Arthur Alexander John FORD
Arthur Alexander John FORD
( late of St James Ave, Glebe )
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ?
Rank: Constable
Stations: Bathurst, Grenfell, Petersham
Service: From ? to 19 December 1927. Went onto sick report on 14 December 1927
Awards: ?
Born: ?
Died on: Monday 19 December 1927 about 10am
Cause: Murder / Suicide – firearm
Event location: Leichhardt
Age: 49
Funeral date: Wednesday 21 December 1927
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Presbyterian Section, Rookwood Cemetery
[alert_yellow]ARTHUR is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow] *NEED MORE INFO
Funeral location:
Arthur Alexander John Ford died 19/12/1927 aged 49 from self inflicted gun shot wound to the head. He lived in Glebe with his wife and was stationed at Petersham at the time.
He shot Mrs Florence Laws in a lane way off Norton St, Leichhardt close to Parramatta Road. Mrs Laws lived in Stanmore.
The inquest stated that she was shot twice. Other accounts said that 5 shots were fired. Fords wife stated that he had ‘troubles’ following fractures to the base of his skull and above his left eye (not known if they were job related) and suffered fits of violence.
A couple of letters were not admitted into evidence but it was noted that Ford loved his wife.
Death is due to temporary insanity.
The information came out after the inquest. Unbeknown to Mrs Ford maybe until his final day(s) Ford had ‘known‘ Mrs Laws for some time. In one of the letters that was not read at the inquest he professors his love for his wife and said to her ‘you know all’ I think meaning he told her of Mrs Laws.
The letter that Mrs Laws wrote told of her deep love for Ford and just wanted to be with him. It would appear that on the day of their deaths, she had a dental appointment in Norton St, Leichhardt and she said to the dentist “I have a friend waiting outside”.
A friend says that he would hear the voice of his very young daughter who had died 2 years previously asking him to play a particular tune on the pianola (perhaps due to the affects of his head injuries).
Now comes the finale. He is buried in the Presbyterian section of Rookwood Cemetery. A report in the press has it that just as they finished the readings over his coffin, the coffin of Mrs Laws passed by and she was buried “a few yards” from Ford.
Northern Standard ( Darwin ) Tuesday 20 December 1927 page 3 of 4
STANMORE SHOOTING
Sydney, Monday.
Mrs. Florence Ellen Laws, of Percival Road, Stanmore, wife of a master builder, was shot dead in a lane off Norton Street, Leichhardt, yesterday morning, following a quarrel with Constable Arthur Alexander John Ford, of Petersham. The policeman is alleged to have killed Mrs. Laws and to have turned the revolver on himself. He also died. Ford fired five shots, four of which took effect on the woman, who died instantly. Ford was also married. When his wife heard, of the tragedy she collapsed.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/48032233#pstart3153593
20 December 1927
Truth ( Sydney ) Sunday 25 December 1927 page 13 of 20
MYSTERY LETTERS IN LEICHHARDT LOVE SHOOTING
‘MY OWN DEAREST LOVE’ Passionate Expressions to Policeman Who Killed Woman and Then Himself
“ALL MY LOVE UNTIL I SEE MY DARLING!”
MYSTERY letters, pulsating with terms of love and endearment, were found in the pockets of tall, strapping, handsome Constable Arthur Ford when he and Mrs. Florence Laws met death from revolver bullets in a little dead-end lane at Leichhardt on Tuesday morning. They were all unsigned. Only crosses to denote kisses concluded their amatory passages..
WHO – were these letters from? That is a big question for the Coroner when he delves into the tragedy that shocked the city, wrecked two homes and took a handsome man and an attractive and sunny-natured woman, from the earth. A wondering, heartbroken wife weeps silently in a little home in Glebe, mourning the death of her husband. “A fine man, Mr. Ford,” everyone said. He was big and straight and frank.
But on Wednesday he was buried, having gone from life by his own hand. On the fourteenth of this month he went off duty from the Petersham police station— ill. The next day he saw a doctor, who prescribed, and gave him a certificate which substantiated his application – for sick leave. His poor health apparently preyed upon his mind — a mind worried a good deal about other things. His mother had died and he mourned her passing. But there was more. And his thoughts turned to a little home in Percival-road, Stanmore, and to a little woman who lived there with her husband and her family.
