A HASLEMERE policeman, who was the first officer to be killed in active service in Surrey, could also be commemorated on a new UK Police Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire.

Haslemere Town Council’s annual commemoration of the death of Inspector William Donaldson, who was murdered while quelling a town riot in 1855, included a presentation about the memorial project now under way by national police chaplain Rev Canon David Wilbraham, who is chairing a group to decide which names to include.

Also joining Haslemere Deputy Mayor Pat Blades and councillors, last Sunday, was Inspector Donaldson’s great, great grandson Henry Pelham and his wife Jean, Surrey Chief Inspector John Davies, and other local dignitaries.

The deputy mayor described the harrowing events on the fateful night and Mr Davies spoke about how the police force have evolved since Donaldson’s era.