David Evan Bowen Lewis

Served with Essex County Constabulary from March 19, 1926 and died on July 14, 1946.

After spending some of his childhood in Hong Kong where his father worked in the naval dockyard, Police Sergeant David Lewis eventually became a policeman, and was stationed for ten years at Coggeshall.

David Lewis and his family were the first occupants of what was then one of the county's newest police houses in 'The Gravel'. He is still remembered in the town today for helping to re-erect Coggeshall's church bells so they could be rung on VE day.

After the war David Lewis was promoted to sergeant and posted to Ingatestone. Three months later, on a July Sunday evening, he was called from his house to deal with passengers refusing to leave an overcrowded bus; two young men had to be forcibly ejected. Within a few minutes of the unexpected exertion, David Lewis collapsed and died.