24 April 2018

The following message has just been received from Paul Donnellan:

It is with deep sadness that I have to inform you all of the death on Monday 23rd April, St. George’s Day, of Herbert Edward George ‘Eddie’ Wallace, former Police Sgt 10 of the Portsmouth City Police and Hampshire Constabulary.  Eddie died at Queen Alexandra’s Hospital, Portsmouth.  His daughter Penny was with him.

Eddie joined Portsmouth City Police as a Police Cadet just before the Second World War and as a cadet was manning the Portsmouth City Police fire engines during the Blitz on Portsmouth.  He was attested on the 3rd September 1941.  He later joined the Army and served with the Royal Artillery on ‘Heavy Ack Ack’. Eddie was a veteran of the D Day Landings.

Eddie rejoined the Portsmouth City Police after the war and was promoted to the rank of Sgt. on the 9th April, 1960. I believe that it is no exaggeration to say that he had a profound and most beneficial effect on all who served with him for he was a policeman through and through.  He was a man to be admired in so many ways but never emulated, a man and police officer who always maintained the highest of standards; someone to be looked up to and admired.

Eddie’s death will leave a great void among his friends and former colleagues and members of the Portsmouth and Gosport Branch of NARPO of which he was a proud member.

The following supplied by Inspector Kelvin SHIPP

One Minute Silence: Eddie Wallace Eddie was the first police officer to serve at Cosham Police Station, he was the Station Duty Officer on that day in 1951, when the first officers commenced duty on the Day Shift, Eddie was tasked with opening the station. Cosham is now the single operating base for all the response teams in Portsmouth. It was therefore fitting that the officers on the Late Shift at Cosham on Wednesday 25th April, held a minutes silence in memory of Eddie, his picture was displayed via the overhead projector onto the screen, and as he smiled down on the officers present including the Chief Inspector, a brief summary of his service was read to the officers present before the room fell silent. A really wonderful gesture.