Roll of Honor
Incident
Close to 10:30pm on the night of 18th December 1869, Sergeant Howard attempted to arrest a foreign sailor whom he suspected of having deserted his ship. Thomas blew his police whistle to summon help but a struggle ensued between the two men and they both fell into the docks, near the viaduct in Tyndall Street.
Two officers responded to the whistle but neither could locate Sergeant Howard. One of them, however, saw the sailor, who had managed to swim to the side of the dock, and used a boat-hook to pull him from the water.
The sailor had lost a boot and in attempting to retrieve it from the water, the officer caught hold of Thomas’ police cape that he was still wearing and, only then, realised that Sergeant Howard had drowned.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-GB-BDP-09FE5C5E- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 8, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
Are you family? This record can be claimed and maintained by those who knew Thomas. Claim this record.
This page is permanent and free. No fee to view it, no advertising, no tracking, and no account required. It will not be taken down.
Tributes
157 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sergeant Howard served with the Bute Docks Police.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sergeant Thomas Howard is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In WLS, 70 of 106 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 66% of this state's fallen. That is 35 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Bute Docks Police, 5 of 8 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 62.5% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas Howard's cause is highlighted.
How Thomas Howard Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas Howard is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
7 officers from Bute Docks Police are honored on badge.nw.
