Brother (Sergeant Geoffrey Haredale Aston) - Penticton, BC - Police Memorials on Waymarking.com

In Saint Savior's Anglican Church Cemetery, on Fairview Road, is the grave of Sergeant Geoffrey Haredale Aston, a member of the British Columbia Police, shot and killed by one of the prisoners who somehow had managed to get his hands on a pistol while in transit. Born in 1860, Sergeant Aston was 51 years of age when killed and had served as a peace officer for 14 years. He is interred in Saint Saviour's Anglican Church Cemetery in Penticton.

Near his grave is a bronze memorial, placed by the Masons, Greenwood Lodge No. 28 and Orion Lodge No. 51.

The prisoners were Walter Boyd James and Frank Wilson, who had, on March 16, 1912., robbed a store in Kelowna and escaped to Penticton. Captured there, they were en route back to Kelowna to face charges when James shot Sergeant Aston on March 19. Recaptured on March 20, they were returned to Kelowna. Wilson was acquitted of murder, but James was found guilty of Sergeant Aston's murder and was hanged on August 9, 1912, at Kamloops, BC.

March 1912
The greatest manhunt in the Okanagan’s history, up to that point, occurred. Armed with a colt revolver, Walter Boyd James (aka "W. Poehlke, an American-born teamster, living in Kelowna) and Frank Wilson robbed Chater & Taylor’s Store in South Kelowna, March 16, 1912. They were quickly arrested in Penticton by Provincial Constable Geoffrey Haredale Aston, and were destined for return to Kelowna on the S.S. Okanagan. However, as they neared Peachland, James shot Constable Aston with a hidden revolver, and he and Wilson made good their escape. On March 20, they were recaptured by Percy H.L. Seeley and R.D. Ramsay at Wilson’s Landing. Constable Aston died at Kelowna on March 29, and Boyd James was subsequently charged with first degree murder. On August 9, 1912, at Kamloops, James was hanged for the murder of Constable Aston. Frank Wilson was found not guilty of the Aston murder.
From the City of Kelowna

1912 - Murder on a paddlewheeler

On a spring day 100 years ago, the Union Jack flew at half mast over buildings and hundreds of residents lined the streets of Penticton to pay their final respects to a police officer who died in the line of duty.

Sergeant Aston

In March 1912, Aston, a recent transfer to Penticton, was notified by the British Columbia Provincial Police in Kelowna that two robbery suspects were headed south. Having notified local hotels of the situation, a Mr. Art “Lucky” Thompson informed the police the suspects were last seen in the BC Hotel on Front Street.

The men, Frank Wilson and Walter Byde James, were arrested there and Aston booked passage on the S.S. Okanagan to escort them back to Kelowna.

As the C.P.R. paddle wheeler made a scheduled stop in Peachland, James shot Aston in the head with a pistol, and he and Wilson escaped. The two suspects were later captured by a posse, lashed to the mast of the Okanagan and taken to Kelowna to stand trial.

Walter James

Aston could not be saved and died soon after. His loss was felt by many as he accomplished much in his 54 years. Born in Cheshire England, he went on to be a decorated Army veteran, a master mason in Greenwood Lodge No. 28 and member of the Northwest Mounted Police and the BCPP.

His murder and burial at Fairview, then St. Saviour’s Anglican Church cemetery, were covered extensively in the Penticton Herald at the time.

On Sunday, Sgt. Geoffrey Aston’s life was again celebrated, as fellow freemasons, RCMP officers and others gathered to mark the 100th anniversary of his death at his gravesite in the historic Fairview Cemetery.

On Sunday, the Masonic Funeral Rite in the old graveyard included a procession of freemasons led by a bagpiper, while RCMP officers, in traditional uniform, and firefighters stood near the gravesite.
From Castanet

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