Campbeltown
I found this on Youtube. It is a bit harsh, but has some interesting elements…
^^ Harsh Video About Campbeltown ^^
Given the personal and professional history at Campbeltown…
^^ Constable Russ McLean After Completing Probation ^^ At Campbeltwown ^^
Then increased responsibility as Station Officer and after passing his advanced police driving course on blues-and-twos, was deployed at various police stations to cover for officers off ill. Lochgilphead, Islay, including time on Jura.
Ironically, it was whilst standing in for a police officer off with back injuries from Bowmore Police Station on Islay following McLen’s duties guarding the plane crash and assisting an Air Investigation Branch inspector, that on a very warm Islay day, up a small mountain, McLean sustained his first spinal injury cutting the tail section off of a crashed Twin-Otter aircraft. It was only the inspector and McLean up that hill and the tail section was much heavier than the inspector anticipated.
All the while, PC McLean was more concerned with preventing the chain-smoking AIB inspector from setting hundreds of gallons of aviation fuel alight… the duel that had seeped from the fractured aircraft tanks and into the hillside.
Made slightly worse than a long expired sheep that the AIB inspector seemed intent upon neutralising a rough odour with some of the spare fuel and a cigarette lighter.
That spinal injury was made worse on return to hos posting at Campbeltown with an on duty incident at Bolgam Street when a very overweight gentleman was asphyxiating on his own vomit, at 2am, whilst wedged in an alleyway and a third injury at 3am around six weeks later when a suicidal female required rescuing, in uniform and immersion at Campbeltown Loch, Berth #2.
These three spinal injuries were cumulative and diagnosed in July 1994 as requiring immediate spinal surgery.
Added to a raging case of PTSD from attending a fatal fire and duty including the recovery, with his sergeant, of a deceased toddler and PM., (unknowingly conflated) with the death of McLean’s younger brother aged two-and4-months, albeit of leukaemia, but a few months before his brother, Jason McLeans death in March 1965, Jason had been terribly burnt in a fire.
The spinal injury ended constable McLean’s police career.
He tyen went to his father’s house in London and worked in ship purchase/sale plus property. Returning three years later with sufficient capital to buy a CalMac Ferry, the MV Lochmor II to restart economic and structurally vital Campbeltown-Red Bay (latterly Ballycastle) ferry service.
Having cashed-in his police superannuation funds, but now physically disabled by further damage ~ lifting two of three (heavily waterlogged) drowning individuals out of the River Orwell whilst aboard his friend, Simon Lydford’s (father-in-law’s) boat, McLean’s spinal deterioration meant his “proper” job as the Relief Harbourmaster was compromised.
With huge irony, and this is the point of the narrative on this pge, there was sufficient equity left over from the sale of McLean’s London home, that on his return to Campbeltown, circa 1999, he was able to buy a home + a ferry + the Keil Hotel (then the Putechan Hotel and Tayinloan Inn) and three shops.
The High Street Rescue Initiative was born at this point.
Further irony in that a civilian Strathclyde Police Human Resource person stated…
”You are useless to us as a cop, go and enjoy disability benefits and daytime television.”
Thankfully a very good sergeant… Iain McLennan from McLean’s days as a police officer helped with wise advice…
”Russ, you can still serve, even if not in uniform. Do as you did when you were a police officer: go and find a way through this.”
Between the infuriating laissez-fair dismissal of his police career by the Amadan at Human Resources, and the wise counsel from his old sergeant, ironically now retired and (Sergeant McLennan) working civilian security at Campbeltown Job Centre, McLean set about project managing the purchase + restoration + financing of unemployed folk in newly renovated and re-opened (formerly closed-down) shops, hotels, even the worst pub in town which also happened to be McLean’s first 999 callout in a cold 2am night shift.
This was the worst pub in town and deliberately chosen to illustrate how the High Street Rescue Initiative could, and 30 years later, still does work.
The biggest irony? An unemployable former police officer went on to create 232 jobs and 81 property renovations.
At 67 years old he moved back to hos home island (after a stroke caused from being hit on the head by a 5,000 ton ferry) to project manage the major renovation of the Sannox Hotel.
The planning application included a new village shop Oand likely a sub post office) as the north end of ghe Island of Arran has lmost no shops, whilst there are dozens of amenities in the south end.
Snnox Hotel is destined to created 11 new jobs and the new village shop a further 4 new jobs, bringing the total to (232 + 11 + 4) 247 jobs.
As at the day of accidentally coming across the doom-laden video, and having personally bid to buy the closed-down Hazelburn Distillery (and successfully buying the Coopers Lane Old Cooperage) in Campbeltown, McLean is, in spite of a second stroke being caused by SSE plc, looking to complete his circle of life, buy buying his first police station at Campbeltown and creating around 6 new jobs there. That would get him over the 250 new job target and far in excess of what was expected many years earlier, when a promising police creer was unfortunately cut short.
Well, the word unfortunate is appropriate for the triumvirate of injuries whilst on duty as a police officer, but it was personally fortunate for a life lived with the desire not to waste a day, and as deed can prove (title-deeds), the broken old cop may have had a busted spine and PTSD addled brain, latterly insulted (as the neurologist termed the event) by being “hit on the head with a 5,000 ton ferry (that term was coined by the consultant neurologist who had saved McLean’s life.
The company book-keeper gathered in the title-deeds one day (during the pandemic when the country and indeed the world had stopped until a cure was found).
This is what she (the book-keeper) put together as a way of accouting for a life that could have been luved on benefits, but instead was lived another way…
