Massacre of Braybrook Street
Encyclopedia
The Shepherd's Bush murders, also known as the Massacre of Braybrook Street, was the murder
of three police officer
s in London
by Harry Roberts
and two others in 1966.
The officers had stopped to question the three occupants of a car waiting near Wormwood Scrubs prison
; Roberts shot dead Temporary Detective Constable David Wombwell and Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, and John Duddy, another occupant in the vehicle, shot dead Police Constable Geoffrey Fox.
The three suspects went on the run, initiating a large-scale manhunt
. All three were eventually arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment
. Public sympathy for the families of the victims resulted in the establishment of the Police Dependants' Trust
to assist the welfare of families of British police officers who have died in the line of duty.
crew of an unmarked Triumph 2000
Q-car
, registration number GGW 87C and call sign Foxtrot One One, was patrolling East Acton
(although the incident was always reported by the media as occurring in Shepherd's Bush
) in west London. Detective Sergeant Christopher Tippett Head, aged 30, and 25-year-old Temporary Detective Constable David Bertram Wombwell were both members of the Criminal Investigation Department
(CID) based at Shepherd's Bush police station in F Division
. Their driver was Police Constable Geoffrey Roger Fox, aged 41, a beat constable who had served for many years in F Division (which covered the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith
) and frequently acted as a Q-car driver due to his vast local knowledge. All three officers were in plain clothes.
At about 3:15 pm the car turned into Braybrook Street
, a residential road on the Old Oak Council Estate bordering Wormwood Scrubs
and Wormwood Scrubs prison
. The officers spotted a battered blue Standard Vanguard
estate
van parked in the street with three men sitting inside it. Since escapes were sometimes attempted from the prison with the assistance of getaway vehicles driven by accomplices, the officers decided to question the occupants. It is possible that PC Fox recognised the van's driver, Jack Witney, as a known criminal. The vehicle also had no tax disc, legally required for driving in the United Kingdom.
DS Head and DC Wombwell got out of their car and walked over to the van, where they questioned Witney about the lack of a tax disc. He replied that he had not yet obtained his MOT test certificate, which is required before a tax disc can be issued. DS Head asked Witney for his driver's license
and vehicle insurance
certificate; noticing that the latter had expired at midday, he told DC Wombwell to write down Witney's details and walked around to the other side of the van. Witney protested that he had been caught for the same offence two weeks before and pleaded to be given a break. However, as he did so his front seat passenger, Harry Roberts
, produced a Luger pistol and shot DC Wombwell through the left eye, killing him instantly. DS Head ran back towards his Q-car, but Roberts chased and, after missing with the next shot, shot him in the head. John Duddy, the back seat passenger, also got out, grabbing a .38 Webley Service Revolver from the bag next to him (which also contained a third gun). He ran over to the Q-car and shot PC Fox three times through the window as he tried to reverse towards him and Roberts, who also fired several shots. As he died, Fox's foot jerked down on the accelerator
and the car lurched forward over the prone body of DS Head, who was already dying of his wounds.
, PGT 726. Witney, the van's owner, was arrested at his home six hours after the shootings. Following a tip-off, the van was discovered the next day in a lock-up garage
rented by Witney under a railway arch in Vauxhall
. It contained some spent .38 cartridge
s and equipment that could be used for stealing cars. Initially Witney pretended that he had sold the van for £15 to an unknown man in a pub
earlier in the day, but confessed on 14 August, admitting what had happened, and naming his accomplices.
Duddy had fled to his native Glasgow
, but was arrested on 17 August using information obtained from his brother.
Roberts hid out in Epping Forest
to avoid the huge manhunt. He used his military training (he had served as a soldier during the Malayan Emergency
) to avoid police capture for three months. A £1,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. He was finally captured on 15 November whilst sleeping in a barn at Blount's Farm near Bishop's Stortford
after hiding in the adjacent Thorley Wood. Roberts was familiar with the area as he had often visited it as a child with his mother.
