Martin set to pull the ripcord and trigger emotional cast on June 15

He was appointed at a meeting of the association in the Fleece Bar on Sunday, April 22.

It’s a posting that fills the 43-year-old police officer with a great sense of pride.

Martin told us: “Having been brought up with the history and traditions of Selkirk Common Riding, it is both a huge honour and a privilege for me and my family to have been chosen.

“Being a police officer, I’m well used to standing up in court so nerves won’t be an issue, but I can’t even imagine how emotional it will be to stand up on that platform, cast the flag, and dip it for the two-minute silence.

“I look forward to making new friendships, renewing old ones and creating a lifetime of memories.”

Martin was educated in Selkirk at Knowepark Primary School and Selkirk High School.

He enlisted in the Army in 1994, serving in the First Battalion Kings Own Scottish Borderers until 1997.

During his service, Martin was primarily based at Dreghorn Barracks, Edinburgh, but in November 1995 he was deployed to Northern Ireland for a six-month tour of Belfast, during which time he was trained as team medic. In 1996, on his return from Northern Ireland, Martin was selected for a six-month posting with the Scottish Division Golden Lions parachute display team. In 1997, after a six-week exercise in the USA, Martin left the Army and returned to Selkirk.

After working in Viasystems in Selkirk and NEC Semiconductors in Livingston, Martin joined Lothian and Borders Police in 2001, and now works in the road policing branch at Galashiels.

Martin’s lady busser will be his girlfriend Gillian Harkness, who will tie his ribbon to the flag at the 2018 Selkirk Ex-Soldiers Association annual dinner, bussin’ and dance on Friday, May 25, and he says he can’t wait for his daughters Hannan, nine, and seven-year-old Rebecca to watch the spectactle.