Constable Arthur Ford and Mrs. Florence Laws were very firm friends and probably more, if the letters were penned by her, then they were lovers — passionately enamored. In her Stanmore home an astonished husband and father grieves at almost incredible news. Reddened, tear-stained eyes tell of the anguish of three sons, the youngest about 15, and of a pretty daughter. Their mother was her usual bright and cheery self on Monday morning. She left home, trim, petite, dark and well dressed and called at the grocery store just around the corner in Parramatta road. She left and walked smartly along Parramatta-road to Norton-street, where she went to the dental surgery of Dentist C. G. Everingham.
She was well-known there as a genial, lovable and striking woman, with a radiant personality and an unfailingly bright outlook on life. The adventure of existence was real to her. She revelled in it, and she had the happy knack of making others feel that life is worth while. At the surgery she submitted a plate to be repaired. It had been broken— by being dropped on to the floor, she explained. It was broken in such a way that a blow on her mouth might have conceivably been the cause. Only a few minutes she had been in the surgery, chatting away, when she excused herself by saying that a friend was waiting outside for her. The pair spoke on the pavement, and he walked along with her about ten yards, leading the way into a little dead end laneway between two houses facing Norton-street.
There the man, 49 years of age, and the woman, who was 12 years his junior, but who looked only 30, had a conversation which will never be known. Something was worrying Ford, and he told her about it.
Was there another man, – apart altogether from the husband? Or did he want her to be his own, and give up her home and children? The Coroner will he faced with a difficult task in elucidating this.
Whatever the discussion, they disagreed. Ford spoke plainly and bluntly.
The woman sensed danger and wanted to get away. In a frenzy he grasped her and tore her clothing. Then she saw the deadly service revolver being drawn out. There was one awful second of realisation. She screamed. In a frightful tattoo five shots barked out in rapid succession, tearing into her body on their work of destruction. The bullets emerged and bespattered the wall. She crumpled up and, with a little murmuring cry, fell dead, the red blood of life pouring from her, staining the green grass that grew along the wall at the side of the lane.
Without any hesitation Ford turned the revolver on himself. Just one shot. It was aimed true, and it seared through his head and brain. He was breathing still when horror-stricken people rushed to the laneway, but he died after being hurried away towards hospital.
Six shots had been fired. Two lives were taken. And a ruptured romance the cause of it all. Just what they were to each other is the problem that at once presents itself. The wife of Ford, attached and devoted to him, was in a state of collapse when police officers had told her the facts of the tragedy.
The husband of Mrs. Laws could shed little light on the matter beyond saying that he had met Ford, had, in fact, been introduced to him by his wife, who told him that Ford had helped her with a punctured tyre one day. Patrolling Parramatta-road, the stalwart constable must have met the woman in difficulties with her car. She drove herself about and had been a motorist for years, having in her home no lack of anything she desired; good clothes, jewellery, a car, and seemingly no lack of ready cash. Her husband is a master carrier, partner in a business concern. Whatever their association was it must have been heart whole. If the batch of letters found on the dead man came from the woman. Mr. Laws told the police that the writing was like that of his wife. Many of the screeds were on red ruled foolscap paper. Most had been posted in Sydney, and some in Annandale, but not one bore a signature except the crosses, crosses, crosses.
Sometimes the mystery she who wrote them would add a cross or two to the back of the letter for good measure. ‘My Own Dearest Love,’ was the favored form of introduction. Then the screed went on to messages of burning affection. “I’m sitting all alone thinking of my sweetheart,” read one. “I’ve been doing that all day. I’ve never been deceitful to you since I’ve known you. . .” and more like that. “I feel I must see you before I go to bed at night, and in the morning I wake up at four or five and think of my loved one . . ” One letter was apparently in reply to a criticism levelled regarding attendance at a dance, or possibly to forestall criticism. “I went to a dance last night,” wrote the mystery woman of the letters. “I danced with only one person all night, and I was wishing that you were with me . . .” And then followed fervent passages addressed to “Dear Sweetheart” speaking of lovely kisses and declaring that if he ever tired of her it would kill her. But apparently, if Mrs. Laws was the writer, poor Ford grew anything but tired of her. His passion seemed to transcend all reason, all restraints. Two of the letters in the batch are particularly significant regarding an obviously clandestine association, and the difficulties of avoiding detection. One letter, with no other date than “Sunday, 5 p.m.,” I read: “My Own Dearest Love,— I got your letter in the box this morning, sweetheart, at ten-past six, early for Sunday morning. I tried to keep awake on Saturday night, so I could hear you pass, but sleep overtook me. I woke about four o’clock this morning, and never went to sleep after thinking of you, darling, and of the happy hours we spent together. My Dear Arthur, you still seem to doubt me that I love you. I wish you would not think that. I have proved, dear, how much I do LOVE YOU, and I will never, never give you up. I read your sweet letter over and over again, and loved it. I was thinking of you out in the cold on Saturday night at the dogs. Darling, you must have nearly freezed. Did you ring here about 9.30? Somebody rang, and I thought it might have been you. Somebody else answered the ‘phone, and there was no answer. If you ring me on Tuesday let it be after 4. G. goes then. All my love and thoughts till I see my darling. X X X X X x F.L. x x xxx The F.L., thinly traced in a multitude of kisses, seems to have been the only attempt at signature. Both letters were capitals.
