Lachlan McDonald was born in Skye in 1874 and after schooling, worked as a shepherd. His interest in horses gave him the opportunity to work as a horse breaker, training horses for the company building the West Highland Railway.
On 21 August 1895, he joined The City of Glasgow Police as a Constable, and there were occasions when he was called upon to be part of a mounted unit for Royal Visits and other public order events.
In February 1900, within the first months of the beginning of the Boer War in South Africa, he was recruited by Simon Fraser, 14th Lord Lovat, along with many highland gamekeepers, into a unit of sharpshooters. They were used to counter the equally skilled Boer riflemen in the vast terrain of the South African landscape.
He returned to The City of Glasgow Police in September 1901 and was selected to work as a Detective Constable in the Criminal Investigation Department in 1906.
He relished this type of work and was very successful, rising to the rank of Detective Lieutenant, serving most of his time in the Southern Division.
One particular case in which he was involved was the arrest of John MacLean, the ‘Red Clydesider’, who, in 1921, was charged with 4 charges of Sedition, including inciting followers to rebel with the intent to establish a republic in Scotland. MacLean was sentenced to one year in prison.
In the New Year Honours List of 1923, Detective Lieutenant Lachlan McDonald was awarded the King’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service.
He retired on 31 August 1927 and lived in Montford Avenue, Kingspark, Glasgow, whilst maintaining a holiday croft in Breakish, Skye. He died on 4 June 1963 in East Kilbride, aged 88 years.