Walter Reeve

Served with Essex County Constabulary from September 22, 1890 and died on February 16, 1911.

Police Constable Walter Reeve was a Suffolk man, having been a gamekeeper at Foxhall near Woodbridge prior to joining the police; his brother George was also in the force. Walter Reeve's first posting was to Southend, but he moved all over the county during the next few years. By February 1911 Walter Reeve was 43, had been stationed at Coggeshall for eighteen months, and was the father of seven children.

Shortly before 6pm one winter evening, Walter Reeve left his house on duty to walk into Kelvedon to serve some notices and make a point. He should have been home by midnight, and when he failed to return the alarm was raised. His body was later found in full uniform in the River Blackwater at Little Coggeshall, near a point where there were no guard rails. There were no signs of violence, and the coroner recorded an open verdict.