Roll of Honor
Incident
About 11:30pm on Saturday 16th December 1865, PC Sykes was helping to release a coal brig named ‘The Rover’ from the mud at Woolwich Docks when the incoming tide caused the vessel to rise suddenly, causing the faulty capstan, with no cog, to which the brig was attached, to spin out-of-control, knocking George and several others to the ground.
George was knocked unconscious and immediately taken to hospital where he was found to have a fractured skull. He died four days later without regaining consciousness.
PC Sykes was a widower and was survived by his three children.
Survivors
PC Sykes was a widower and was survived by his three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-GB-MEP-06EDC8BC- 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.
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Tributes
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Police Constable Sykes served with the Metropolitan 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
Police Constable George Sykes 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 ENG, 1,349 of 2,827 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 47.7% of this state's fallen. That is 16.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Metropolitan Police, 306 of 729 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 42% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. George Sykes's cause is highlighted.
How George Sykes Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. George Sykes is highlighted in Dec.
Others Who Wore This Badge
728 officers from Metropolitan Police are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