. He lived with his wife in a basement flat in Fernhead Road, Paddington
. John Duddy (born 1929), originally from Glasgow
, was a long-distance lorry driver
. He had been in trouble for theft several times when he was younger, but had been straight since 1948. Immediately prior to the offence he had started to drink heavily and had met Roberts and Witney in a club. Harry Maurice Roberts
(born 1936) was a career criminal with convictions for attempted store-breaking, larceny
and robbery
with violence. He was a former soldier who had served in Malaya. He almost certainly opened fire because he thought that the officers were about to search the van and believed he could be sentenced to 15 years imprisonment if he was caught with a firearm.
of Witney and Duddy began at the Old Bailey
on 14 November, but was almost immediately adjourned after Roberts's capture so the three men could be tried together. Roberts pleaded guilty to the murder
s of DS Head and DC Wombwell (but not that of PC Fox), but the other two defendants denied all charges. Only Witney testified in his defence, and he said that he and Duddy were terrified of Roberts. On 12 December 1966, after a trial lasting only six days, the three men were convicted of murder and possession of firearms and sentenced to life imprisonment. The jury took only 30 minutes to reach the verdict. The judge
, Mr. Justice Glyn-Jones, recommended that they serve at least thirty years before becoming eligible for parole
. He commented that the murders were "the most heinous crime to have been committed in this country for a generation or more".
The murders caused outrage in Britain. There were calls for the recently abolished death penalty
to be reintroduced and increasing numbers of police officers, usually unarmed in Britain, were trained to use firearms. The Metropolitan Police Firearms Wing, now known as CO19
, was established soon after the incident.
Six hundred Metropolitan Police officers lined the route of the three victims' funeral procession in Shepherd's Bush and a memorial service in Westminster Abbey
was attended by Prime Minister
Harold Wilson
, Leader of the Opposition
Edward Heath
and many other dignitaries, as well as thousands of police officers from all over the country. More than one thousand members of the public stood in mourning outside the Abbey. Holiday camp
owner Billy Butlin
donated £250,000 to a new Police Dependants' Trust
, and it had soon raised more than £1 million.
In 1988 the Police Memorial Trust
established a stone memorial to the three officers at the site of the incident in Braybrook Street.
on 8 February 1981.
Witney was released in 1991, causing some controversy as he had not served the full thirty years recommended by the judge, and was thought to be the first adult to be released early on licence after killing a police officer. He was beaten to death with a hammer by his flatmate, a heroin addict, in August 1999 at his home in Horfield
, Bristol
. Police ruled out any connection between his murder and the events of 1966.
It was reported in February 2009 that Harry Roberts hoped to be freed from prison within months. After serving 42 years in jail and having already completed the first stage of a parole board
hearing, he believed this would pave the way for his release. Roberts hoped a final hearing would find that, at the age of 72, he was no longer a risk to the public and that the parole board would order his immediate release. At this time he had already served 12 years more than the minimum tariff recommended by his trial judge who at the time of sentencing told Roberts that it was unlikely that any future Home Secretary
would "ever think fit to show mercy by releasing you on licence... This is one of those cases in which the sentence of imprisonment for 'life' may well be treated as meaning exactly what it says." In July 2009, the parole board determined that Roberts still posed a risk to the public and should continue to serve time at Littlehey prison
in Cambridgeshire. The decision followed newspaper reports that Roberts orchestrated a five-year campaign of intimidation against an elderly woman who complained about his behaviour when Roberts worked at the same animal sanctuary while on day release.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of three police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
s in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
by Harry Roberts
Harry Roberts (murderer)
Harry Maurice Roberts is a career criminal who instigated the Shepherd's Bush Murders in which three police officers were shot dead in 1966. The killings happened after the plain-clothed officers approached the van which Roberts and two other men were sitting in, in Braybrook Street, near Wormwood...
and two others in 1966.
The officers had stopped to question the three occupants of a car waiting near Wormwood Scrubs prison
Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
; Roberts shot dead Temporary Detective Constable David Wombwell and Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, and John Duddy, another occupant in the vehicle, shot dead Police Constable Geoffrey Fox.
