Person    | Male  Born 1880  Died 14/7/1915

Alfred Young

Categories: Armed Forces

Aged 35, Detective Sergeant Young was shot dead on duty on 14 July 1915 while attempting to arrest a man with a gun. Buried in Hampstead Cemetery, Fortune Green.

From Met Police: "Alfred had been shot in the chest as he attempted to arrest retired army captain, Richard Gorges at his home in Mount Vernon, a narrow lane in Hampstead. Gorges was wanted by police in connection with “indulgence in illegal sexual practices”. Alfred was shot at around 22:00hrs and died a short time later.  Having been widowed in 1911, he died leaving a fiancée and a six-year-old daughter.  The coroner at the inquest was told by Alfred’s colleague, Detective Sergeant Askew, who was also present at the incident: “He aimed at Young and fired from a distance of about a foot. Young momentarily continued towards Gorges before suddenly falling back and downwards, ending up headfirst at the bottom of the stairs. Sgt Askew told the coroner he grappled with the accused and restrained his right arm which was still holding the revolver. Gorges was tried at the Old Bailey for murder three months after the shooting but was acquitted on the grounds that, because of his drunken state, he would have been incapable of intending to kill. He was, however, convicted of manslaughter for which he served 12 years’ imprisonment. He was released from HM Prison Parkhurst in 1925 before his death in 1944, aged 69. DS Askew was awarded the King’s Police Medal in 1917 for successfully disarming Gorges and preventing any further loss of life, the same award that Alfred had received in 1909 for arresting an armed burglar the previous year."

More information at Find a Grave.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Alfred Young

Commemorated ati

Alfred Young

This plaque was found packed away when the building was being cleared in 2013...

Read More

Other Subjects

G. Linklett

G. Linklett

Employed at the Streatham bus garage. Served and was killed in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
W. A. J. Morgan

W. A. J. Morgan

Co-partner or employee of the South Suburban Gas Company. Served but did not die in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War served, WW1
1 memorial
Driver Lauchlan

Driver Lauchlan

Royal Engineer killed by an exploding bomb while assisting in the attempt to disarm it. Andrew Behan has kindly carried out some research on this man: John M Lauchlan was born about 1920 the son o...

Person, Armed Forces, Tragedy

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Serjeant John Abrahall

Serjeant John Abrahall

John Abrahall was born on 6 February 1875 in Buttevant, County Cork, Ireland, a son of William James Abrahall (1842-1890) and Mary Jane Abrahall née Lewis (1855-1939). His father was a soldier who ...

Person, Armed Forces, Belgium, Ireland

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Company Serjeant Major Charles Samuel Taylor, MM

Company Serjeant Major Charles Samuel Taylor, MM

Charles Samuel Taylor was born in 1890, one of the seven children of William George Taylor (1861-1927) and Harriett Elisa Taylor née Dorey (1866-1912). His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter o...

Person, Armed Forces, France

War dead, WW1
1 memorial

Previously viewed

Joseph da Costa Andrade

Joseph da Costa Andrade

This person's grave was destroyed by a WW2 bomb. The name is on the south-west face of the pedestal. Joseph da Costa Andrade was born circa 1836 in London. He was the fifth of the eleven children ...

Person, Commerce, Community / Clubs, Liveries & Guilds

1 memorial
Paul Raphael Montford

Paul Raphael Montford

Sculptor. Born in Kentish Town to father Horace. Other works in London: Battersea Town Hall (1892) and the panel on the King Charles Street bridge on Whitehall. Other websites refer to Montford's 1...

Person, Sculpture, Australia

8 memorials
Sir Charles Eastlake

Sir Charles Eastlake

First Director of the National Gallery. President of the Royal Academy. First President of the Royal Photographic Society. One of the Commissioners for the Great Exhibition. Born in Plymouth, son ...

Person, Art, Politics & Administration, Italy

2 memorials
George Basevi

George Basevi

Architect.  Born London. Cousin to Benjamin Disraeli. Designed some lovely squares in London: Belgrave Square, Alexander Square, Thurloe Square, Pelham Crescent and Place, Walton Place, and a numbe...

Person, Architecture

3 memorials
Edward, Duke of Kent

Edward, Duke of Kent

Born London, son of George, Duke of Kent and Marina, the Duchess. Since 1967 Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England.

Person, Royalty

1 memorial