Detective Officer James PALMER (50)
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DO Palmer died of exposure after falling into docks as he made his way home from special duties.
Shortly before 8am on 5th December 1896 James Coonie, ships mate of the whaler ‘Nova Zembla’ looked over the side of the vessel into the West Graving Dock at Dundee Harbour, where the vessel was undergoing repairs. He saw the body of a man in the mud at the bottom of the dock and called for some crewmates to assist him.
They used ropes to descend into the dock and reached the man, who appeared to be dead. Police were called and the body removed, with some considerable difficulty, to a nearby warehouse for examination. There were no obvious marks of violence but the deceased was quickly identified as Detective Officer James Palmer of the Dundee City Police.
DO Palmer was well known at the harbour. He had been the ‘harbour detective’ for some time prior to his transfer back to duties in the city the previous year, so there was initially some confusion as to how he came to be there.
It soon emerged that he had been on ‘special duty’ at the harbour the previous evening and had last been seen by a colleague around 23:00 when they finished duty. Although knowing the area well, it was assumed he had lost his footing in the dark and fallen in whilst making his way home. Concern was being reflected in the local paper due to the number of people meeting a similar fate at the harbour.
The dock would potentially have had several feet of water during the night and it was presumed he had drowned. Subsequent examination showed he had however died of ‘shock and exposure’.
A well-respected officer he had been particularly effective when stationed at the harbour, which was no doubt the reason he had been drafted back for ‘special duties’.
Detective Officer James Palmer was 50 years of age with 22 years service in the Dundee City Police. He had previously served with the Lancashire County Constabulary and was married with 4 young children. His wife was subsequently awarded a gratuity of £156 10s 9d, one month’s wages for every year her husband had served.
His name is engraved on the Scottish Police Memorial and will never be forgotten.
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'On duty' includes travelling directly to or from a station of report or recall to duty (either by identification or action, e.g. intervention in an ongoing incident or attempting a rescue).
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