Tales From Tulliallan
The headquarters of Police Scotland has a fascinating past
TULLIALLAN CASTLE in Kincardine, Fife, is a place I knew well as Scottish Justice Secretary. It was then, and still remains, the home of the Scottish Police College, and since April 1, 2013, has been the designated headquarters of Police Scotland.
I was once asked how I would resolve the perennial argument over whether the head office of the new single service would be in Edinburgh or Glasgow, I answered immediately that it would be sited at the castle.
After all, since the 1950s every police officer in Scotland has done their probationary training at Tulliallan and that continues to this day. It’s therefore not just a venue I’m acquainted with but one that’s seared into the soul of everyone who has served, whether in the new national force or previously in local or regional constabularies.
Attendance at Tulliallan continues throughout officers’ careers with more specialist training, and it’s also used by British Transport Police in Scotland.
As well as learning and practice in policing, all of which are continually being developed, Tulliallan is also a treasure trove of Scottish Police history. Anyone going into the large hall next to the parade ground will see the names of recruits who have passed out with “the Baton of Honour.”
There are many names I recognised of officers I got to know as they progressed through the ranks to the most senior positions.
Police Scotland merged the eight regional constabularies and police forces in 2013, and former local constabularies are recorded at Tulliallan. Some, such as the City of Glasgow or Invernesshire, are easily identifiable
but SNECC always intrigued me. That, I found out, was Scottish North East Counties Constabulary.
Walking along the corridor to the actual castle, there’s a display of police memorabilia including batons from throughout the years. That latter exhibition was always popular with visitors, especially youth organisations such as the Boys Brigade.
These batons are necessary to this day for what remains a routinely unarmed service. Other organisations, including Scottish Women’s Football, have also enjoyed the use of the facilities with both pitches and rooms being of a very high standard.
So, it’s a place I always enjoyed visiting as it’s not just interesting but a wonderful location. A clue, perhaps, is given in the name Tulliallan itself which is derived from its Gaelic name, Tulach-aluin, meaning “beautiful knoll”.
That it most certainly is, as lovely trees and large open spaces surround it. The castle, with the lecture halls and dormitories added, sits in a large site of some 36 hectares (90 acres). Though it is a working location with security, much of the periphery is enjoyed by off-duty officers and members of the public from the nearby villages of Tulliallan and Kincardine, who take walks in the grounds.
But Tulliallan’s story goes back long before it was purchased in 1950 by the then Scottish Home and Health Department for £9100 – considerably less than a constable, let alone a chief constable now earns. There has been a castle in the area since the 14th century, although the current one dates from the early 1800s.
The original castle was a little further north. In the early 1300s, as Scotland’s Wars of Independence waged around it with later battles at Falkirk and Bannockburn, the castle was ordered to be strengthened by Edward I of England. In due course, and as peace reigned, it passed over to the control of the Earl of Douglas. It proceeded through the hands of the Edmonstones and the Blackadders before resting with the Bruces of Carnock before finally being abandoned in the 17th century.
The current castle that forms the basis for the police headquarters, and the facilities around it, was constructed between 1812 and 1820 by Admiral Lord Keith, a senior naval officer who served with Lord Nelson.
It is an amalgam of Gothic and Italian styles and altogether quite
“Tulliallan is a treasure trove of police history”
grand. Entering from the castle’s rear or the main entrance is akin to stepping into a stately home. Those accessing it from the front or modern lecture hall area though, would be unaware of the history held within those corridors.
Rather inappropriately for a law enforcement organisation, Lord Keith seems to have acquired his funds from “prize ships” or other booty and it’s also hinted that French prisoners of war were used in its construction.
However, it was other military forces that brought Tulliallan Castle to life in the Second World War, when it became the headquarters of the Polish armed forces.
General Sikorski and his forces who had escaped from occupied Europe based themselves there and were joined by other compatriots over coming years. Besides providing the base for them, the Polish troops also took responsibility for the defence of Fife and Angus.
With the war over and huge swathes of Poland incorporated into the Soviet Union, many had no home to return to, and others didn’t wish to go to a land run by the communist regime. And so it was that many stayed, adding to older communities of immigrant Polish miners who had arrived decades before the war and were already established in nearby towns.