THE only police officer to ever be murdered on duty in the Cleveland force area was honoured at the weekend - 124 years after his death.

Police Constable No.6 William Henderson was killed while on duty while bravely trying to disarm a mentally deranged man with a rifle.

The madman, known as “Horse Harry”, pulled out the rifle as locals attempted to arrest him and take him to the North Riding county asylum, on April 14 1893.

The Northern Echo:

PC Henderson pictured with his family. Picture: Cleveland Police

Horse Harry, whose real identity was 33-year-old John Gould, the owner of the local “knackers yard”, shot the father-of-eight at close range to try to avoid being taken to Clifton Asylum in York.

PC Henderson died instantly from his injuries after receiving a blast through the heart.

Reports at the time suggested a hole the size of a half pint glass had been made in his chest.

He had worked with the Middlesbrough Borough Police, as it was then known, for ten years and was a respected member of the community.

He was married with eight children and lived in Ruby Street in Middlesbrough, and was just 37 when he died.

After his death, his widow, Margaret Ann Henderson, returned to live near her family in West Auckland, County Durham.

At the weekend, 124 years to the day since his death, Cleveland Police Cadets and serving officers held a short service for PC Henderson at his graveside, which is in Linthorpe Cemetery, Middlesbrough. They then paid their respects and laid a wreath.

The cadets are aiming to raise money to pay for repairs to PC Henderson’s ageing headstone in a leafy part of the cemetery, to ensure his actions will never be forgotten.

Chief Superintendent Adrian Roberts, of Cleveland Police, said: “From my understanding the wound was to the heart and he died instantly, leaving a widow and eight children. So I think that tells us the risks associated with policing and the thin blue line persist across the decades and in this case, across the centuries.”