Death of Jack Avery
Jack Avery | |
---|---|
Born |
Jack Robert Avery 5 November 1911[1] Bromley, London, England |
Died |
6 July 1940 (aged 28) St. Mary's Hospital, London, England, U.K. |
Resting place | Évreux Communal Cemetery |
Police career | |
Department | Metropolitan Police Service |
Badge number | 890A |
Rank | Sergeant |
Sgt. Jack William Avery (5 November 1911 – 6 July 1940) was a British War Reserve Constable who was murdered in Hyde Park, London, having served less than one year with the Metropolitan Police Service.
On 5 July, Sgt. Avery was advised by a member of the public that Frank Stephen Cobbett was acting suspiciously. Avery approached Cobbett, who was lying on the grass and writing on a piece of paper, and took the paper from him. Avery returned the paper to Cobbett, who stabbed the officer in the groin or upper thigh with a carving knife. Avery died the next day.[2] Cobbett, a 42-year-old homeless labourer, was originally sentenced to death by Mr. Justice Atkinson, even though the jury strongly recommended mercy because of his "low mentality."[3] After an appeal, Cobbett served 15 years' penal servitude for manslaughter instead.[4][5]
In 2007, Ian Blair, then Metropolitan Police Commissioner, unveiled a memorial to Avery in Hyde Park, close to the place where he was attacked.[6]
Avery was buried in Évreux, France, in Évreux Communal Cemetery. His tombstone reads "He lived as he died, a hero. God's greatest gift remembrance, rest in peace. Jack Avery."[7]
See also
References
- ↑ London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917
- ↑ "Stabbing of Police Officer – Manslaughter Verdict Substituted". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 13 August 1940. p. 9.
- ↑ "News in Brief". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 23 July 1940. p. 2.
- ↑ "BBC NEWS - UK - England - London - Bid to trace police war officer". Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ↑ "Jack William Avery". London Remembers. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ↑ http://www.polfed.org/p22_23_gone_not_forgotten_0807.pdf
- ↑ "http://www.corpsofmilitarypolice.org/soldier/3797/". www.corpsofmilitarypolice.org. Retrieved 2018-02-26. External link in
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