
He said: “During my research in Dumfries and Galloway I met Robert Sloan’s grandson and other family members. Sadly, Robert Sloan died aged 44 from stomach issues which were a consequence of his service in the First World War.
“While his family knew he was involved in the Ruxton case they did not know what he had done or how important his contribution had been in solving the case, so the revelations in my book were a surprise to them all. Later I received a letter from Sergeant Sloan’s grandson saying the family were delighted to find out about how the grandfather they never knew had helped shape modern criminal investigations.”
Ruxton: The First Modern
Murder by Tom Wood is published by Ringwood Publishing and is available in all good bookshops and on Amazon.