The three suspects went on the run, initiating a large-scale manhunt
Manhunt (law enforcement)
In law enforcement, a manhunt is a search for a dangerous fugitive involving the use of all available police units and technology and sometimes help from the public....
. All three were eventually arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. Public sympathy for the families of the victims resulted in the establishment of the Police Dependants' Trust
Police Dependants' Trust
The Police Dependants' Trust is a body which looks after the interest and welfare of the families of British police officers who have died or been killed while on duty....
to assist the welfare of families of British police officers who have died in the line of duty.
Murders
On 12 August 1966, a Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
crew of an unmarked Triumph 2000
Triumph 2000
The Triumph 2000 is a mid-sized, rear wheel drive automobile which was produced in Coventry by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. Larger-engined models, known as the Triumph 2.5 PI and Triumph 2500 were also produced.-Engine:...
Q-car
Sleeper (car)
A sleeper or Q-car is a car that has high performance and an unassuming exterior. Sleeper cars are termed such because their exterior looks little or no different from a standard or economy-class car. In some cases the car appears worse due to seeming neglect on the owner's part, typically...
, registration number GGW 87C and call sign Foxtrot One One, was patrolling East Acton
East Acton
East Acton is a place in west London, England. It is partly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and partly in the London Borough of Ealing...
(although the incident was always reported by the media as occurring in Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
) in west London. Detective Sergeant Christopher Tippett Head, aged 30, and 25-year-old Temporary Detective Constable David Bertram Wombwell were both members of the Criminal Investigation Department
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
(CID) based at Shepherd's Bush police station in F Division
Police division
A division was the usual term for the largest territorial subdivision of most British police forces. In major reforms of police organisation in the 1990s divisions of many forces were restructured and retitled Basic Command Units , although some forces continue to refer to them as divisions.The...
. Their driver was Police Constable Geoffrey Roger Fox, aged 41, a beat constable who had served for many years in F Division (which covered the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith
Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith
The Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith was, between 1900 and 1965, a Metropolitan borough of the County of London. It included Hammersmith, Wormwood Scrubs, Old Oak Common and Shepherd's Bush....
) and frequently acted as a Q-car driver due to his vast local knowledge. All three officers were in plain clothes.
At about 3:15 pm the car turned into Braybrook Street
Braybrook Street
Braybrook Street is a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, London, but locally known as East Acton. It runs along the side of Wormwood Scrubs and also Wormwood Scrubs prison. The street is notable as the location of the Massacre of Braybrook Street where three police officers were murdered by...
, a residential road on the Old Oak Council Estate bordering Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs, is an open space located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the Borough, at 80 ha , and one of the largest areas of common land in London...
and Wormwood Scrubs prison
Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
. The officers spotted a battered blue Standard Vanguard
Standard Vanguard
The car used a conventional chassis on which was mounted the American inspired semi-streamlined four-door body, which resembles a Plymouth. Suspension was independent at the front with coil springs and a live axle and leaf springs at the rear. Front and rear anti-roll bars were fitted. The brakes...
estate
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
van parked in the street with three men sitting inside it. Since escapes were sometimes attempted from the prison with the assistance of getaway vehicles driven by accomplices, the officers decided to question the occupants. It is possible that PC Fox recognised the van's driver, Jack Witney, as a known criminal. The vehicle also had no tax disc, legally required for driving in the United Kingdom.
DS Head and DC Wombwell got out of their car and walked over to the van, where they questioned Witney about the lack of a tax disc. He replied that he had not yet obtained his MOT test certificate, which is required before a tax disc can be issued. DS Head asked Witney for his driver's license
Driver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
and vehicle insurance
Vehicle insurance
Vehicle insurance is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise therefrom...
certificate; noticing that the latter had expired at midday, he told DC Wombwell to write down Witney's details and walked around to the other side of the van. Witney protested that he had been caught for the same offence two weeks before and pleaded to be given a break. However, as he did so his front seat passenger, Harry Roberts
Harry Roberts (murderer)
Harry Maurice Roberts is a career criminal who instigated the Shepherd's Bush Murders in which three police officers were shot dead in 1966. The killings happened after the plain-clothed officers approached the van which Roberts and two other men were sitting in, in Braybrook Street, near Wormwood...