Another letter spoke of the suspicions that had been raised by the association of the writer and the Constable.
Dated only ‘Sunday,’ in much the same way as the other, it read:— My Own Dearest Love,— I’ve been thinking of you, love, since I saw you yesterday. You shouldn’t have come over to the car to speak to me after what I told you in the morning. I was that upset I didn’t know what I was talking about. Arthur, dear, you ought to have a little consideration for me when you know how I’ve been talked about. I Just feel I could clear a thousand miles away. Darling, when you see the little kid, N, I mean, don’t ask about me. I will tell you why when I see you. I will try and see you on Wednesday at lunch-time. I will drop you a note before then, sweetheart. All my love till I see you, dear. Then followed those little crosses that mean kisses – thirteen of them. An unlucky number !
The Sydney Morning Herald Friday 13 January 1928 page 12 of 20
LEICHHARDT TRAGEDY.
CONSTABLE “UNDOUBTEDLY INSANE.”
CORONER’S VERDICT.
” There cannot be the slightly doubt that Ford was suffering from some temporary insanity, ” said the Acting City.
Coroner (Mr. Flynn) at the conclusion yesterday of an inquiry into the death, on the morning of December 19, of Arthur Alexander John Ford, aged 49 years, a police constable, stationed at Petersham, and Mrs. Florence Ellen Laws, aged 37 years, of Percival-road, Stanmore, in a lane off Norton-street, Leichhardt.
The evidence was to the effect that Ford, after a quarrel with Mrs. Laws, drew his service revolver, and fired two shots at her, killing her instantly. He then turned the weapon on himself, inflicting a wound in the side of the head, from the effects of which he died a few minutes after admission to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
Summing up the evidence, Mr. Flynn said the letters left behind by Ford showed that he regarded his wife with deep affection. All the evidence indicated that be was subject to an increasing mania for some time before his death, and the tragedy had occurred in one of his fits of violence.
Linda Beatrice Ford, wife of the constable, said that he had suffered, some considerable time before the occurrence, two fractures of the skull, one at the base and the other over the left eye. Shortly before the tragedy, he had continually complained of gnawing under the points of fracture. Witness had also noticed a change in his mental disposition. One night, seated at the pianola, he had asked for the roll “Rock of Ages,” stating: “Margery is calling me to play it.” Margery, witness explained, was an adopted daughter, who had been dead two years. On December 18 Ford told witness that he had a confession to make, and spoke of a woman named Florrie. Ford was perfectly sober when he left home on the morning of the tragedy. He was not a heavy drinker.
At this stage a letter was produced, and objected to by counsel for the relatives. In upholding the objection, Mr, Flynn said Ford was obviously insane when he wrote it. It was addressed in very affectionate terms to his wife. Another letter, found on the dead man, was not admitted, the Coroner explaining that it was a letter, couched in affectionate terms, from a certain person to Ford.
The Coroner found, that Mrs. Laws died from the effects of bullet wounds inflicted on her by Ford whilst he was suffering from some temporary mental aberration, and that Ford died from wounds self-inflicted whilst in the same condition of mind.
