In the tiny, one-shop village of Kinlochbervie in northernmost Scotland, a quintet of teenage girls is hatching a plan to honour a fallen Vancouver cop.

Robert McBeath was gunned down by an impaired driver at the corner of Davie and Granville streets on Oct. 9, 1922.

While Vancouver's newspaper editorials called for two minutes of silence to honour the policeman (and capital punishment for his killer), the people of Kinlochbervie mourned their hero.

McBeath was a 16-year-old Kinlochbervie lad in 1915 when he lied about his age, joined the Seaforth Highlanders Regiment in Scotland and went off to the First World War to fight for king and country.

During the 1917 Battle of Cambrai in France, his fellow soldiers pinned down by German fire, Lance Cpl. McBeath singlehandedly wiped out a machine gun nest -- then another four with the help of a tank. He ended up forcing the Germans into an ignoble retreat, capturing three officers and 30 soldiers at the barrel of his Lewis gun.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts. Despite being the toast of the town and being offered free farmland after the war, McBeath pined for adventure. So he packed up and left Kinlochbervie for Vancouver -- and a tragically brief career as a cop.

A street in the 500-person village is named after him, and his memory is cherished, but 14-year-olds Emma Adam, Miranda MacDonald, Danielle MacKay, Donna MacKinnon and Siobhan MacLeod of Kinlochbervie High School feel McBeath deserves more.

"He saved heaps of people. He deserves it for what he did," said MacKay. "I'd rather spend my time doing something constructive than something that will fade away."

"We just wanted to pay him some respect," added MacDonald.

They entered their idea into a television-station contest that challenged students to make presentations on the impact of the First World War on their communities. Theirs was the only Scottish presentation to make it into the top five. (Check it out at www.kinlochberviehigh.highland.sch.uk.)

The girls are now sorting out how they'll raise the $4,200 they need to erect a plaque in McBeath's honour. They're also hoping to put together enough money to fly to Vancouver and pay their respects at McBeath's Mountainview Cemetery graveside.

MacDonald said the fundraising plan is still in its infancy, but it will most likely involve a great deal of walking up and down rugged and remote Sutherland County mountains, of which there are many. They may do the hikes in fancy dress or perhaps push a wheelbarrow to a summit, MacDonald mused.

"There's nothing much to do here except walking, so we might as well do it sponsored," she said.

Const. Howard Chow said the Vancouver Police Union and other police associations may be interested in helping the Kinlochbervie five.

"This is something [the groups] might consider if they get a formal proposal," Chow said.

mramsey@png.canwest.com