, produced a Luger pistol and shot DC Wombwell through the left eye, killing him instantly. DS Head ran back towards his Q-car, but Roberts chased and, after missing with the next shot, shot him in the head. John Duddy, the back seat passenger, also got out, grabbing a .38 Webley Service Revolver from the bag next to him (which also contained a third gun). He ran over to the Q-car and shot PC Fox three times through the window as he tried to reverse towards him and Roberts, who also fired several shots. As he died, Fox's foot jerked down on the accelerator
Throttle
A throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases , but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which...
and the car lurched forward over the prone body of DS Head, who was already dying of his wounds.
Manhunt
Duddy and Roberts got back into the van and Witney reversed rapidly down a side street and pulled out onto Wulfstan Street before driving away at speed. However, a passer-by, suspicious of a car driving so fast near the prison, had written down the registration plateVehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...
, PGT 726. Witney, the van's owner, was arrested at his home six hours after the shootings. Following a tip-off, the van was discovered the next day in a lock-up garage
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
rented by Witney under a railway arch in Vauxhall
Vauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
. It contained some spent .38 cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
s and equipment that could be used for stealing cars. Initially Witney pretended that he had sold the van for £15 to an unknown man in a pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
earlier in the day, but confessed on 14 August, admitting what had happened, and naming his accomplices.
Duddy had fled to his native Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, but was arrested on 17 August using information obtained from his brother.
Roberts hid out in Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
to avoid the huge manhunt. He used his military training (he had served as a soldier during the Malayan Emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
) to avoid police capture for three months. A £1,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. He was finally captured on 15 November whilst sleeping in a barn at Blount's Farm near Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire in England. It is situated just west of the M11 motorway, on the county boundary with Essex and is the closest large town to London Stansted Airport and part of the...
after hiding in the adjacent Thorley Wood. Roberts was familiar with the area as he had often visited it as a child with his mother.
Suspects
The three suspects were John Edward 'Jack' Witney, John Duddy and Harry Maurice Roberts. Witney (born 1930) was a known petty criminal with ten convictions for theftTheft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
. He lived with his wife in a basement flat in Fernhead Road, Paddington
Paddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
. John Duddy (born 1929), originally from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, was a long-distance lorry driver
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
. He had been in trouble for theft several times when he was younger, but had been straight since 1948. Immediately prior to the offence he had started to drink heavily and had met Roberts and Witney in a club. Harry Maurice Roberts
Harry Roberts (murderer)
Harry Maurice Roberts is a career criminal who instigated the Shepherd's Bush Murders in which three police officers were shot dead in 1966. The killings happened after the plain-clothed officers approached the van which Roberts and two other men were sitting in, in Braybrook Street, near Wormwood...
(born 1936) was a career criminal with convictions for attempted store-breaking, larceny
Larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...
and robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
with violence. He was a former soldier who had served in Malaya. He almost certainly opened fire because he thought that the officers were about to search the van and believed he could be sentenced to 15 years imprisonment if he was caught with a firearm.
Trial
The trialTrial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
of Witney and Duddy began at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
on 14 November, but was almost immediately adjourned after Roberts's capture so the three men could be tried together. Roberts pleaded guilty to the murder
Murder in English law
Murder is an offence under the common law of England and Wales. It is considered the most serious form of homicide, in which one person kills another either intending to cause death or intending to cause serious injury .-Actus reus:The definition of the actus reus Murder is an offence under the...
s of DS Head and DC Wombwell (but not that of PC Fox), but the other two defendants denied all charges. Only Witney testified in his defence, and he said that he and Duddy were terrified of Roberts. On 12 December 1966, after a trial lasting only six days, the three men were convicted of murder and possession of firearms and sentenced to life imprisonment. The jury took only 30 minutes to reach the verdict. The judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
, Mr. Justice Glyn-Jones, recommended that they serve at least thirty years before becoming eligible for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. He commented that the murders were "the most heinous crime to have been committed in this country for a generation or more".
