William Campling, Saffron Walden, Essex, UK
Posted by: 
bill&ben
N 52° 01.527 E 000° 14.186
31U E 310405 N 5767474
A plaque commemorating the first Essex Police Officer to have lost his life in active service.
Waymark Code: WMBGQ3
Location: Eastern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/20/2011
Views: 3
On 31st October 1849 William Campling,
High (Chief) Constable of Saffron Walden Borough Police was shot at his
home on Bridge St. He died from shock some 9 days later caused by a shotgun
wound to his left leg. High Constable Campling had
been ambushed and allegedly shot by one Benjamin Petitt.
However, at trial the jury brought in a verdict of Not Guilty and no other
prosecutions were brought.
The memorial was provided by the Essex Police Memorial Trust
and was unveiled on February 9th 2002.
The memorial reads
Near this spot,
William Campling
High Constable of
Saffron Walden
Was shot to death in
November 1849
Erected by his
comrades