Fallen officers honoured on anniversary date of their deaths
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on August 29, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com Lethbridge police never forget their own and that was reiterated Sunday when two officers who died on duty 90 years ago to the date were honoured in a ceremony at LPS headquarters.On Aug. 27, 1933, Sergeant Joseph Blocksidge and Constable Joseph Farrell died when the Ford car they were driving westbound just east of Fort Macleod went off the road and hit the end of a wooden box culvert.
The car swung broadside into a telephone pole killing the driver Farrell instantly while Blocksidge died at the scene soon after. Two provincial auditors who were in the car survived.
An investigation determined that Farrell had fallen asleep at the wheel after being on duty all night.
The deaths, which bring to four the number of Lethbridge police officers killed on duty, weren’t known by the LPS until Regimental Sergeant Major Shawn Davis, who was conducting research with deputy mayor and retired LPS chief John Middleton-Hope, discovered a newspaper article about the collision.
Davis did further research into the men, their lives prior to joining the Lethbridge police and the details surrounding their deaths.
On Sunday, joining Davis and a contingent of dignitaries at the ceremony honouring the two officers was Blocksidge’s grandson Brad of St. Albert, who attended the ceremony on behalf of the family.
Davis told the gathering that meeting Brad in person Saturday night for the first time at a local restaurant was akin to meeting a member of family, in this case the LPS family.
Efforts to locate any of Farrell’s living relatives have been unsuccessful.
For Blocksidge, the event gave him an opportunity learn more about the grandfather he never knew. He told media after the event that his father never talked much about his grandfather who left behind a wife and two sons when he died and he regrets not asking questions.
Blocksidge was presented with the LPS flag that flew over LPS headquarters on the anniversary by chief Shahin Mehdizadeh.
There are plans to have a memorial plaque installed at the site of the collision and the officers’ names will be added to the service’s memorial wall at LPS headquarters.
An application to have the officers added to the national register of fallen officers has been denied because while their deaths occurred on duty, the officers weren’t killed as the result of an external force while in the line of duty.
Farrell left behind a wife and one son; both men are buried in Mountain View Cemetery facing head to toe.
Blocksidge thanked the LPS for having him at the event, and Davis for doing so much research.
“It’s a real honour for me to be here,” Blocksidge told the audience which included Lethbridge MP Rachael Thomas, mayor Blaine Hyggen, police commission chair Dawna Coslovi and others.
“My father did not talk much about him growing up. I don’t know why that was and of course, as a kid I had other interests so I didn’t bother to ask him very much about it either, which I regret today because it would be nice to know a little bit more about what his history was,” said the retired educator.
Chief Mehdizadeh told the gathering on duty deaths are never easy and he also thanked Davis as well as Thomas for her work and support.
He officially welcomed Blocksidge to the LPS family, adding the LPS is trying to ensure it remembers everyone.
“Even 90 years later, we want to pay respect to these two individuals and make sure they get the attention and the respect they deserve because they paid the ultimate price” in the line of duty, said the chief.
Thomas told the ceremony “it is very important that these two men are honoured, that they’re recognized.”
The MP said policing is a job that impacts spouses and children and future generations of families.
She told Blocksidge while he didn’t know his grandfather “his life meant something to you.”
Middleton-Hope told the audience said the great grandfather of Davis’ wife Heidi was one of the people on scene shortly after the collision.
“It is clear from the documentation that was reviewed by both Chief Mehdizadeh and I before submitting to the Canadian Police Officers Memorial Association that at the time of their deaths and the subsequent decision by the City of Lethbridge to pay out death benefits, that both officers were on duty at the time of their deaths. It is for this reason that a submission was made to the memorial association for this recognition.
He said although the initial application was declined, additional avenues will be pursued to see that Blocksidge and Farrell get the full public recognition they deserve.
Jay McMillan of the Lethbridge Police Association said the two officers started the day not knowing how it would end for them and their families.
And what officers do hasn’t changed over the years, he said.
“We all do the same things and it doesn’t matter if you’re a police officer or if you’re a teacher or if you’re an elected official representing the city, the province, the country. It doesn’t matter. What matters is we are honouring these two individuals, we are honouring a type of person and it doesn’t matter what your job is, and it doesn’t what colour you are or what gender you are. We are honouring people who give a damn,” said McMillan.
“In this instance there were two officers who gave a damn,” said McMillan, a 23-year police veteran who added Davis has “given more damns than probably anybody I’ve ever worked with.”
He said Davis cares about the community, LPS members, the service and its reputation.
“He has done more work for the image and integrity of our police service than the rest of us probably combined,” said McMillan.
For Davis “today’s a day to commemorate the deaths of two of our fallen officers who died on duty back in 1933, 90 years ago to this day. They were forgotten about for a number of years for whatever reasons. And we stumbled across some information last year, we did some research jointly on veteran status of our members for the Month of Remembrance with the Royal Canadian Legion. And also my wife’s family who was doing a history on their lineage and we found some newspaper articles that talked about this collision where two officers from Lethbridge in a car accident.
“So I started digging more and more and I got into that rabbit hole and the farther into it, I realized that they were on duty, they were driving a police car, that one was a relief officer who was basically doing all of southern Alberta and there were some auditors with him.”
Davis said he realized they were definitely on duty when they died and the LPS wanted to honour them. They started looking for living relatives and “we were very lucky we found Brand Blocksidge, grandson of Sergeant Joseph Blocksidge and we’re still looking to this day to find a living relative of Constable Joseph Farrell so we’re looking more in the North Vancouver area,” said Davis.
Both officers were born in England with Blocksidge serving in India with the Royal Horse Artillery before he came to Canada in 1923 and was hired as a police officer. He was promoted to sergeant in 1928. While in India, his wife gave birth to Brad Blocksidge’s dad.
Farrell came to Canada in 1910 and joined the military in 1914 as a nurse. He was hired as a police officer in 1931 and transferred to the relief department in 1932. Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter 4
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