Mr. Sproule (of Messrs. R. D. Meagher, Sproule, and Co.) appeared for the relatives of Ford; Mr. Thomas Green for the relatives of Mrs. Laws; and Inspector Horsell for the police.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/16433671#pstart1204768
The Braidwood Review & District Advocate
Tuesday 3 January 1928 page 4 of 8
STRANGE COINCIDENCE
When Constable Ford murdered Mrs. Laws and then shot himself at Leichhardt recently, he completed a tragic triangle of death. He was the third constable who has served at Grenfell to die by violence.
Constables Claude Bovard and George J. Duncan were the other two. Over ten years ago Ford and Bovard served together at Grenfell, and Duncan was stationed there soon after they left.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/119404489
Daniel Bernard MARKHAM
Daniel Bernard MARKHAM
Late of ‘ Myall ‘, 22 Carey street, Marrickville
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ????
Rank: Sergeant
Stations: Nth Sydney, Traffic Dept, No. 4 Division, Clarence St, No. 4 Division ( Traffic Sgt )
Service: From ? ? 1907 to 19 February 1934 = 27+ years Service
Awards: ?
Born: ? ? 1884 to Martin & Julia at West Maitland NSWBDM 24190/1884
Died on: 19 February 1934
Cause: Suicide by pistol stemming from a Nervous Illness
Event location: Erskinville Street Police Station
Age: 48
Funeral date: Monday 22 February 1934 @ 1.30pm
Funeral location: St. Brigid’s Church, Marrickville
Buried at: Woronora Cemetery,
Roman Catholic Monumental: Section 2, position 0680
DANIEL is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
Barrier Miner ( Broken Hill )
Saturday 20 January 1934 page 8 of 12
SYDNEY, : Saturday. – Sergeant Daniel Markham (48), of Marrickville, was found fatally wounded yesterday in a telephone box in Erskineville street Police Station. A revolver, one chamber of which had been discharged, was beside him. He had recently suffered a severe illness.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/49496616
Northern Star ( Lismore )
Saturday 20 January 1934 page 7 of 14
Police Sergeant’s Death
SYDNEY, Friday.
Hearing a report of firearms at Erskine-street lock-up to-night a constable rushed to the front of the building where he found Sergeant Daniel Markham fatally shot through the head. The officer, who was 48, had been in ill-health for a number of years.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/94557571
The Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday 20 January 1934 page 14 of 26
MARKHAM. – The Relatives and Friends of the late DANIEL BERNARD MARKHAM ( Sergeant of Police ) are kindly invited to attend his Funeral leaving his late residence Myall, 22 Carey street, Marrickville, Next MONDAY AFTERNOON, at 1.30 o’clock, for Catholic Cemetery Woronora. W. N. Bull, Ltd., Funeral Directors.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17041590
News ( Adelaide )
Saturday 20 January 1934 page 1 of 8
LOYAL TO SERVICE TO THE LAST
SYDNEY. Saturday.- Sgt. Daniel Markham, aged 48, who was found fatally shot in the Erskine Street Police Station yesterday was loyal to his service to the last. Because of a nervous illness the Commissioner of Police (Mr Childs) and the Metropolitan Superintendent (Mr MacKay) frequently suggested that he refrain from duty, but he refused.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/128834363
The Sydney Morning Herald
Monday 22 January 1934 page 7 of 16
MARKHAM.-The Relatives and Friends of Mrs. EDITH MARKHAM and FAMILY are kindly Invited to attend the Funeral of her late beloved HUSBAND and their dear FATHER, Daniel Bernard; to leave his late residence, Myall. Carey-street, Marrickville, THIS (Monday) AFTERNOON, at 1.45 o’clock, for the Catholic Cemetery, Woronora. A train leaving Tempe Station at 2.24 p m. will arrive at Sutherland at 2.55 p m.
W. N. BULL, LTD.,
Funeral Directors,
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/17042105
Unknown Mounted Trooper
Unknown Mounted Trooper
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ?
Rank: Mounted Trooper
Stations: ?
Service: From ? to ?
Awards: ?
Born: ?
Died on: ? June 1840
Cause: Suicide – firearm
Age: ?
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: ?
[alert_yellow]? is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow] *NEED MORE INFO
Unknown Mounted Police
Unknown Mounted Police
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ?
Rank: Mounted Trooper
Stations: ?
Service: From ? to ?
Awards: ?
Born: ?
Died on: ? May 1833
Cause: ?
Age: ?
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: ?
