Bob Edington had something about him that made the young immigrant from Gorebridge in Scotland, well suited to law enforcement. During his all to brief career he served with two police services and two correctional agencies.

His birth date is not certain but is thought to be January 15, 1907.

At the young age of nineteen, Edington was accepted by the RCMP in March 1926 and underwent recruit training at Depot Division, Regina, Saskatchewan. When his original enlistment was expired on March 4, 1929, he then served with the federal force in E Division, British Columbia.

Constable Edington joined the OPP on July 1, 1937 and was posted in Sudbury for a month before being transferred down Highway 17 to Warren, between Sudbury and North Bay.

On January 8, 1938, Edington was working on an investigation in Verner, Ontario when he began to have car problems. He stopped at a restaurant to have dinner and had difficulty with his vehicle when he left to resume his work. The motor finally turned over before stalling once more just a short way down the road from the restaurant.

At about six forty-five p.m., Edington stepped out to try to determine the cause of the stall and moved right into the path of an oncoming truck that was headed east Highway 17 on his way home to North Bay. The vehicle’s fender struck the officer and his head hit the hood of the police car with great force.

PC Edington lay in a coma for a while at the Brebeuf Hospital in Sturgeon Falls but later became conscious and recognized visitors despite severe facial injuries.

Over the next two-week period the thirty-one year old officer failed to show signs of improvement and he died on January 21.

The driver of the truck was found to be blameless in the accident and no charges were laid.

PC Robert D. Edington was survived by his mother and two sisters.