One of our biggest tragedies writes Andy Mitchell

On Monday morning, it was half a century since Blackpool Police Superintendent Gerald Richardson was shot dead as he tried to apprehend an armed robber.

It was the morning of August 23 1971, when Preston’s the Jeweller’s opened for business as usual on The Strand. Back then, the little street off Talbot Square was very busy, boasting some high class shops.

At 9.40 that morning, a gang of armed robbers from London burst into the shop. Police were called but the robbers escaped in waiting cars up Queen Street. The chase continued into the residential part of North Shore.

Some of the robbers were rounded up and arrested, but the ring leader Fred Sewell, known as Fat Fred confronted Superintendent Richardson in a back alleyway.

The 38-year-old police chief wasn’t one to let his men tackle jobs like this on their own. He wanted to help, and went to join his officers on the street. In an extraordinary display of bravery, Gerry tried to get Fred to give himself up.

But the desperate robber shot him at point blank range, Gerry was rushed to the Vic, but died on the Monday afternoon.

The murder sent shock waves through the country and it was 47 days before Sewell was rounded up in London. He was jailed for 30 years.

A hundred thousand people lined the streets of Blackpool for Gerry’s funeral, and our hero was awarded the George Cross for his bravery.

This week we remembered all Blackpool Police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. On Friday night, current and retired officers gathered at The Sheraton for the National Association of Retired Police Officers’ Dinner. It was an emotional moment as everyone remembered Superintendent Richardson, the police chief who left his desk to help his men on the front line, and paid the ultimate price.

The Gerry Richardson Trust lives on in his memory and has helped countless young people with financial grants since 1974.

Gerry’s widow Maureen died in December 2019, after she dedicated our new Divisional police Headquarters in his memory. Her lasting wish , that her husband would never be forgotten.

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