Reactions
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...
to be reintroduced and increasing numbers of police officers, usually unarmed in Britain, were trained to use firearms. The Metropolitan Police Firearms Wing, now known as CO19
Specialist Firearms Command
Central Operations Specialist Firearms Command is a Central Operations branch within Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Command is responsible for providing a firearms-response capability, assisting the rest of the service, which is normally unarmed...
, was established soon after the incident.
Six hundred Metropolitan Police officers lined the route of the three victims' funeral procession in Shepherd's Bush and a memorial service in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
was attended by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (UK)
The Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom. There is also a Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords...
Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
and many other dignitaries, as well as thousands of police officers from all over the country. More than one thousand members of the public stood in mourning outside the Abbey. Holiday camp
Holiday camp
Holiday camp, in Britain, generally refers to a resort with a boundary that includes accommodation, entertainment and other facilities.As distinct from camping, accommodation typically consisted of chalets – small buildings arranged either individually or in blocks. Some had three or four storeys,...
owner Billy Butlin
Billy Butlin
Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin, , was a British, South Africa-born entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp.American Heritage Dictionary 2004, p. 135.Scott 2001, p. 5...
donated £250,000 to a new Police Dependants' Trust
Police Dependants' Trust
The Police Dependants' Trust is a body which looks after the interest and welfare of the families of British police officers who have died or been killed while on duty....
, and it had soon raised more than £1 million.
In 1988 the Police Memorial Trust
Police Memorial Trust
The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1984 and based in London. The trust's objective is to erect memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty, at or near the spot where they died, thereby acting as a permanent reminder to the public of the sacrifice...
established a stone memorial to the three officers at the site of the incident in Braybrook Street.
Post-conviction
John Duddy died in Parkhurst prisonParkhurst (HM Prison)
HMP Isle of Wight - Parkhurst Barracks is a prison situated in Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.Parkhurst prison is one of the three prisons that make up HMP Isle of Wight, the other two being Camp Hill, and Albany...
on 8 February 1981.
Witney was released in 1991, causing some controversy as he had not served the full thirty years recommended by the judge, and was thought to be the first adult to be released early on licence after killing a police officer. He was beaten to death with a hammer by his flatmate, a heroin addict, in August 1999 at his home in Horfield
Horfield
Horfield is a suburb of the city of Bristol, in southwest England. It lies on Bristol's northern edge, its border with Filton marking part of the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Bishopston lies directly to the south. Monks Park and Golden Hill are to the west. Lockleaze and...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. Police ruled out any connection between his murder and the events of 1966.
It was reported in February 2009 that Harry Roberts hoped to be freed from prison within months. After serving 42 years in jail and having already completed the first stage of a parole board
Parole Board
A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the United...
hearing, he believed this would pave the way for his release. Roberts hoped a final hearing would find that, at the age of 72, he was no longer a risk to the public and that the parole board would order his immediate release. At this time he had already served 12 years more than the minimum tariff recommended by his trial judge who at the time of sentencing told Roberts that it was unlikely that any future Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
would "ever think fit to show mercy by releasing you on licence... This is one of those cases in which the sentence of imprisonment for 'life' may well be treated as meaning exactly what it says." In July 2009, the parole board determined that Roberts still posed a risk to the public and should continue to serve time at Littlehey prison
Littlehey (HM Prison)
HM Prison Littlehey is a Category C men's prison, located in the village of Perry in Cambridgeshire, England. Littlehey Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
in Cambridgeshire. The decision followed newspaper reports that Roberts orchestrated a five-year campaign of intimidation against an elderly woman who complained about his behaviour when Roberts worked at the same animal sanctuary while on day release.