Murder of Raymond Codling
Raymond Anthony Codling was an inspector with Greater Manchester Police who was murdered at Birch Services on the M62 motorway near Heywood, Greater Manchester, in 1989.
Raymond Codling | |
|---|---|
 Memorial stone dedicated to Codling at Birch Services | |
| Born | 5 January 1940 |
| Died | 14 September 1989 (aged 49) |
| Police career | |
| Department | Greater Manchester Police |
| Rank | Insp |
Career and murder
Raymond Codling was born on 5 January 1940 in Yorkshire. He served in the Royal Navy, resigning with the rank of Petty Officer, and joined the Metropolitan Police. In the 1970s, he transferred to Greater Manchester Police.[1]
On 14 September 1989, Codling, aged 49, together with Sergeant James Bowden, 45, stopped at Birch motorway services on the M62, looking for a white van. They approached a motorcyclist, later identified as Anthony Hughes, who produced a pistol and began firing at the officers. A shot aimed at Sergeant Bowden caused no injury, but two subsequent shots hit and killed Inspector Codling.[2]
A manhunt for Hughes, who had previous convictions for serious offences including robbery and rape, ended at a garage in Kendray, South Yorkshire, where Hughes had killed himself.[2]
In 1991, a memorial to Codling was unveiled at the place of his death by Michael Winner, founder of the Police Memorial Trust, and the Home Secretary, Kenneth Baker.[1] In February 2010, the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, met Codling's widow at a memorial service at the Birch services.[3]
References
- "Inspector Raymond Codling". Police Memorial trust. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- Keeling, Neal (16 September 2019). "The day a 'gentleman copper' was gunned down in cold blood at Birch Services on the M62". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- "Force remembers inspector murdered 28 years ago". Police Oracle. Retrieved 26 September 2023.