National Police Memorial

On this day

Sergeant 1st Class

Rhoderic Francis LINDSAY

YEAR OF DEATH

20 February 1984

JURISDICTION

New South Wales

DETAILS OF DEATH

On the afternoon of the 20 February 1984 Sergeant Lindsay and Senior Constable Calman both off duty were fishing in the Sergeant’s boat off Swansea. About 6.10pm the yacht ”Melody” radioed for assistance after running aground on the bar at Swansea Channel. Sergeant Lindsay and Senior Constable Calman then set out to assist the stricken vessel. Securing a line to the ”Melody” they attempted to tow the vessel to safety but as their efforts were hampered by a heavy sea the Sergeant released the line from the yacht. Constable Calman then noticed that Sergeant Lindsay was missing from his boat and seeing blood in the water dived into the sea to rescue his friend. Having located him Constable Calman assisted by surf club members conveyed the injured Sergeant to shore. It was found then that he had died of his injuries. It appears that Sergeant Lindsay was either knocked or washed overboard shortly after releasing the towline to the yacht and suffered extensive head injuries when struck by his boat’s propeller. He was posthumously awarded the Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal and the Police Commissioner’s Commendation for Outstanding Courage and Devotion to Duty. The Sergeant was born in 1935 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 12 April 1955. At the time of his death he was stationed at Newcastle.

On this day

Motor Traffic Constable

Theodore Arthur NIXON

YEAR OF DEATH

20 February 1956

JURISDICTION

South Australia

DETAILS OF DEATH

Nixon riding his police motorcycle east along Carrington St Adelaide collided with another vehicle which had failed to give way. He died from injuries he sustained in the accident.

On this day

Trooper

Robert WILLIAMSON

YEAR OF DEATH

20 February 1867

JURISDICTION

Tasmania

DETAILS OF DEATH

Trooper Robert Williamson, attached to the Great Lake Territorial Police in the municipality of Bothwell, died from injuries when a tree fell across the horse he was riding and struck Williamson in the back; he was [about] 25 years of age. There is very little documentation available detailing Robert Williamson’s life before entering the police force in October 1864. An entry in the Police Establishment Register indicates he arrived on the ship the Lady Eginda from Fifeshire in Scotland. Williamson worked in the Great Lake District as a constable and served a couple of years before his accident in 1867. On the 20th February 1867, James Wright, the foreman/shepherd of a large Bothwell property, accompanied Trooper Williamson onto the property of James Maclanchan, Esquire in the municipality of Bothwell. Giving evidence at the Inquiry James Wright recalled how the two of them were “riding in the bush on the Shannon run….when a large tree fell across the horse he was riding, instantaneously killing the animal, and striking Williamson on the back so severely that he expired in three hours afterwards.” (The Leader Newspaper, 1867; Reports of Crime, 1867). His death on the 20th February is recorded in the Deaths in the District of Bothwell Register and in Reports of Crime. The findings of the Inquest simultaneously reflect the newspaper stories and the entry in the Police Establishment Register. Dr Campbell, who examined the deceased, informed the Inquiry “The Injury to the spine and the chest must have caused interruption to the action of the vital organs of the chest, heart and lungs.” Dr Campbell concluded the cause of death was “the limbs of a falling tree coming into contact with the deceased…” (Country News Bothwell, 25th Feb. 1867).

On this day

Constable

Joseph HOWARD

YEAR OF DEATH

20 February 1848

JURISDICTION

Tasmania

DETAILS OF DEATH

Constable Howard was fatally shot whilst trying to apprehend four bushrangers who had taken possession of a hut in the Burgess area. The four (John Reilly Michael Rogers Patrick Lynch and Peter Reynolds) had escaped from a penal station at Fingal and were terrorising the local population. Constable Howard and his men arrived at the hut late at night and were fired upon as soon as the bushrangers realised they were there.