Rendezvous with Death

Australian Police Slain on Duty in the early 20th century

Description

The harrowing true stories of fallen police officers and how they met their end in a rendevous with death on the path of duty.

A new century and a new nation forged by the will of the people seemed to turn a new page and raised hope for a better future.  In this there was abundant truth, but there still lurked the malcontents who fed on unsuspecting hosts using violence in support of their enterprise and deadly force to avoid detection.

These are the traumatic stories of policemen, working class men, family men, often benighted men, who died at the hands of the mad, bad and sad and unexpectedly.  They died in the knowledge that duty expected of them the laying down their lives for the community they were sworn to serve. They died bravely for the new nation, for its people and esprit de corps .

This is a richly illustrated account of men who died preserving the peace at home, while their brothers-in- arms fought evil on the front lines of Europe.  Their stories are often intertwined.

About the author(s)

Alan Leek is a 34-year veteran of the NSW Police Force. He served as a detective in Sydney, its suburbs, and the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains regions before becoming officer-in-charge of the Blacktown–Mt Druitt detectives. Rising through the ranks to superintendent, he later commanded several of the state’s toughest areas, including Cabramatta at the height of its heroin epidemic and during Australia’s first political assassination.

Leek also held leadership roles at Kuring-gai, Newtown, and the St George–Sutherland district, where he was appointed by statute. Leaving school at 15, he began his working life as a rouseabout in a wool store before joining the police cadet corps.

He holds an Associate Diploma in Justice Administration (Distinction), a Post Graduate Diploma in Police Management, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, USA. In 1987, he was awarded the Peter Mitchell Award — not for bravery, he notes, but for outstanding performance.

Outside policing, Leek co-founded and directed a fine art gallery from 1983 to 2012. He is a full-term trustee and patron of the Kedumba Collection of Contemporary Australian Drawing, held in trust for the Australian people.

Listen to Alan Leek in conversation with Philip Clark on ABC Nightlife: True Crime Podcasts — Help or Hindrance to Police Investigations Listen here
Web: alanleek.com.au

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