FROM Irish army officer to RAF air-gunner, from village bobby in Scotland to police chief in Africa, Kevin Cullinan's career was filled with action.

A larger-than-life character, he was not only an outstanding detective but also an exceptional personality, who will be remembered for his lively humour, his thirst for a challenge, love of poetry and tradition and for his fund of enthralling anecdotes. He was a big man in every sense - in stature and in his expansive humanity.

Daniel Kevin Cullinan was born in 1923 in Dublin, the son of a police sergeant and one of nine children. He was educated by the Christian Brothers at St Paul's School and by the Jesuits at Belvedere College.

A keen Scout, he always had a taste for adventure and, with his troop, climbed almost all the hills in Ireland. On leaving school at 17, he dreamed of joining the RAF but was told he could not sign up for aircrew until his next birthday.

That seemed too long to wait and, determined to get into uniform, he joined the Irish army and was commissioned.

He was still driven by the urge to fly and, two months before his 21st birthday, joined the RAF in Northern Ireland. He was selected for training as a pilot-navigator-bomb aimer.

After waiting for months for an overseas posting as a pilot, he volunteered as an air gunner and, early in 1945, was sent to Castle Kennedy, near Stranraer, for further training - a posting that changed his life. There, he met Isobel McIntyre, a local girl who became his wife in December that year.

Three months later, with the rank of pilot officer, he was posted to Iraq. On demob in 1947, he returned to Stranraer, where he joined Wigtownshire Police, which was absorbed by the new Dumfries and Galloway force the following year.

He went straight on to the beat in Stranraer without formal training and soon afterwards became village bobby in Drummore. He had fond memories of his time in the village, where he was on duty 24 hours a day, six days a week and patrolled his patch on a large bicycle, pedalling up to 23 miles a day in all weathers.

After spells as a detective constable in Stranraer and a uniformed sergeant in Castle Douglas, he was promoted to inspector at Dumfries in 1963. Three years later, he became head of CID. He led a small squad of detectives who cleared up much of the serious crime in the area, working long hours and, on his own admission, using unorthodox methods.

After a spell as director of studies at the Scottish Police College, Cullinan retired from the Dumfries and Galloway force in 1973 and surprised family and friends by taking a post as detective superintendent in the developing African republic of Botswana.

There, he formed his own "Sweeney squad" of black detectives who between them covered an area the size of France, embracing the Kalahari desert, where nomadic Bushmen still hunt with bows and arrows. It was one of the most off-beat beats in the world.

Cullinan revelled in the challenges presented by crimes ranging from big-time frauds and diamond thefts to murders by African witch doctors practising black magic and voodoo rites. During investigations that took him into the bush and desert for days on end, he used native trackers who he said, "could trail a butterfly across the Kalahari".

He earned a reputation as a super-cop and was nicknamed the White Mama because of his speed at decision-making and his fast action in crises. He said everything he had learned as a soldier, airman and country policeman proved invaluable to him in his new job.

He fought contract fraud and corruption with a vengeance and surprised many African colleagues by his pursuit of white offenders, including a millionaire businessman, who previously had got away with their crimes.

Kevin loved the work and said it gave him something policemen at home could no longer achieve - job satisfaction. He also loved Botswana and its people and took pride in helping to bring its police force into the modern age.

He became head of the CID in 1978 and the following year was promoted to assistant commissioner. In the same year, he was responsible for security during the Queen's visit to Botswana.

He retired in 1986 but stayed on in Botswana for two years to mastermind security for Barclays' Bank. He was made an MBE and was awarded the Botswana Police Medal.

On retirement, Kevin settled in his Dumfries home, adorned with his collection of clocks and furniture he had restored over the years.

He devoted much of his energy to the local branches of the Retired Police Officers' Association and the Aircrew Association. He was a past chairman of both bodies and kept in touch with many of his former Botswana colleagues.

He was on a visit to Ireland to bring in the new year with two of his sisters when he died in a crash. He is survived by his wife, three sons, Brian, Geoffrey and Rory, his daughter, Deirdre, and 10 grandchildren.

Daniel Kevin Cullinan MBE, retired assistant commissioner, Botswana Police; born January 20, 1923, died December 30, 2005.