William Donaldson

On the evening of Saturday 28th July 1855, Inspector Donaldson and a Police Constable checked on the King’s Arms Public House in Haslemere to ensure strict licensing hours were being enforced there. The ‘pub’ was full of men who were working on the London to Portsmouth railway and who had just been paid their fortnightly wages.

Following the officers’ instructions to ‘drink up and leave’ a brawl broke out and one of the men was arrested and placed in the town’s lock-up.

Later, some of the man’s friends arrived at the lock-up demanding his release when another fight broke out, during which Inspector Donaldson was beaten and struck over the head with an iron bar.

With help he managed to walk to his home in Cow Street but died from his injuries at 3:00am the following morning.

He is buried in St. Bartholomew’s Church, Haslemere.