This week marks the 60th anniversary of the Braybrook Street murders, an event of great significance in the history of UK policing and for Police Care UK.
On 12th August 1966, at approximately 3.30pm, three plain-clothed Metropolitan Police officers were on routine patrol in West London, in an unmarked Q-car, callsign Foxtrot One One. The officers were Detective Sergeant Christopher Tippett Head, 30, Temporary Detective Constable David Wombwell, 25, and Police Constable Geoffrey Fox, 41.
As they turned into Braybrook Street, a residential road bordering Wormwood Scrubs prison, they noticed a battered blue Van parked at the side of the road with three occupants inside. The vehicle was not displaying a tax disc, and as criminals sometimes attempted to escape from the nearby prison with the help of getaway drivers, the officers decided to stop and question the occupants.
The passenger of the van got out and produced a weapon, shooting DC Wombwell, killing him instantly. He turned the weapon on DS Head and PC Fox and sadly all three officers lost their lives that day in the line of duty.
The Daily Mirror the following day described the incident as ‘more than a murder, it was a massacre’ and cited that some 18,000 people had joined in the hunt for the killer.
Never in the history of the Metropolitan Police Service had so many officers been lost in a single incident and the public were outraged. They wanted to show their support to the families of the deceased officers and donations started to pour in. The outpouring of sympathy and support for their families saw the establishment of the charity The Police Dependent’s Trust, as donations swelled to more than £1million.
The PDT utilised funds to continually support officers injured in the line of duty and would later merge with the National Police Fund in 2019 to become Police Care UK as we know it today.
As we celebrate 100 years of our heritage this year, we remain closely connected to the community who continue to gather and remember this poignant event as we remember those who gave their lives to protecting others, and the families who were left behind.
Police Care UK continues to support all police, serving or retired, volunteers, staff, and their families, who have been physically or psychologically harmed as a result of their policing role. You can access support and support our work at www.policecare.org.uk