[alert_yellow]? is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow] *NEED MORE INFO
Albert Spencer Thomas BAKER
Albert Spencer Thomas BAKER
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ?
Constable
Stations: Central Police Station
Awards: ?
Service: From ? to 5 November 1906
Born: 1899
Died: 3 November 1926
Age: 27
Cause: Suicide – gunshot – Service revolver
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Grave location: ?
The constable was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head in his bedroom at the police barracks at Central Police Station, Sydney. He was a single man who was to be married two weeks from the date he died. An inquest into the death returned a finding of suicide. The Evening News of 3 November, 1926 reported briefly on the tragedy.
CONSTABLE SHOT – TRAGEDY AT CENTRAL AFTER ILL-HEALTH
CONSTABLE ALBERT BAKER, 27, was found shot dead at the Central Police Station today. A service revolver was lying alongside him. The constable was a native of Cargo, near Orange, and had been in the force for about 18 months. He had recently been in ill-health, and for that reason had been granted leave. Baker, who was a single man, lived at the police barracks at the Central [sic]. The Central District Ambulance took the body to the morgue.”
The constable was born about 1899 and joined the New South Wales Police Force in 1925. At the time of his death he was stationed at Newtown.
BARRACKS TRAGEDY.
Constable Shot Dead. Sydney, Nov. 3
The West Australian ( Perth ) Thursday 4 November 1926 page 11 of 20
Constable Albert Baker (27) was shot dead in his bedroom at the Central Police Barracks to-day. He was found lying on the floor with a bullet wound in the forehead, and with a service revolver lying smoking beside his right hand. Shortly before 10 o’clock, police at the barracks were startled by the sound of a revolver shot in one of the dormitories. Another constable was sleeping in the same room at the time, and was awakened suddenly by the report, which occurred a few feet from his bed.
Sergeant Hardiman, the barracks sergeant, called the Central District Ambulance, which conveyed Baker to the Sydney Hospital, where he was examined by Dr. Wallace, and found to be dead. The body was taken to the morgue.
This morning Baker breakfasted as usual and appeared to be in good spirits.
He recently suffered from measles.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/31958313?searchTerm=constable%20albert%20baker,%2027,&searchLimits=#pstart2779266
Wayne JOHNSON
Wayne JOHNSON
New South Wales Police Force ?
Regd. # ?
Detective Senior Constable
Stations: Tamworth ( 1989 ) ?
Service: From: ? to To: 23 September 1995
Awards: ?
Born: ?
Died: 23 September 1995
Cause: Suicide – shot himself. Murder: Shot his estranged wife
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Grave site location: ?
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS MEMBER
[alert_yellow]Wayne is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow]
Kristine WOODS
Kristine WOODS nee BUTT
( late of Cherrybrook & Ryde )
New South Wales Police Force
Original Regd. # 25??? ( joined around 1988 )
Rejoinee Regd. # 33682 ( rejoined in 1998 )
Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: Eastwood
Service: ( 1 ) From ??? to ??? = ? years Service
( 2 ) Rejoinee – From ? ? 1998 to 21 March 2002 = ? years Service
Awards: ? – Nil on It’s an Honour
Born: 29 January 1969
Died: 21 March 2002
Age: 33
Cause: Suicide – Service pistol to chest – inside Eastwood Police Station
Funeral date: Tuesday 26 March 2002 @ 1pm
Funeral location: St Charles Catholic Church, 582 Victoria Rd, Ryde
Grave location: ?
Kristine is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
]
List of the fallen should include all the victims
Lest we forget … Police Remembrance Day. Photo: Robert PearceAnother week, another death of a citizen at the hands of the NSW Police (”High noon at Castle Hill”, September 30). It’s a week which saw the inquest into the police shooting of Adam Salter inside his own home; a week which saw a teenage victim of robbery shot in the stomach by another cop. And now we are led to believe that a man who apparently travelled to a police station needed to be pumped full of bullets in order to be subdued. Who goes towards a police station to make trouble?
All this in the same week that Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione led his officers in another Remembrance Day for his fallen comrades, the list of which is displayed on the NSW Police website as an honour roll. The list omits the name of Senior Constable Kristine Woods, who died by her own hand on duty at Eastwood Police Station. In fact, almost the only Google reference to Ms Woods is a Hansard entry.
