- Brian Bishop
was murdered.
Police service
In 1962, Brian Bishop joined
Essex Police as a fifteen-year-old cadet. Bishop was 6' 7" tall when he became PC 389 onAugust 11 ,1966 , and was posted toColchester . He joined the Dog Section as a handler in 1968 and moved to the Force Support Unit in 1975. Later, he became a firearms instructor. He had been assigned to the rank of Acting Police Sergeant before he died.Epitaph
The
epitaph next to his memorial stone reads as follows::"Brian Bishop, a member of the Essex Police tactical firearms group, was called here to await the return of an armed robber to collect stolen money which he had hidden following post office raids in Walton and Frinton. Brian challenged the suspect who immediately opened fire causing extensive head injuries from which Brian subsequently died. A man was convicted of his murder."Five days after the shooting took place, Brian Bishop died atSt Bartholomew's Hospital inLondon onAugust 27 ,1984 . His colleague, Police Sergeant Mervyn Fairweather, who was seriously wounded in the same incident, later recovered. A 35-year-old man was found guilty of Brian Bishop's murder at Norwich Crown Court in July 1985, and was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years' imprisonment.Memorial
On
February 19 ,1986 the thenHome Secretary ,Douglas Hurd , unveiled a brown granite memorial stone adjacent to the seafront site where Brian Bishop was shot. Brian Bishop's memorial was only the third to be funded and erected by thePolice Memorial Trust , and was the first to be sited outside thecapital .External links
* [http://www.essex.police.uk/memorial/roll_bis.htm Essex Police Memorial Trust: Brian 'Bill' Bishop]
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