Was Epsom policeman's death covered up by Government?

To mark its 90th anniversary, local historian Brent Stevens reports on a riot started by Canadian soldiers that led to the death of a police officer in Epsom.

Yesterday, June 17 marked the 90th anniversary of a riot in Epsom by Canadian soldiers that resulted in the death of Police Sergeant Green.

His memorial can be seen today in Epsom cemetery. His epitaph reads: “In memory of Station Sergeant Green who found death in the path of duty.

“He was killed defending the Epsom Police Station against a riotous mob.”

What makes his death significant is that his murderer was never really brought to justice and that some in authority supported this for political reasons.

The “riotous mob” was in fact more than 400 soldiers on the rampage and the words “found death” on his gravestone were used rather than murdered.

Why was this? It was 10 years later that Sergeant Green’s murderer, when arrested in Canada on another offence, admitted his guilt.

By then Scotland Yard was not really interested and a prosecution was never considered. What caused this apparently callous action and why was justice not pursued as vigourously as we might have expected?

Throughout the Great War, many troops from the British Empire had fought with distinction. Canada produced about 600,000 men from 1914-18, taking 210,000 casualties, with over 56,000 dead.

They were awarded 63 Vicoria Crosses. The awesome Vimy Ridge memorial in northern France bears testimony to their bravery and loyalty during that dreadful period.

However, when war ended in November 1918, many troops, easpecially those from overseas, expected to be de-mobbed and repatriated as quickly as possible. Unfortuanely this did not happen.

In fact de-mobilisation plans had been in the Government’s thoughts since 1917.

War Secretary Lord Derby thought that in order to help the country’s economy, the most skilled workers should be released first into the key industries.

However these were the very workers who had been the last to be conscripted and the unfairness of this caused small scale mutinies within the British Army in Calais, Folkstone and London.

This inequitable system was changed by the new Minister of War – a certain Winston Churchill – in January 1919.

He decided men should be de-mobbed on the basis of age, length of service and number of wounds received. This in effect was a “first in- first out” policy.

This worked well for British troops, but Dominion troops were left hanging around for months. In March 1919 disgruntled Canadian troops rioted in Rhyl and this was repressed only after a number of men had been killed.

Australian troops in Liverpool and Cardiff created similar disturbances and on June 13, 1919, Canadian troops again rioted in Witley, commiting arson along the way.

So it was against this background that the riots in Epsom four days later should be viewed.

Feelings about the length of time it was taking to send them home rankled within the minds of Dominion troops who saw Britain slowly returning to normality by the summer of 1919.

In that year Ascot took place with renewed splendour, as did the trooping of the colour and the Derby, which was actually on June 17, with people determined to celebrate the ending of the war.

An intoxicating mixture of joy, alcohol and families enjoying a day out, must have created an atmosphere of anguish at the Canadian camp at Woodcote Park, where sick and wounded men were staying, longing to be shipped back home.

After seven months of waiting, their patience finally snapped later that evening.

At 9.15pm police were called to the Rifleman pub in Epsom because a fight had broken out between a Private MacDonald and a sergeant, both in the Canadian Army.

The police only arrested MacDonald and when his friend, Private Veinotte, came to help him, he was arrested too.

To take them both to the police tation, they had to walk along Epsom High Street – in full view of the many other Canadians in the town.

Twenty of them immediately gathered outside the police station in Ashley Road, demanding the release of the two men.

They were soon dispersed and returned to the Woodcote Camp.

Here, discontent spiralled out of control, and despite pleas from their officers, in particular Major Ross, some 400 men set off back to the police station.

The police, anticipating trouble, asked the Canadians to take the two men back to the camp, but the CO thought that was unsafe and asked the police to keep them at the station. The scene was now set for the appalling tragedy.

On their way to Ashley Road, rioting Canadians broke windows at the Ladas pub and commited other acts of vandalism.

This slowed them down and allowed Major Ross to get to the police station first. Inspector Pawley (in charge of Epsom police station) prepared to defend the station, with 22 men at his disposal.

Requests were made to summon help from surrounding stations and reinforcements were sent, but by bike they would arrive too late to help. Pawley was keen to hand over the prisoners to Ross, but the mob had already arrived at the front door.

Ross tried to calm them down, but in the meantime some of the Canadians had broken into the station around the back and managed to release one of the prisoners.

Pawley organised a charge to clear everyone out of the station and succeeded in doing so. Encouraged, Pawley and Sergeant Green decided to charge them again and clear the Canadians from the back passage too.

Again this was effective, but in the ensuing melee Sergeant Green sustained a head injury. He was taken to Epsom Hospital, but died early next morning.

This tragic event was compounded by what happened two months later.

In August, 1919, Edward Prince of Wales, was due to tour Canada by way of thanking this Dominion for all their help during the last four years of conflict.

It is thought a large scale trial and prosecution of segments of the Canadian army might be counter-productive to the Prince’s efforts.

How much pressure was applied to the police to scale down their detective operation is difficult to prove, but it would seem that those in authority wished to take the heat out of the situation.

This might help to explain what happened next.

Police went to Woodcote Camp the following day to look for men with unexplained bruises and bloodstains.

PC Rose managed to identify two men and Insp Ferrer eventually arrested five soldiers.

However, little attempt was made to find the murder weapon and fingerprint it (probably an iron bar ripped out of one of the cell doors).

Some Canadians pinpointed Allan McMaster as the culprit.

He was a blacksmith by trade and would have probably been strong enouhg to rip out the iron raillings – but this was never really followed up with any determination.

At the trial the incident was portrayed as a good natured brawl that got out of hand and the men were charged with manslaughter, not murder.

Even this charge was changed by the jury to “rioting” and the men served five months in prison before being discharged.

In sentencing the five Canadians, the judge was asked to take their war record into account. This might be significant for some, but two of the prisoners had never been to France; one had but had seen no action.

Allan MacMaster, who owned up to the murder a decade later was in the camp because of illness caused by a STD – not a war wound The funeral of Sergeant Green was a massive affair and the fact the culprit never really had to pay for his crime must have angered many people.

There can be no doubt of Canada’s courageous effort in the Allied war effort, but this episode is one they would probably want to forget.

It is suspected there were some in high government who preferred to bury this incident rather than see justice done.

similar disturbances and on June 13, 1919, Canadian troops again rioted in Witley, commiting arson along the way.