On a fateful winter morning in 1925 three shots rang out in a Wolverhampton street which would echo down the generations.Just over 100 years ago young police constable Bert Willits came across three teenage hoodlums in a Wolverhampton street and, rightly suspecting they were up to no good, moved in to collar them.Three shots rang out and he fell mortally injured, hit in the head. It was a crime which sent a shockwave through 1920s Wolverhampton and there was a wave of sympathy for his young widow and their 10-month-old son.This is the story of the tragedy and its aftermath, told with the help of pictures kindly loaned by relatives, keeping alive the memory of a Wolverhampton hero who gave his life doing his duty.A nostalgic look back at 1984 across the Black Country and Staffordshire – view the gallery here.You can enjoy this and more with our weekly FREE Nostalgia Newsletter – with scores of archive pictures and exclusive features on the history of Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and the Black Country – all sent to your inbox every week. Sign up here.1. Young cadet
Albert Willits was in the RAF for just over a year before joining the police, and this postcard may depict him as an RAF cadet. On the back he wrote”Your Loving Son, Bert,” so clearly he was commonly known as Bert. | Credit: David Willits2. The happy couple
Bert married Dorothy Hughes in 1923. This may be their engagement photo. Both were from Walsall, and in going into the police Bert had followed in the footsteps of his father. Dorothy was a seamstress. They lived in a Wolverhampton Corporation house on its Willenhall Road site. He joined the Wolverhampton police in July 1921 and was based at the Bilston Road police station.
| Credit: David Willits3. Looking forward to married life
Wedding day. Standing at the back are Bert’s godmother Ena (or Eva, the handwriting is unclear) Turley, and Thomas Haynes, who was married to Annie, Dorothy’s sister. | Credit: David Willits4. The scene of the crime
A picture copied directly from the pages of the Express & Star of Monday, January 19, 1925, showing the spot in Vicarage Road, Wolverhampton, where 24-year-old PC Willits was shot dead the previous day. The cross over the pavement denotes where the unfortunate constable’s head lay, and the cross on the wall shows where a bullet hit the wall. The bullet was found just below. The Chief Constable (Mr David Webster), the Borough Coroner ( Mr A C Skidmore) and Detective Inspector Aston are viewing the scene of the crime. | Express & Star archive
The Wolverhampton policeman who became a hero: 17 archive pictures
