THE heroes of an infamous Scottish shooting have finally been honoured, 94-years after it happened.
Banffshire PC George Greig and local farmer John Grant were shot and wounded by Percy Toplis, the so-called Monocled Mutineer, in a remote bothy near Tomintoul in Moray on June 1, 1920.
Toplis was on the run for murdering a taxi driver in Hampshire, England and hid out in the cottage, where he broke up chairs and fence posts for kindling. The smoke from the chimney alerted local gamekeeper John McKenzie who went to the scene with PC Greig and Mr Grant.
When they woke the fugitive he began firing at them, wounding PC Greig in the shoulder and Mr Grant in the leg while McKenzie escaped unhurt to raise the alarm. Toplis calmly made off into the darkness on his bicycle, singing, but was shot dead in Cumbria five days later.
The incident became known as the "Tomintoul Outrage" and provoked a public outcry. Both men recovered from their injuries but were given no official recognition at the time for their bravery during the incident.
Now Police Scotland has presented the families of the two men with official commendations to mark their involvement.
Chief Superintendent Mark McLaren, divisional commander for Moray and Aberdeenshire, decided to make the awards after learning about the anniversary in the run up to the recent opening of the new Tomintoul police office.
He presented the awards to Alistair Greig from Collieston, the surviving grandson of PC Greig, and to Iain McAllister from Elgin, the surviving grandson of John Grant.
No living relatives could be found for Mr McKenzie, though the police are keen for anyone who believes they are related to the late gamekeeper to get in touch.
Chief Supt McLaren said: "I felt that it was only fitting, even after all this time that these men were given full and proper recognition for what happened.
It is a remarkable story that has gone down in folklore and the men deserved to be honoured for their part in what happened."
PC Greig returned to duty following the incident but was pensioned off with ill health a year later and died, aged 75, in May 1956.
Toplis was an army deserter who was suspected to be the ringleader of a mutiny at Etaples in France in 1917.
He later posed as an officer, complete with monocle, earning his nickname.
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