Linwood Bank Robbery - Aftermath

Aftermath

Wilson eventually pleaded guilty to two charges of murder – the first time anyone had pleaded guilty to a double murder charge in Scotland – and one count of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. Sim and Donaldson were jailed for 12 years each for their roles in the robbery; Sim had witnessed the shootings but taken no part and Donaldson had fled the scene.

Campbell and Hyslop were both later awarded the George Medal for their bravery, while Barnett and MacKenzie were posthumously awarded the Queen's Police Medal. Hyslop was forced to retire from the police force due to his injuries; he died on Islay in November 2000, aged 74. A family-friend told how for every night until his death the former Inspector had been haunted by the shootings of his colleagues in Allison Street.

It is widely believed that the same gang had violently robbed the British Linen Bank in nearby Williamwood for £20,000 a few months earlier, along with a fourth man, getaway driver Archibald McGeachie. The subsequent whereabouts of McGeachie remain unknown and there is a rumour that he is buried in the pillars of the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow, perhaps killed by Wilson when he refused to take part in the Linwood robbery.

Wilson, whose crime occurred two weeks after the death penalty was abolished, was released on parole in September 2002, aged 64, after serving nearly 33 years in prison. While incarcerated, he wrote a number of crime novels, including a best-seller entitled Angels of Death which won a Koestler award.