Headstone for police hero of Victorian era

Police Constable James Gordon, 26, was attacked with iron bars as he stopped a gang of men breaking into a boiler works factory in St Helens, Merseyside, in 1893.

Although his death is listed in official police records, his grave at St Helens Cemetery was left unmarked. But 120 years later, Brenda Neary, a former Merseyside police officer and volunteer at the cemetery, tracked down his resting place.

The Police Roll of Honour Trust commissioned a specially engraved headstone to be erected on the grave at a dedication ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Scotsman’s death.

The headstone was unveiled by the chair of the Police Memorial Trust, Geraldine Winner, the widow of Michael Winner.