The NSW Police don’t list the names of innocent citizens its own members have killed. When yet another member of the public is gunned down by a blue shirt, we hear that “the officer is receiving counselling and support”. No mention is ever made of any counselling offered to the family or friends of the real victim. The bitter juxtaposition of all these events seems to have also missed the media.
A decade after the police royal commission revealed systemic corruption, the NSW Police Force is now more powerful, more numerous and less accountable than ever.
Peter Maresch Lane Cove
Mr TINK (Epping) [3.38 p.m.]: I draw the attention of the House to the Epping Youth Development Group, otherwise known as the Shack. Following the compilation of a youth-at-risk study reflecting the needs of local Epping youth the Shack was found in 1992 by a group of concerned local residents, churches and businessmen. They have been operating from a disused scout hall that was converted into a counselling and recreation facility at that time. The Shack has to be seen to be believed—it is just that. There are exciting plans for a new building. The management committee, which meets monthly, comprises 10 members from the local community who voluntarily support the administration of the Shack.The Shack provides free and confidential service, home visits, counselling, family support, court support, resumé assistance, job board, youth and school liaison, health education, Centrelink assistance and referrals. The Manager of the Shack, Darlene Keenan, is an inspiration and is assisted by one other person. In the last 12 months the Shack has provided more than 800 hours of counselling for 385 people, 111 hours of court support to 44 people, 422 hours of home visits involving 127 people and many other sundry services. To try to move away from the statistics and into what the program is really about, I will read from what Darlene had to say in the annual report:
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- Family breakdown, separation from parents, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, sexual assault, suicide, teenage pregnancy, neglect, lack of education, unemployment and homelessness, and cultural beliefs are common issues affecting our young people in life altering ways. Behaviour is also very changeable and very real whilst any of these factors are alive.
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- High expectations in regard to education has seen many clients showing signs of stress where counselling has been necessary to keep self-esteem tuned. Young people suspended have further problems if they link with idle peers.
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- Intervention for our young showing suicidal tendencies has seen much progress in positive ways this year. Teenagers are scared, fragile and limited to rise above these very real emotions. Having positive referrals for extra support has proven to be a healing ingredient whilst temptations are being tested. Those wanting to resolve their fears and pain through suicide are just so entrenched with pain and overloaded with many challenges.
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This lady and her supporters really work miracles. They are working at the very hard business end of youth at risk, so much so that their program is being copied elsewhere. The Rotary Club of Lindfield is setting up another Shack under the same program and principles. This is policing at its absolute best. I pay tribute to the links between Eastwood police and this operation. Constable Tim Drury, the Youth Liaison Officer from Eastwood police, has made a fantastic effort. Senior Constable Kristine Woods, who unfortunately took her own life at Eastwood police station, was an outstanding supporter of the Shack and did great work at all times with youth in the area. Senior Constable Rowena Thompson, Sergeant Jacky Lilley and Sergeant Bob Porter—who I understand is about to retire from the New South Wales Police Service—do magnificent work. It is an example of how our police and community workers can work together to make a difference for kids who are at high risk of ending up on the wrong side of the law.
It is important to note that the Shack would not be celebrating 10 years of effort in the community without the support of St Albans Church and Reverend John Cornish, and the tremendous support previously given by the former chairman, Mr Alan Gurman and Cathy Sanderson. The present chairman, Mr Ray Miles, from Associated Planners, provides unstinting support. The support through the church and its work in the area and a diverse range of clubs—the Rotary Club of Thornleigh, the Epping RSL and community club and all the voluntary groups and church groups throughout the area—for the operation must be seen to be believed. The Shack is presenting final plans to St Albans Church for approval for a rebuild. Preliminary approval for the plans has already been given to the initial sketches provided by the church. I wish the Shack well. I am delighted to be associated with it and with a program that really supports the kids at risk and, in doing so, takes some risks itself. It is to be commended for its work. [Time expired.]
Mr FACE (Charlestown—Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development) [3.43 p.m.]: I thank the honourable member for Epping for bringing this matter to the notice of the House. It reinforces what I said a few moments ago about volunteers, Charity Awareness Week, and people who put so much effort and time into serving other people within our community. Although I am not directly aware of the group’s activities, because it started towards the end of the time that I was the chairman of police youth clubs in this State, I know that it was one of the more diverse organisations that was helping kids, particularly recedivist kids and youth at risk that a lot of other organisations were not prepared to help. That was at a time when the police youth club movement was moving away, to some degree, from completely structured organisations and what the original youth clubs were set up for, which has been of considerable benefit.
