POLICEMEN HONOURED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 18792, 30 May 1923, Page 4

POLICEMEN HONOURED

That Wanganui should be the scene of a ceremony such as that at which Sir Francis Bell, Minister of Justice, officiated last evening is, as the Mayor remarked, a circumstance which cannot be other than gratifying to the citizens. But the honour, the outstanding distinction of the event rests with the two men whose conduct in the face of a grave emergency occasioned the ceremony—Constables J. O’Donoghue and R. J. IVilson. The King’s Police Aledal was instituted by His Majesty King Edward VII. in 1909, for award to members of the constabulary forces aud fire brigades throughout His Majesty’s dominions and in territories under his protection or jurisdiction, in recognition of special and exceptional service, heroism or devotion to duty. The decoration, as Sir Francis Bell explained, is in the particular spheres of peace service to which it applies equivalent to the greatest of all military honours, the Victoria Cross, and, like t'lat coveted badge of honour, it is all the more greatly prized because it is so seldom awarded. Its rarity is evidenced by the fact that Constables O’Donoghue and Wilson are the first recipients of the honour, as a recognition of gallantry, in this Dominion. These two officers well deserved the distinction which His Majesty King George has been graciously pleased to confer upon them. As Commissioner Wright happily expressed it, they behaved as constables ought to behave when duty calls to danger.- Their task was to arrest at night, in a shop shrouded in darkness, two armed burglars who did not hesitate to use their weapons with murderous intent. They faced that task without a moment’s hesitation, and at the risk of their lives they carried it through successfully in a manner which was as creditable to their ability as it was to their courage. That they had the assistance of two equally courageous civilians—the Messrs Thomson Bros., proprietors of the burgled premises—was a fortunate circumstance which in no way detracted from the merit of their behaviour and achievement. A citizen who ventured to congratulate one of the two constables shortly after the occurrence was met with the modest rejoinder: “Oh, thanks; but it really

wasn’t anything to write home about. It was just our luck. We happened to bo called, and of course we did our job. Any of our mates would have done the same.” This modest disclaimer is in eloquent accord with the sentiments expressed last night by Sir Francis Bell, Mr Veitch, Mr Williams, and Commissioner Wright, when they said that the honour so deservedly bestowed upon Constables O’Donoghue and Wilson was an honour not only to them but to the whole of the force of which they had proved themselves such worthy members.