An honourable family connection

Long before Senior Sergeant Michael Morris pulled on the blue uniform, a connection to the policing world was already deeply rooted in his family.

“Growing up, my grandmother was always telling me that I should join Victoria Police because my grandfather and great uncle were both brilliant policemen,” Sen Sgt Morris said.

“As a teenager, I was a bit dismissive of this and didn’t quite understand their dedication to the job.”

When Sen Sgt Morris was 19, he decided to join the force, and it was during the recruitment process that he learnt more about his family’s policing history.

“When I was going through the Academy and my early training, my grandmother would tell me many stories about my grandfather and her brother, my great uncle, and their years in the job,” he said.

One story that Sen Sgt Morris heard a lot was when his great uncle, First Constable George Willis, rescued a young boy who had fallen down a mine shaft in Ballarat.

“George was awarded a highly commended certificate and Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal in recognition of his actions during the rescue, which saved the boy’s life,” Sen Sgt Morris said.

It was on 26 May 1941 that Const Willis was called to a disused mine shaft in Ballarat after eight-year-old Graeme Dowling had fallen down it.

Graeme had landed on a false bottom — a small ledge formed by some of the top sections of soil collapsing and getting caught on the sides of the shaft as it fell — about 14 meters from the surface.

He had miraculously avoided plummeting to the very bottom of the mine shaft, estimated to be about 92 meters deep.

Const Willis arrived at the scene, along with two other police officers and a member of the local fire brigade, and quickly volunteered to go down the shaft to get the young boy.

Using rope tied to a nearby tree and a belt around him, the other officers lowered the constable down the mine shaft.

When Const Willis reached Graeme, who was unconscious, he knew he had to work quickly to get out before the small ledge collapsed.

Tying another rope around the boy, the two were then pulled out of the shaft. Const Willis’ actions may have saved the boy’s life, but they ultimately ended up taking his own.

Shortly after the incident, Const Willis started to become increasingly unwell, quickly losing his hair and becoming very aged in appearance.

“My grandmother always told us how strange it was that he so quickly began to look like a frail old man, as he had been a very fit and active person,” Sen Sgt Morris said.

“He was an exceptional athlete and had placed third in the Stawell Gift only a few years before the mine shaft incident.”

Over the next eight years, Const Willis developed severe asthma and other respiratory illnesses, which doctors deemed were the result of inhaling potentially toxic dust while in the mine shaft.

On 23 January 1949, Const Willis was admitted to hospital with severe complications following an asthma attack and remained there until he died a few months later on 29 March.

With doctors linking his illness to the on-duty incident, it was deemed that Const Willis had died because of his duties as a police officer and his name was to be added to the Police Honour Wall.

“My grandmother, George’s sister, and his wife are no longer with us, but I know they would have both been so proud to see his name added to that wall,” Sen Sgt Morris said.

“While I never met him, stories of George’s service guided me through my early years in the force and it’s an honour to be able to say he was my uncle.”

Const Willis is one of four officers added to the Police Honour Wall on National Police Remembrance Day, which is held every year on 29 September to honour fallen police officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while doing their duty to help keep the community safe.

Sub-Inspector Edward Hall 569

Due at court in Horsham the next day, Sub-Inspector Edward Hall set out from Warracknabeal at 5pm on 24 March 1892, unaware of the danger that lay ahead.

Sub-Insp Hall had been in Warracknabeal to prosecute a larceny case and upon finishing his court duties, both he and Police Magistrate James McLuckie intended to travel back to their homes in Horsham to prepare for the following day in court.

Sub-Insp Hall never made it to Horsham however, as bad light and weather made for a dangerous trip that resulted in his untimely death.

Due to poor light, the pair had veered off-track with Mr McLuckie exclaiming “Hall, we are off the track” just as the police-issued, horsedrawn buggy crashed into tree stump, flipping onto its side and throwing the pair.

While Mr McLuckie was not seriously hurt in the accident, Sub-Insp Hall was not as fortunate and sustained serious chest injuries and required transport to a nearby hospital.

Seven days after the accident, Sub-Insp Hall died, aged 56, having developed bronchitis, congestion of the lungs and asthenia as a result of the chest injuries he had sustained in the crash.

During his 34-year career with Victoria Police, Sub-Inspector Edward Hall gained a reputation as a “strictly honourable man” who was extremely well regarded among his colleagues.

After he died, Sub-Insp Hall’s body was moved from Horsham to Melbourne, where he was buried alongside his wife at the Melbourne General Cemetery.

Constable Albert James Davey 12508

Constable Albert James Davey was working an afternoon shift on 12 February 1963 when he unexpectedly suffered a major heart attack and never returned home.

Const Davey and his partner had been called to a volatile job where a woman’s ex-fiance was refusing to leave her home.

As soon as the two police officers arrived, the situation escalated and turned into a heated scuffle after they attempted to place the offender into a police car.

After minutes of struggle between the officers and the offender, the man was eventually put in the car and driven back to Mentone Police Station.

Only a short while after arriving back at the station, Const Davey started to experience chest pains.

Noting the severity of the pain, he contacted a nearby station to organise someone to cover him so he could seek medical attention.

However, while on his way to hospital, Const Davey stopped out the front of a house a couple of doors down from the station as his health had declined rapidly and he was having trouble breathing.

An occupant of the house ran back to the police station for assistance but by the time they arrived back at the house Davey had died, aged 37.

A report into Davey’s death revealed that he had an undiagnosed heart disease, however it was also noted that the exertion needed in the arrest earlier in the day could have accelerated the condition and bought on the fatal heart attack.

Constable Davey’s funeral was held with full police honours at the Bathurst Memorial Chapel, Elsternwick, on 14 February 1963.

Mounted Constable James Foley 3811

After travelling from Camberwell to Caulfield to investigate the theft of some pigeons, experienced Mounted Constable James Foley was thrown from his horse and killed on 11 September 1894.

The constable had completed his enquiries into the case of the missing birds and was on his way back to his station in Caulfield when he decided to exercise his horse by jumping a two-rail fence.

The horse he was riding was noted to be a “splendid jumper”, so Const Foley had it jump the fence a few times.

When attempting to take the fence for a fourth time, the horse’s front leg hit the top rail causing it to fall, throwing Const Foley in the process.

Foley and the horse both landed in the same spot, with the animal falling on top of the constable, crushing him and causing severe injuries.

A friend who had been riding with Foley rushed to his side, only to hear the constable utter his final words in a low tone — “Jack, I am killed”.

Const Foley then became unresponsive and soon succumbed to the horrific injuries he suffered in the accident.

Const Foley had joined Victoria Police in 1887, seven years before his death, and was described as “well-conducted” and “a promising young constable” by his supervisors.

The senior constable in charge of Caulfield East Police Station at the time of Const Foley’s death stated the constable was an excellent horseman and deemed that he was jumping the fence “to prosecute his enquiries into the pigeon stealing case”.

It was also determined that there was nothing in the police regulations against mounted constables jumping their horse, either for practice or in the discharge of their ordinary duties, and Const Foley’s death was, therefore, declared to be in the line of duty.

Editorial: Danielle Ford

Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann & supplied