This is another great effort of a community accepting its responsibility to ensure that it is able to contend with people who, in many cases, are less fortunate than others. They are not always people from lower socioeconomic circumstances. It can be a result of communication breakdowns regardless of where they sit in the social strata. During my time as chairman of the police youth clubs I became aware that many kids were lonely and in need of someone to put a hand out to them—some of them were from the so-called better areas of my electorate and other parts of this State. The Shack is doing a great deal of good work. The community is to be congratulated on its efforts.
Ryde Policing
The Hon. GREG PEARCE
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- [10.20 p.m.]: Tonight I speak on the dereliction of policing services in the Ryde area. While the Commissioner of Police, Peter Ryan, was seeing the sights of Athens, the people in the Ryde area were suffering from an ill-equipped police force and falling police numbers. The Minister for Police said that all police, including the commissioner, would be involved in regular street patrols, but while Commissioner Ryan takes time out to see the sights of Salt Lake City or to pay a visit to the Parthenon, the people of Ryde are being neglected with a diminishing police presence.
- On 6 March the
Northern District Times
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- reported that police would be having a three-day operation in the West Ryde area, getting to know the people and letting them know that they are out and about. For three days people in the West Ryde area got to know who some of the officers that served and protected them were, but a month later the question is: Where are they now? For three days in March the citizens of West Ryde got to see some police patrolling their streets but now they have been taken away, back to their desks perhaps or to other poorly equipped areas. Maybe the police were merely there for the show, to appease the community’s justified concerns about the level of crime. However, having a three-day operation does not show that the police are serious about maintaining a real presence on the streets.
- Late last month a 16-year-old boy walking through Boronia Park in Ryde was assaulted and had his mobile phone and wallet stolen by two men, one of whom punched him in the back of the head. On 28 March a security guard was badly beaten during a ram-raid at the Fujitsu warehouse in North Ryde. Perhaps Commissioner Ryan should spend less time on his passion of Olympic security consulting in Athens and visit the streets of West Ryde, where there is still a marked lack of police. Perhaps he will be sent there around the time of the next election for a day trip, but there needs to be a genuine lift in the level of service for the people of the Ryde area long before then.
- Police are desperately needed by the community, and after the tragic murder of Constable Glenn McEnallay and the suicide of Senior Constable Kristine Woods at Eastwood police station on 21 March, it is time for Commissioner Ryan to show some leadership and to help the police force get back to the basics of serving the community. Police are needed on the streets to fight crime, not for three-day operations that merely serve as a political stunt, similar to the stunt that was viewed by all in the Auburn by-election last year.
- On 12 December 2001, the West Ryde Chamber of Commerce wrote to the honourable member for Ryde regarding police numbers, the lack of patrols in the area and the physical remoteness of West Ryde from Gladesville police station—Gladesville being the station that serves the people of West Ryde. What was the result? Merely the three-day operation I have referred to that took place early in March, not a real commitment to increasing police numbers and improving the quality of service. The police Minister likes to make an announcement almost daily about his finesse in fighting crime, but when it comes down to it, when we see where the promises are allegedly being acted upon, the result is disappointment—like the disappointment for the people of the Ryde area.
- Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, who was appointed commander of Gladesville police station in January this year, is the sixth commander of the station in the past four years. Police in Gladesville must find it difficult to do an effective job with so many different commanders, no doubt all of whom have a different way of performing their job, different ideas and different ways of running the station. The residents of Ryde are being punished because of the commissioner’s inability to appoint a commander who will serve the community for a long period. Superintendent Katsogiannis has been appointed only until 31 December this year. Why has he not been given a longer contract? Clearly, Commissioner Ryan has very little faith in his local area commanders. This must be a terrible thing for police morale, prohibiting them from getting on with the job.
The people of the Ryde area need some stability and a serious police commitment on the streets so that levels of crime are reduced. People are still unsafe on the streets of Ryde. This clearly demonstrates that policing must be taken more seriously and that greater police numbers should be on the streets. There needs to be a genuine and substantial police presence in the Ryde area, not merely a passing show in the hope of buying a few votes for next year’s election.
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20020409045
Robert RILEY
Robert RILEY
aka Roo
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # ?????
