Cyril George Boneham MM BEM
Died
:
10 January 1943
Age
:
45
Rank
:
Detective Superintendent
Force
:
Coventry City Police
Cause
:
Suicide
Duty Status
:
On Duty
Roll of Honour Citation
Took his own life while on duty in his office as a consequence of being unable to deal with his wife's serious illness.
About 5:00pm, while on duty in his office at the Central Police Station on Mary Street, Coventry, DS Boneham took his own life by shooting.
He left two letters in which he explained that the health issues of his wife, who was seriously ill in hospital, were “getting him down”.
He was the first Detective Superintendent to be appointed within Coventry City Police where he had an unblemished record.
Cyril joined the police in 1920 and transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in 1926 as a Detective Constable. In 1932 he was promoted to Detective Sergeant and in 1939 he was further promoted to Detective Inspector. The following year he was appointed Detective Superintendent.
Prior to joining the police Cyril served seven years in the Coldstream Guards and was awarded the Military Medal.
In June 1941, for bravery during the air raids on the city of Coventry when, putting their own lives at risk from falling masonry and continued bombing, he and a colleague rescued twelve other officers from the blazing and largely destroyed police station in which they were based.
He was survived by his wife and two children but his wife died due to her illness exactly one week later.