Constable Charles Boyes, PC#195 & Constable George Oliver Ledingham, PC#21
Charles BoyesAppointed January 1935. Fallen Feb 26th, 1947
Born and raised in England, Charles Boyes studied engineering before serving for seven years with the Royal Tank Corps in India. After a successful career in the British the military, Boyes immigrated to Canada where he settled in Vancouver with his family in 1934. He joined the VPD as a Constable a year later. Boyes was well loved by his fellow officers and was a devoted family man to his wife and six-year-old daughter Naomi.
George Oliver Ledingham, Appointed February 1935. Fallen Feb 26th, 1947
Originally from Durham, Ontario, George Ledingham worked as a successful businessman for several years before he was sworn in as a Constable with the VPD in 1935. Along with his wife and thirteen-year-old son, Ledingham lived a happy, peaceful life where he enjoyed golf and fishing trips. Ledingham was well known for his love of gardening, specializing in cultivating crops of gladiolus and tulips.
The Death of Two Officers
Constables Charles Boyes and George Ledingham were close partners in the Criminal Investigation Branch of the VPD. While having come from very different lives, they worked well together and were loyal in both their work and friendship.
On February 26th, 1947, both officers were on Prowler-car duty when they received a call for aid in the capturing of three bank robbers. Ledingham and Boyes met up with Detective Sergeant Percy Hoare who had been in pursuit of the three suspects and was at present questioning three suspicious young men by Roundhouse by the False Creek Flats. Witness to the following events was six-grade Arnold Montgomery who was sitting in Hoare’s car having given descriptions of the three men.
At first, the three young men, by the names of William Henderson, Harry Medos and Doug Carter, cooperated with the police officers. But when a breeze blew Henderson’s jacket open, revealing the handle of a gun, chaos ensued. Upon seeing the weapon, Hoare grabbed it, but before the Ledingham and Boyes could search the other two men, all three youths took off in different directions.
Both Medos and Carter fired their weapons. Medos shot Boyes through the heart before he managed to get to his gun, Ledingham received a fatal shot in the chest but had been able to get one shot off unfortunately missing the gunman. Carter fired six rounds hitting Hoare in the leg. Having shot the other two officer, Medos aimed and shot the left shoulder of the Detective. Using his non-dominant hand, Hoare returned fire, killing Carter and hitting Medos in the leg. Medos got up and joined Henderson as they fled the scene. Both Constable Boyes and Ledingham were pronounced dead at the scene while Detective Sergeant Hoare went to the hospital where he recovered.
After a mad chase through the False Creek Flats, Medos and Henderson were eventually captured by the police. As part of the investigation, John Vance and the Vancouver City Analysts Laboratory tested the guns and shot residue from the gun battle and was able to establish that Medos had killed both officers and Henderson was innocent of having fired a firearm. The forensic sciences used in the investigation saved seventeen-year-old William Henderson from being charged and hung for murder. Harry Medos was convicted and hung for the deaths of the two officers.
As a result of this incident and to prevent future tragedies, Chief Mulligan established a new gun training program for the VPD officers through the RCMP’s facilities in Regina, Saskatchewan and made it a policy for all police officers to search anyone suspected of a criminal offence first before questioning them.