A plaque dedicated to three Guildford Borough police officers who fell in the Great War has been unveiled at Surrey Police Headquarters to mark the centenary of the end of hostilities.
PCs William George Deacon, Sidney Charles Macey and Henry John Gascoyne were all killed in WW1 whilst serving with the Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards.
The officers names have not previously appeared on any local police monuments so a project was led by Christian Duckett from Surrey Police and Craig Jones from the Police and Crime Commissioners Office with the help of the Surrey History Centre to ensure the plaque was created in time to mark Armistice 100.
Donations were received from UNISON, the Police Federation, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, National Association of Retired Police Officers, Surrey Police Retired Comrades Association and the PCC’s office.
The plaque has been put on display next to another memorial already recognising members of Surrey Constabulary killed in the Great War. It was unveiled on Friday at the annual Remembrance Service held at the Force’s Mount Browne HQ in Guildford where the Mayor & Mayoress of Guildford, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff of Surrey and an officer from the Scots Guards were present as invited guests.
PC William George DEACON
PC Sidney Charles MACEY
PC Henry John GASCOYNE
PCC David Munro said: “It was an especially poignant service on Friday marking 100 years since the end of the Great War and I am delighted to see the ultimate sacrifice made by these three officers rightly recognised by this memorial.
“I know a lot of hard work and research went into this project behind the scenes so I would like to thank everyone who contributed and helped ensure this plaque was finished in time to mark the centenary this weekend.”
Click on the photos (left) to read more about the three officers who have been recognised.
Biographies provided courtesy of the Surrey History Centre.