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed ???
Final Rank: Constable 1st Class
Stations: Taree, Coffs Harbour G.D’s.,
Born: ? ? ?
Died around 1995 – 2000
Cause: Suicide – Service revolver at his home address
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried / Cremated location: ?
[alert_red]Robert is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS MEMBER.
Lance Joseph MELINE
Lance Joseph MELINE
AKA Lance MELINE
* Nickname: Trader Dan
Late of Helensburgh, NSW
Relations in ‘the job’: ?
“possible” relation in ‘the job‘: ?
Army Private – 2790918
1 ARU ( Australian Reinforcement Unit ) from 24 June 1969 – 16 July 1969
9 RAR ( Ninth Battalion Royal Australian Regiment ) from 17 July 1969 – 12 December 1969
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 14645
Redfern Police Academy Class # 127
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 17 May 1971 ( aged 22 years, 11 months, 0 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed 28 June 1971 ( aged 23 years, 0 months, 11 days )
Constable 1st Class – appointed 28 June 1976
Senior Constable – appointed ???
Final Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: ?, Sutherland ( 24 Division ), Helensburgh ( 82 Division ) – Death
Service: From 17 May 1971 to 8 April 1982 = 10 years, 10 months, 22 days Service
Awards: Queen’s Scout Award – granted 1966 1st Leeton
Born: Thursday 17 June 1948
Died: Thursday 8 April 1982
Age: 33 years, 9 months, 22 days
Cause: Depression – Suicide – Police revolver
Event location: inside Helensburgh Police Station ( 82 Division )
Event Date: Thursday 8 April 1982
Funeral date: ? April 1982
Funeral location: Woronora Crematorium, Linden St, Sutherland, NSW
Buried at: Cremated
Ashes: Sydney War Cemetery, Memorial Ave, Rookwood
Memorial located at:
Lance is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance BUT SHOULD BE
37 years later ( 2019 ) and this man is still not recognised by the NSWPF – but WE – the people who Served in NSWPF, still Remember and Honour our Fallen
A Senior Constable Lance Meline committed self harm with a police revolver at Helensburgh Police Station on the 8 April 1982. He was apparently having trouble with hoodlums in the Helensburgh area too.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON.
Army information: http://www.rtfv-35sqn.org/History/Mortality%20With%20Units.xls
| Surname | Given Names | Notice Type | Date | Type | Age | Other Details | Publication | Published | |
| MELINE | Lance Joseph | Death notice | 08APR1982 | Death | late of Helensburgh | Sydney Morning Herald | 10APR1982 | ||
| MELINE | Lance Joseph | Death notice | 08APR1982 | Death | late of Helensburgh | Illawarra Mercury | 10APR1982 |
Helensburgh Police Station: [codepeople-post-map]
Lance was born to Daphne ELLIOT ( D: 1980 ) & Leslie MELINE ( D: about 1998 – ex Flight Engineer with RAAF – WWII )
It is believed that Sgt Keith Beacroft, OIC, found the deceased.
Roy Francis De Coque
Roy Francis De Coque
New South Wales Police Force
[alert_yellow]Regd. # 18403[/alert_yellow]
[alert_yellow]Academy # 92534[/alert_yellow]
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 11 December 1978
Sergeant – suicide
Stations: Police Mounted Unit, Redfern
Service: From ? ? ? pre 11 December 1978 to 9 October 1996 = approximately 17+ years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 2 February 1995
Born: 3 October 1952 ( http://www.interment.net/data/aus/qld/cooloola/cooloola_coast/cooloola.htm )
Died: 9 October 1996 ( https://www.heavenaddress.com/restingplace/castlebrookmemorialpark/roy-francis-de-coque/21605 )
Age: 44
Cause: Illness – Suicide by firearm ( Service Revolver ) in Change Room of Mounted Unit, Redfern
On Duty / Off Duty?
Funeral: ? date
Funeral location: Castlebrook Lawn Cemetery,
Old Windsor Rd, Rouse Hill, NSW.
Grave site: Cremated at Castlebrook and Ashes collected by family.
Memorial location: Cooloola Coast Cemetery, Rainbow Beach Road, Cooloola Cove, Qld.
FURTHER INFORMATION IS SOUGHT ABOUT THIS DEATH.
[alert_red]Roy is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
