Memorial to village PC

Jun 12 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

A POPULAR Northumberland village policeman who died in the line of duty is being remembered by a national charity which honours the ultimate sacrifice made by Britain’s officers.

A permanent memorial to PC Joe Carroll – who was killed in a car crash on the A69 more than two years ago – is being put up near the spot where he died by the Police Memorial Trust.

The trust was set up in 1984 by film producer and director Michael Winner following the murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, who died in a shooting outside the Libyan Embassy in London. A memorial to her was unveiled in 1985. Over the years, the trust has erected similar tributes to officers killed in the line of duty near the places where they died, and PC Carroll’s will be the 32nd.

His memorial will be officially unveiled by his widow Caroline in a ceremony at the Styford Roundabout near Corbridge on Sunday, June 29.

Speeches will be made by Mrs Carroll, Mr Winner and Northumbria Police Chief Constable Mike Craik, with music provided by the Dunston Silver Band.

PC Carroll, 46, served with the Northumbria force for 20 years, spending 13 of them based in Bellingham, and was a familiar and popular face to many in the area.

He was killed in April 2006 when he and a colleague, Insp Brian English, were transporting prisoner Steven Graham in a police car from Hexham to a Newcastle police station. During the journey, Graham, an Army sergeant, lunged forward and pulled on the handbrake, causing the vehicle to flip over. Graham admitted manslaughter and was jailed for five-and-a-half years. PC Carroll’s death shocked the community of West Woodburn, where he and his teacher wife lived.

At the time of his death, Mr Winner said the Police Memorial Trust would put up a memorial to PC Carroll if his family agreed. PC Carroll’s name has already been inscribed on a roll of honour at the Trust’s National Police Memorial in London, which was opened by the Queen in 2006.

The 32 individual memorials erected around the country include one in Sunniside, Gateshead, in honour of Sgt Bill Forth, 34, who was beaten and stabbed to death in March 1993 while dealing with a disturbance at night. Mr Winner decided to launch the Trust because he felt it was unfair that officers killed in the line of their duties were not honoured in the same way as fallen Armed Forces personnel.

Mr Winner said: “I formed the Police Memorial Trust in 1984, as it seemed unfair to me that all the services who fought and died on our behalf – soldiers, sailors, airmen – had memorials but there were none to recognise police bravery and sacrifice.”

Last night Mr Craik said: “This memorial acknowledges what a huge personal contribution Joe made to Northumbria Police and the community he served, and highlights the high regard in which he was held by his colleagues and all those who knew him.’’

This memorial acknowledges what a huge contribution Joe made to the community he served