Death of Jack Avery explained

Jack Avery
Birth Name:Jack William Avery
Birth Date:5 November 1911[1]
Death Date:6 July 1940 (aged 28)
Badgenumber:890A
Birth Place:Bromley, London, England
Death Place:St. Mary's Hospital, London, England, U.K.
Department:Metropolitan Police Service
Rank:Sergeant
Death Cause:stabbing

Sgt. Jack William Avery (5 November 1911 – 6 July 1940) was a British War Reserve Constable who was murdered in Hyde Park, London, having served less than one year with the Metropolitan Police Service.

On 5 July, Sgt. Avery was advised by a member of the public that Frank Stephen Cobbett was acting suspiciously. Avery approached Cobbett, who was lying on the grass and writing on a piece of paper, and took the paper from him. Avery returned the paper to Cobbett, who stabbed the officer in the groin or upper thigh with a carving knife. Avery died the next day.[2]

Cobbett, a 42-year-old homeless labourer, was originally sentenced to death by Mr. Justice Atkinson, even though the jury strongly recommended mercy because of his "low mentality."[3] After an appeal, Cobbett served 15 years' penal servitude for manslaughter instead.[4] [5]

In 2007, Ian Blair, then Metropolitan Police Commissioner, unveiled a memorial to Avery in Hyde Park, close to the place where he was attacked.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917
  2. News: Stabbing of Police Officer – Manslaughter Verdict Substituted . . 9 . 13 August 1940.
  3. News: News in Brief . . 2 . 23 July 1940.
  4. News: Bid to trace police war officer. 29 April 2007. BBC News. 12 December 2016. 9 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161109092004/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/6605147.stm. live.
  5. Web site: Jack William Avery. London Remembers. en. 2018-02-26. 27 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180227034516/https://www.londonremembers.com/subjects/jack-william-avery. live.
  6. Web site: Archived copy . 5 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928111557/http://www.polfed.org/p22_23_gone_not_forgotten_0807.pdf . 28 September 2011 . dead.