PC George William Gutteridge was a well-liked and respected village policeman for Stapleford Abbotts in rural Essex, where he lived with his wife and two young children. While on his beat out on a lonely country road in the early hours of the morning of 27 September 1927, he was gunned down in one of the most horrific and callous killings of a police officer in the history of British law enforcement. It had been PC Gutteridge's misfortune to stop a stolen car containing hardened career criminals, Frederick Guy Browne and William Kennedy. Neither had any respect for the police, and neither was afraid to use extreme violence to evade capture. What ensued was one of the biggest manhunts Britain had ever seen. The murderers were brought to justice by a masterpiece of detective work by Scotland Yard, and their arrest required the skill and bravery of officers from a number of police forces. Drawing on Home Office and police files along with a host of contemporary newspaper reports and long-forgotten memoirs, Neil R. Storey provides a vivid account of the case and, in doing so, presents a darkly fascinating insight into Britain's underworld during the roaring 1920s.
