Gerry Richardson

Gerald Richardson
Richardson's grave in Layton Cemetery, Blackpool
Lancashire Constabulary
November 2, 1932(1932-11-02) – August 23, 1971(1971-08-23) (aged 38)
Nickname	Gerry
Place of birth	Norbreck, Blackpool, Lancashire
Place of death	Victoria Hospital, Blackpool, Lancashire
Rank	Supt
Awards	George Cross

Superintendent Gerald 'Gerry' Irving Richardson, GC, (2 November 1932 - 23 August 1971) was a police officer in the Lancashire Constabulary and the highest-ranking officer to be murdered in the line of duty in Great Britain. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross in 1972.

Gerry Richardson was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, in 1932 to Irving Richardson and Lilian Pugh and had always aspired to become a police officer.

On 23 August 1971, Richardson participated in a car chase of a gang of five armed robbers who had attacked a jeweller's shop in Blackpool. As the gang split up and attempted to escape on foot, he and PC Carl Walker, who also later won the George Cross, chased one of the raiders, 'Fat' Fred Sewell, down a dead-end alleyway. Sewell shot Walker in the thigh before Richardson tackled the gunman and attempted to persuade him to surrender his weapon. However, Richardson was shot twice in the stomach at point-blank range and died of his injuries later that day at Victoria Hospital in Blackpool.^[1]

His posthumous award of the George Cross was cited in the London Gazette of 13 November 1972.^[2] His funeral was attended by around 100,000 members of the public; Richardson was buried in Layton Cemetery.^[3]

The five armed robbers were all convicted and sentenced to a combined total of ninety-three years in prison, including Sewell who escaped after the shooting but was tracked down to a north London flat and jailed for thirty years for murder. Sewell said of Richardson at his trial: "I shall see him every day of my life. He just kept coming. He was too brave." Sewell was released in 2001, when aged 68, after completing his sentence and reportedly having amassed a wealth of around £1 million through property deals made in prison.^[4][5]

The Superintendent Gerald Richardson Memorial Youth Trust was created in 1978 in his honour and helps people under the age of twenty-five, particularly those physically or mentally disabled, who live in Blackpool.^[6]

See also

• List of British police officers killed in the line of duty

References

1. ^ http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/local/memorial_to_old_boy_killed_in_line_of_duty_1_393908
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943860,00.html
4. ^ http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/local/murder_of_top_officer_still_hurts_35_years_on_1_402977
5. ^ http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/daily-feature/bravest_of_the_brave_1_2996380
6. ^ http://www.turn2us.org.uk/charities/s/superintendent_gerald_richards.aspx

A plaque in the Memorial Room at Collegiate High School where Richardson was educated

Persondata
Name	Richardson, Gerald Irving
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 November 1932
Place of birth	Norbreck, Blackpool, Lancashire
Date of death	23 August 1971
Place of death	Victoria Hospital, Blackpool, Lancashire