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The Thin Blue Line – Australian Police

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Detective Sergeant 2nd Class William ROBERTSON

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Detective Sergeant 2nd Class William ROBERTSON

Horse Accident

Braidwood

24 October, 1918

 

On 19 October, 1918 the sergeant was in the Braidwood area on special assignment. On the day prior to his death, he had left Braidwood with Sergeant Face and an Army Intelligence Officer with the intention of executing a search warrant in the Upper Deva River area. When the party had travelled about thirty kilometres along a bridle track, Sergeant Robertson started to remove some papers from his pocket. His horse took fright at this and began to buck. The sergeant was thrown very heavily to the ground where he sustained severe internal and spinal injuries. Due to a heavy storm, the party were unable to seek help and so they sheltered the sergeant overnight before conveying him to Braidwood the following morning. Unfortunately he died at 2am on 24 October.

 

He was a native of Scotland and prior to coming to Australia had served in the 1st Forfarshire Volunteer Regiment. He left behind a wife and a daughter at home, and a son who was then serving at the front in Europe (World War 1).

 

The detective sergeant was born in 1865 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 16 October, 1890. At the time of his death he was attached to the Sydney Metropolitan Detectives Office.

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